A Parthan Summer by Julie Steimle (best books for 8th graders TXT) 📖

Zormna. He said, “You can tackle and pin if that is your method of fighting. But, if you draw blood you are disqualified.”

Zormna gave him a brisk nod. “Fine. And when I’m done, will she be punished for her theft? Because that medallion is mine, and she has no right to offer it as a prize for anything.”  

The judge glanced at the others. They shared hesitant looks. But one peered at Holly with wonder if the medallion really was Zormna’s

“You can’t prove this medallion is yours.” Holly stepped close with a hiss at Zormna. “It doesn’t have your name on it anywhere.”

Provoked, Zormna shoved Holly back from her and shouted, “Let’s begin!”

Then, as if it had been a choreographed dance, Holly and Zormna immediately took their defensive positions.

And the fight was something else.

Besides looking entirely mismatched, Zormna dwarfed next to Holly’s leggy height, it was also hard to tell who was attacking whom. Zormna struck Holly, but Holly blocked it. There was also this peculiar smirk on Zormna lips as she moved about the tall karate girl. Zormna leapt like a gymnast rather than a martial artist at first. But then it was obvious that Holly was attacking her, and Zormna was blocking. Some first thought Zormna’s claim had been rash. She looked like she was backing up, losing. Except every kick Holly delivered at Zormna, the tiny girl avoided or stopped. It was only after a while that people grew aware that every single motion of Zormna’s was avoidance and defense. She was drawing Holly in and wearing her out.

From the sidelines, someone called out to her. “Quit playing with her, Zormna, and bust her butt!”

Zormna laughed when she realized that it was Brian and not Jeff that was yelling. But she decided he was right. She immediately flipped backwards and started her attack.

Again the fight was different. Holly struggled to avoid each advance, keeping up with a frantic pace as Zormna attacked with a grin much like a crocodile.

“Boring!” Jeff called from the sidelines. Faces stared at him—as it was the opposite of boring. This was the super mega battle they had wanted to see—and it was so hot. Supermodel versus tiny Irish goddess. It was like a video game.

But his taunt was enough for Zormna. She took her opportunity and swept Holly’s leg, spun and kicked again. Holly ended flat on the grass just off the mat. At once Zormna pinned the girl to the damp earth as if to strangle her.

Several of the judges jumped up.

Ripping the medallion out of Holly’s pocket, Zormna stood up without even so much as a gloat. She didn’t even pay attention to the cheering Pennington teams, nor did she even bother to check with the ruling of the judges. She simply walked off the grassy hill, pulling the necklace back over her head while tucking the unique fiber chain back into her shirt. She adjusted the clips so that they securely attached to her bra straps, the item vanishing inside her clothes so that it was safe against her heart.

Everyone murmured after her, rising from the grass, watching. None moved to follow her though.

Holly groaned where she was, on her back then pushed to get up. She rubbed her chest the most, finding it difficult to breathe.

Jeff rose cheerfully and wiped the pine needles and grass from off the bottom of his pants. “Well, that was fun!”

Brian burst out laughing again with Mark in chorus. But Jonathan looked back to where Holly lay and shook his head.

“Man, I was only joking when I said Zormna could beat you.” Jonathan murmured to Jeff. “Look at how she flattened her. I didn’t know Zormna could do that.”

“Well, I did,” Jeff said, rubbing the scar on his nose with a tilt of his head and a smirk. “Don’t you remember the school Olympics?”

His friends stared at him. Of course they remembered. But they had always hoped that Jeff had simply let her win that wrestle in the tug of war pit.

They walked off. But as they did, Jeff said, “But Zormna was totally drawing that fight out. She could have ended it way earlier.”

Once Holly had recovered her breath and got out of the daze, she bellowed like a cow, screaming accusations that Zormna had not fought fairly and had stolen the prize before the fight was over. And though she had many sympathizers, Holly did not succeed in getting the medallion back. The kids from Pennington had reported to their camp counselors that Zormna had that same symbol as the medallion branded into her right shoulder—so of course it was hers. Michelle Clay and Zormna’s other teammates also swore that they had seen Zormna tuck ‘the ugly thing’ away whenever she got dressed, never taking it off. Besides, even those who believed Holly were unwilling to face Zormna’s wrath in the attempt to retrieve it from Zormna, especially after seeing how she had easily flattened a black belt in karate.

So, by dinner, the issue was dropped.

*

The final dinner of camp. Everyone gathered in, filling their plates and sitting in their territories, eagerly waiting for the awards ceremony. Many sped through the meal in hopes to rush to the main event of the hour. Once the trays were placed in the kitchen for the counselors to wash that final night for K.P. Everyone grouped closer together and sang rounds of songs along with school cheers. The tumult of noise continued until Mr. Hardt stood before the hall and raised his arms for silence. It only came through several shushes that echoed in the lodge, accompanied by a round of giggles and a few ‘be quiets’ until the sound was a dim murmur. 

Mr. Hardt smiled as he greeted the crowd.

“Students, counselors and guests, we are glad to be together today on this last day of camp. This year has been especially challenging and immensely rewarding. Challenging, because there are so many barriers that have existed between our schools in this district….”

