I'll never know why I ever let them talk me into it. It had been a bad idea from the start! But that's always been my weakness, being afraid of my friends. Not in the sense that they'd ever do anything to me - they weren't like that. I've always been afraid that if I ever said no, that they'd stop being my friends. Maybe that's unfair of me, and I should learn to trust them more, but that's the way I grew up. People were only friends as long as you did things for them and let them call the shots.

This time, though, I learned that sometimes you just have to say no. Sometimes it's not worth it.

It was nearly midnight when I felt someone shaking me. I rolled over, thinking that maybe I was just dreaming, but then I heard a whisper in my ear.

"Come on, Lance, wake up!"

It was Tommy, shaking my arm. I stifled a groan and rolled over again, opening my eyes halfway to glare at him. "What do you want, Tommy?" I tried to whisper too, because I didn't want to wake everyone else up.

"We're going out exploring, so come on! Everyone's waiting." Tommy let go of me and just stood there beside my bed, waiting for me to get up. I was sure he'd keep bothering me if I refused, so I dragged myself out of bed and stood beside him, looking around the room in darkness. It seemed like every other bed was full, even Tommy's.

Tommy pushed me aside and grabbed my pillows, stuffing them under my blankets and that explained the lack of empty beds. I wondered who else was involved in this midnight escapade and contemplated asking him, but before I could open my mouth he shushed me and grabbed my arm again, pulling me toward the door. We stopped just at the threshold and Tommy stuck his head out, looking from left to right.

"When I tell you to go, make a run for the shed," he looked back and forth one more time. "Alright, let's go!"

I watched as Tommy took a running leap off the front porch, sprinting for the metal shed in the distance. I debated for a split second about whether or not I should go – but in the end my desire to fit in won out and I jumped off the porch in imitation, though my landing was nearly a disaster. I'm really not sure how I managed to stay on my feet. Seconds later and I had joined him behind the shed, breathing heavily from a mixture of spent energy and nerves. We were the only two here.

"Now we have to get to the dock without being seen! Come on," Tommy was about to take off again when I grabbed his arm.

"Wait a second! What are we doing?" I couldn't help but question. We weren't supposed to be wandering around the camp at night, and if we were going to the docks, that only meant we were stealing a canoe. I'm not sure I was up to that.

"Oh come on, Cassandra, stop being such a girl!" Tommy hurled the insult at me and took off again without answering my question. Sighing in frustration I ran after him, mostly out of curiosity. Miraculously we made it to the water without being noticed, and that was when I saw the little group hidden underneath the wooden dock. As we got closer I finally made out who we were meeting up with.

"About time," came an annoyed huff from Pippi, who was the likely leader in this midnight adventure as far as I was concerned. That made me kind of nervous, because Pippi and I weren't exactly the closest of friends these days.

"Sorry, Cassandra took his time getting up," Tommy pointed at me and rolled his eyes, which is when I should have listened to my gut instincts and gone back to our cabin. Whenever we were alone, Tommy acted like my best friend. But whenever Pippi was there, Tommy acted like I was the one following him around like a puppy dog. He always went out of his way to kiss Pippi's ass, and I wasn't sure why.

"Well it doesn't matter, we need to get in those canoes and get out of here! Come on Pippi, let's go make a final sweep to make sure no one is around." That was Willie, and in a second she and Pippi had disappeared, leaving me to survey the others who'd been invited. Annika and Anna stood together, grinning in excitement. Annika had undoubtedly been invited by Pippi (I guess you could say they were dating, because they always seemed to do everything together and sometimes when they walked Pippi held her hand) and I guess Tommy must have invited Anna (because even though he refused to admit it, he kind of had a crush on her). Willie had probably been the first person Pippi had invited, because she was the only one who ever dreamed up crazy stunts the way he did. That always made me feel kind of like a third wheel, because whenever we did something in a group, I never got to invite anyone myself. Not that the girl I liked would have come. Sweetheart wasn't really into breaking rules.

