Pen, Fin, and the Bigfoot Bargain:

Episode 4: That's Not Finny

In Episode 3, Pen went into the woods alone at night to search for Bigfoot, breaking Ranger Knox's rules. Bigfoot appeared—and so did Knox.

I'm a wanted woman, on the lam for hunting Bigfoot. (Have I ever had a prouder moment? Other than that time I beat Fin at Harry Potter trivia, I don't think so.)

The good news is that I'm out of the woods, but the bad news? Well, if Knox and his ranger know I'm missing, then the camp counselors are bound to know, too, which means I still have plenty of trouble to wriggle out of.

In my head (and maybe a little out loud), I hum the Mission Impossible theme song as I catapult over the wooden sawhorse placed as a barricade at the trail entrance. Sure, I could have gone around it, but I'm in adventure mode and there's a little extra pep in my step since, contrary to what Knox told his boss—or whoever was on the other end of the walkie-talkie—the ranger is so not on my trail.

Up ahead, I spy the carved wooden sign for Camp Creekrock and beyond it the boys' and girls' cabins, along with the main lodge and the dining hall, their windows aglow like the eyes of jack-o-lanterns.

There's no one around, so I decide to cut straight past the flagpole to my cabin and pretend I was in there while the teams were designing flags, but then a group of chattering kids emerges from the front door of the main lodge and I ditch that plan for a new one: Blend in and play dumb. I'm not sure if this group is mine or not—I can't tell in the darkness—but I join their ranks anyway.

And a girl with pigtail braids pops up at my side.

"Where did you come from?" she asks. "Aren't you supposed to be with the other team?"

Whoopsie-doodle.

"Er," I say, "they sent me to spy?"

"You must be Finny's friend," she says.

Finny?

"I didn't see you at yesterday," I say.

"I checked in a day late because I've been with my family on vacation in Bermuda," she replies. "My name is Ruby Russo, and, oh, just so you know, Finny and I are gonna be kayaking partners on Thursday."

Okay. What?

I scowl at Ruby, trying to read her expression and figure out where her random kayaking comment is coming from.

"I'm Pen," I say, "and, oh, just so you know, Fin has been my best friend since kindergarten, sooo..." My words trail off as I raise my eyebrows at her, but Ruby just shrugs in response and ahead. A second later, Fin takes Ruby's place beside me.

"Where were you?" he demands.

"Who was that?" I demand in return, gesturing after Little Miss Kayak.

Fin flushes, his freckles flaring in my flashlight's glow.

"Just a new friend," he says.

Whatever.

"Here," I say, shoving my digital recorder into his hand, "listen to that. Whatever you do, don't delete it, don't lose it, and don't tell anyone about it, especially not Ranger McShifty. Now I've gotta jet, 'cause Knox is wise to me."

"Pen, what are you—"

I slip out of line, dodging behind a totem pole while der-der-der-derring aloud the sick guitar riff theme from James Bond, because what else do you do after passing hot evidence off to a fellow secret agent?