Jeff looked over at Zormna wondering if that wasn’t what the director really meant. He could see the director’s eyes glance at the troublemakers of that year. He tried to avoid Jeff and Zormna’s eyes though. The FBI incident was still fresh in the man’s mind.

“…Rewarding in the progress we have achieved.” 

Several cheers burst out of the audience.

Mr. Hardt lifted his hands to quiet them. He continued. “I present to you the award winners of this year’s camp competition.”

He started to clap, and the students followed.

Jeff’s group whistled as they cheered rowdily, catcalling the standing officials. A middle-aged woman stood at the podium and held certificates in her hands.

“For outstanding leadership in cheerleading…Miss Amy Fields of Harvest High!”

The room burst into applause.

Overwhelmingly disgruntled, Michelle sat with a glower and growled to herself. She had been sure she would win, not quite realizing that that camp leaders had counted down her shouting at the other girls as poor leadership. She scowled more when the eternally happy cheerleader ran up to accept the award.

“For exceptional routine coordination…the Billsburg Mascot, Melissa Hayes!” the woman announced.

A petite cheerleader, still dressed in her bulldog costume, slid out of her bench and walked up to receive her certificate. Everyone clapped, and many of the Billsburg boys hooted the chorus from Who Let the Dogs Out.

With an annoyed glanced at Amanda and Jennifer who merely looked disappointed that their routines had not impressed as they had hoped, Michelle had begun to grind her teeth. She had been sure her team had won the competition hands down, but here other girls were taking her awards.

“For most outrageous stunt…Miss Zormna Calendar from Pennington!”

Standing up indignantly, Zormna yelled, “Clendar!” 

Slipping off her bench quickly, Zormna walked up to the front of the room. She picked up the fancy piece of paper as nearly everyone clapped. She checked to see if her name on the paper was printed wrong. But it had been spelled right, so a minor sense of relief returned. 

Disgusted that she wasn’t given any credit for the stunt, Michelle shot an acid look in Zormna’s direction as she sat down, saying nothing.

“For best overall team this year, it was almost a tie, the Pennington cheer team!” the woman triumphantly announced.

Michelle stood up at once and pushed her way up front and up to the podium with a satisfied grin. Instead of just taking the plaque, she squeezed in front of the microphone and started her speech. “I would just like to say thank you to my teammates and their wonderful effort. And I’d like to say to the Monroe team, better luck next time, suckers!”

All appalled eyes stared at Michelle as she sat down with a final sense of victory. 

A laugh exploded from Joy, more shocked by the audacity of their team captain, joined by Stacey, who tittered in embarrassment. The rest of the lodge mildly clapped, though those from Monroe booed.

The lady official pinched her brow ridge with a headache and sat down.

The next coach stood up and started his awards routine in the same manner as the first. There were several awards—from football to baseball to track. The wrestling awards were brief. The Pennington team won in every category except in most improved. A boy from Billsburg won that award. But the Pennington wrestling team cheered just as loudly for him as they did for the rest of the awards, making sure they made the most noise in the hall. 

When the gymnastics awards were given out, Amy Fields accepted another certificate along with her team member Holly. They also called Zormna’s name, awarded for outstanding and original performance on the balance beam. This woman made sure her name was read correctly this time, and Zormna gave her an appreciative smile in return. When all the athletic awards were delivered, Mr. Hardt stood up to greet the students again.

“And now I would like to introduce Robert Masters for the individual camp awards,” he said.

Robert stood up from his Harvest friends and slipped through the aisles to the front. He grinned as soon as he reached the podium, revealing stripes of silver braces and an obnoxious gap in his teeth. “Fellow campers, a committee formed from the students of each of the schools has agreed of a few awards to give as fellow students to you.”

A number of eyes rolled and cheers from his schoolmates encouraged him to go on. 

“First is the Would-Be-Good Award. This is an award for those that would be good but can’t seem to keep out of trouble,” he said, nodding in Zormna’s direction.

She went white. Jeff let his face drop into his hands, smiling as he shook his head.

“The award goes to…Jeremy Sills of Billsburg and Jessica Manning of Monroe!” Robert announced loudly and with great pleasure.

Zormna and Jeff looked up at each other in mild shock.

They hadn’t been picked. Lifting their heads and clapping with the rest, they both saw that while they had been in the infirmary, under FBI watch and in the office under Director Hardt’s thumb, the others were watching the teenaged antics of the budding romance Jeremy and Jessica—what people described as a Rom-Com. Sitting back in relief, Zormna broke into laughter as Joy whispered to her about the details. Her day in the spotlight was thankfully over, and she so liked it that way.

“The award for the Most Pranks played goes to Jennifer McCabe and Bryce Mills!” Robert announced.

Zormna watched her teammate go up and accept the award for all the pranks she and Jennifer had played, wondering if Jennifer had admitted to them on purpose. And as numerous other awards were given out, she smiled, watching of other students of the camp rise with mixed embarrassment and pleasure.

“Should-Have-Been-a-Band Award goes to the Pennington Wrestling team!” Robert said with a flair that really belonged on the Oscars.

Brian jumped up to receive the award for the breakfast serenading they had done and stepped towards the microphone like Michelle had done.

“I want to thank Alvin and the Chipmunks for the inspiration, and I