We waited another minute before Pippi and Willie showed up again, this time in canoes. They had two, and I wondered how we were going to split the groups up.

"Alright, Willie and Annika with me, Tommy, you can take Anna and Cassandra. Here's the map, we rendezvous at Cotter's Point. It should take you about fifteen minutes to get there." Pippi handed Tommy a map, pointing out where our final destination was.

"We're not going together?" Tommy asked in confusion.

"Willie and I have somewhere else to go first," Pippi whispered in a conspiratorial tone, which made Tommy grin and made me feel uneasy. It sucked being left out of plans.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that! Okay, we'll meet you there! Come on guys. I'll help you in the canoe, Anna." I watched for a moment as Tommy steadied the canoe, helping Anna climb in. Tommy sat in the front, Anna sat in the middle, so that left me to climb in on the end after pushing off. It was harder then it looked, because I was used to getting into a canoe from above on the dock. I finally made it in though, and we slipped off away from the dock, Tommy and I dipping our paddles into the still water of the lake, navigating the canoe easily enough around the bend.

I looked back, but the other canoe was nearly out of sight, going in the opposite direction. When we were far enough away from the camp I spoke. "Where are the others going, Tommy?"

"Oh, they have to pick some things up from the convenience store," was his answer, and it made me nervous all over again.

"But the convenience store isn't open right now." I knew what he meant, but I couldn't help myself.

"Oh stop being such a downer, Lance! No wonder Pippi told me not to bother inviting you," Tommy glanced back at me, shaking his head. But then he grinned and used his paddle to flip some water at me, and I knew that he was only joking about being annoyed with me.

But I knew he hadn't been joking about being told to leave me behind by Pippi, and that stung.

So I guess I should explain why we're in a canoe and where we are. It's summer vacation, and we'd decided in the spring to ask our parents to send us all away to the same summer camp. Usually we split up over the summer, but we thought it would be fun to spend some time together in the woods at camp, and luckily our parents had agreed (though I'd had to ask my parents to pay to send Tommy, since his mom couldn't afford it).

My mom hadn't wanted me to go, since we usually spent our summer traveling. I don't get to see my parents much during the year, since dad travels a lot for his job and takes my mother with him. But I begged them to let me go (even though part of me wanted to stay with them, because it would be less stressful) because I didn't want to miss anything.

In reality I was afraid that if I didn't go, then by the time school rolled around, Tommy wouldn't talk to me at all. Eventually my mom had given in and let me go, though she made me promise that I'd spend the last two weeks of vacation with her and dad in Mexico. I didn't have a choice – leaving Tommy in Pippi's hands for two weeks was better than two months.

So now we were here at Camp Firelight, where we did things like learn to canoe and navigate through the woods. It was pretty cool I guess, though my favourite thing to do at camp was work on paintings in the arts and crafts tent with Sweetheart. She was teaching me how to use oil paints.

Luckily I was in a cabin with Tommy and a bunch of other boys neither of us knew – so we stuck together during cabin activities and sat together in the dining hall. Pippi was in some other cabin, so we never saw him that much during the day. That made me more than happy, because not only could I escape from his serious attitude problem, but it also meant that Tommy was nice to me all the time. We also usually ended up doing activities with the girls cabin that Sweetheart and Starlight were in. Starlight still had a crush on Pippi, which I couldn't figure out. Sometimes it was painful to sit there and listen to her talk about him, or wonder why he liked Annika more than her. I wanted to shake her and tell her that she could do better than him, but it wouldn't do any good. After all, it's not like he was a jerk to her. He was really only a jerk to me.

And now that I've explained that I should get back to the story, because we'd just made it to Cotter's Point and Tommy and I were pulling the canoe into some bushes to hide it. Tommy explored around the site while I stood watch with Anna, keeping my eyes out for any sign of the other canoe (or bears – did I mention there were bears in the woods?).

"So Cassandra, how's your painting coming along?" Anna asked, looking at me with a sly kind of smile.

"Um, it's going well," I stammered, feeling a little nervous. Anna knew that I liked Sweetheart, and I always wondered if she ever said anything to her friend about me.

"Sweetheart told me you're not too bad with the oil paints," she said, looking out at the water.

"Oh, that's nice of her," I replied, turning suddenly when I heard a branch snap behind me. It was just Tommy.

"Geez Lance, calm down! Worried a bear might sneak up on us?" Tommy reached out and grabbed my shoulder, shaking me a little more violently than was necessary. "You worry too much."

I wrenched my shoulder out of his grip and turned away to fPippi the water again, feeling a little annoyed. Sometimes he really got on my nerves. Then I saw the other canoe gliding through the water and pointed to it. "I think the others are coming!"

"Yeah that's them alright," Tommy said, hopping down to the water to wave them in. I stayed back with Anna, not wanting to get in the way. I watched as Tommy grabbed the end of the canoe, keeping it steady while Willie hopped out to help Tommy pull it up. I heard Annika say that she didn't want to get her shoes wet, so of course Prince Charming offered to carry her out of the canoe. I couldn't help but shake my head and roll my eyes. But maybe, in reality, I was just a tiny bit jealous. If it were Sweetheart in the boat, complaining about not wanting to get wet, I'd probably trip if I tried to carry her to dry land. Being around Pippi somehow always made me so aware of my shortcomings.

In a few minutes the second canoe was hidden and the group was fully formed again, waiting as Pippi and Willie consulted the map and compass. They seemed to figure out where we were going, because then Pippi folded up his map and told everyone to follow him. We walked in rows of two, Pippi and Willie leading the way, Annika and Anna following behind them, whispering about something, while Tommy fell back to walk next to me.

"Isn't this exciting?" He asked me, grinning madly. Tommy always loved adventure.

"Where are we going?" I asked, feeling a little wary about where Pippi and Willie would choose to lead us.

"Does it really matter? We're out of camp when we're supposed to be in bed, wandering through the woods at night! I can't believe that doesn't excite you." Tommy looked at me and frowned, shaking his head.

"Yes it does," I protested feebly, pretending to act more excited than I was. I was a horrible actor, though.

Tommy knew it and laughed a little before slinging an arm around my shoulders. "Come on, don't make me regret inviting you," I stared at his fPippi and could just make out him winking, before he brought a hand up to my head and ruffled my hair. He knew it annoyed me.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have bothered," I shot back, unable to help the comment. I wasn't trying to make him feel bad, but sometimes I wondered why Tommy invited me along on these little things. He knew I didn't enjoy doing crazy stuff as much as he did.

"I just thought that maybe you'd have a good time," he said, sounding a little subdued and almost apologetic. It was funny how that happened – he would do something to make me uneasy, I'd ask him why he kept pushing me, and then he'd say something and it would make me feel guilty, like I was the one always causing the problems.

"Sorry. I'm sure it'll be fun," I tried to get positive again, even though I was still a mixture of scared and annoyed.

"It will be! Now help me think of a joke to pull on Pippi..."

We had to hike for twenty minutes before we got to where we were going – which happened to be a small little moonlit lake with a waterfall at one end. It was beautiful, and I wished Sweetheart was here to see it. Maybe I'd paint it for her.

"Oh Pippi," I heard Annika squeal, "it's so beautiful!" I couldn't help but glance at the pair, jealousy rearing up as I watched her wrap her arms around him, staring at him expectantly, like she was waiting for him to kiss her. He didn't.

"Of course it is," he said, not even looking at her, "I told you it would be worth it." Finally he turned his head, trademark smirk on his lips, one arm sliding over her back. "But we're not only here for the waterfall."

We all waited in silence for him to go on, but he never did. He just stood there with his arm around her, looking out at the water. "Willie, quit messing around and set up our stuff," he finally broke the silence with a comment that let us all know that he'd reveal his other secret when he chose.

"Yeah yeah," Willie responded, walking over to the bank of grass and finding a spot that seemed rather level, before opening her bag and pulling out a blanket. She kneeled down on it and started pulling all kind of snacks out of her bag – Coke, barbeque chips, cheesies, chocolate bars – things we weren't supposed to eat at camp. Not that there was some kind of strict nutritional plan or anything – they just didn't want anyone bringing in any outside food.

"You guys! Where did you get all of this?" Anna made her way over to join Willie, dropping down to pick up a pack of chocolate chip cookies.

"We have our sources," Willie said smugly, glancing back at Pippi who laughed lightly.

They'd stolen it all. I knew it! I didn't want to eat stolen goods, but I knew if I refused anything, Pippi would make fun of me, and then Tommy would follow along, and I'd feel even worse than I would if I sucked it up and ate the stolen junk.

I wished I'd stayed back at camp.

Even though it was stolen, the snack did taste good. I ended up eating a few cookies, a handful of chips, a Snickers bar, and then I washed it down with a can of Coke. The sugar rush was great, but I still couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"So, Pippi, what's the big surprise?" Tommy asked, finishing off the last of the chips.

Pippi looked over at Willie, who was lying on her stomach, stuffing a cookie in her mouth. "Show them, Willie."

At that comment Willie sat up, looking very much like a cat who'd just eaten a canary – but who still had another one left to snack on later. She reached into her bag again and pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment, rolling it out on the blanket before us. Everyone leaned in to get a better look at it.

"It's a treasure map," she said, pointing out our location. "This is where we are, and behind those waterfalls is the entrance to a cave! Inside the cave there's supposed to be hidden treasure, left behind from ages ago when the first settlers came over."

"The first settlers didn't bring any treasure with them," I couldn't help but blurt out, "everything they brought was used to build their villages."

"The treasure didn't come from the settlers, moron," Pippi butted in, glaring at me, "it came from their slaves."

"How could their slaves have treasure?" Annika asked, about as confused as I felt. She wasn't going to be called an idiot for voicing her disbelief, though.

"Simple. The slaves used gemstones and ivory for their religious rites and ceremonies," Pippi explained, "but none of those things were important to the settlers. No one cared about gems during that time period, the only thing worth any money were metals. Gems were just rocks."

"But wouldn't someone have noticed how pretty and shiny they were?" Anna asked, confused as well. I'm glad the girls weren't just buying it blindly.

"The gems were rough back then, they had no way of polishing them. They didn't look like typical gems you see these days in jewelry." I was surprised that Pippi was so patiently explaining things.

"That makes sense," Annika said, "I mean, diamonds don't grow looking the way they do in rings and necklPippis, so why would any other gems grow like that?" She and Anna appeared to buy the explanation, and were starting to look excited.

"So what's the plan?" Tommy asked, his eyes looking back at the map. "How big is the cave?"

"We're not sure," Willie answered, "we've been researching the last few days but have barely been able to find anything about the caves. Hopefully they're not too big. But the plan is that we find the entrance and then explore them! The treasure isn't supposed to be hidden too well, since they figured no one would ever look behind the waterfall."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These two lunatics wanted to go exploring an uncharted cave at night, without proper gear and without anyone knowing where we were? Were they crazy?!

"So, is everyone up for this?" Pippi asked, looking around the group. When his eyes got to me his gaze turned challenging, as though he was expecting me to say no, expecting me to call him crazy and point out how dumb of an idea his exciting little adventure was. And that's exactly what I had planned to say right until my mouth opened.

"You bet we are!" I shouted, cursing myself immediately. I saw his gaze soften slightly when I made my outburst, like he was laughing at me on the inside. Like he knew that he'd managed to manipulate me into coming along.

I hated him for being able to do that to me, but I hated myself more for letting him.