2 Girl Cooties

ACT 2 GIRL COOTIES

Away! Away! First day of camp! Stink looked around the room. Shakespeare quotes covered the walls. In the middle of the room sat bins full of costumes, piles of pool noodles, and... girls! What, ho! Girls, girls, and more girls. Girls wearing crowns. Girls missing teeth. Girls sticking out tongues. Girls twirling in dresses. Everywhere, girls!

"Where are all the boys?" Stink asked Sophie. "Huh?"

"You didn't tell me I'd be the only boy here! I'm going home." "Hey, I counted frogs with you, Stink. I went on a midnight zombie walk with you." "But you liked doing all that stuff," said Stink. Sophie had stopped listening. She'd spotted the costumes. "Fairy wings!" she said, dashing over to the bin. If only Webster had not gone to Mexico for spring break. One of the millions of girls ran over to Stink. She had a crown on her head and a veil covering her face. The girl flung back the veil. Yikes-a-roni! Riley Rottenberger: sometimes friend, most times enemy. "What are you doing here?" Stink asked. "I'm here for Shakespeare camp, same as you," said Riley. Oh, brother. Could this day get any worse? Just then, the acting teacher blinked the lights. "Welcome to Shakespeare Sprites! Hi, everybody! I'm Amanda Beth."

Stink plunked himself down beside Sophie. Riley scooted over next to Stink. Amanda Beth told them all about Mr. Shakespeare: that he lived in England more than four hundred years ago, that he wore a gold hoop earring, and that he knew 25,000 words. Some said he was the best writer who ever lived. "We'll also learn what it takes to be good actors," she told them. "Do we get to be in a play?" asked a girl named Lily. "You'll all get to act out one short scene by the end of the week," said Amanda Beth. "On

Wednesday we're going to learn about a play called Macbeth." "The one with the witches?" asked a girl named Harper. "I'll be a witch!" said Hazel, a girl next to Harper. "I'd rather be Juliet," said Riley, looking straight at Stink. "On Wednesday night, we'll come back to campus to see real actors in an outdoor performance of Macbeth. On Thursday, two of the actors will visit camp to teach us swordplay." Swordplay! Stink sat up on his heels. "By Friday we'll be doing a dress rehearsal. Finally, on Saturday your families are invited to come watch you act out your short scenes. That's what the week looks like. Anyway, I'm glad to see so many girls—" "Stink's the only boy!" yelled Riley. Stink's face turned cherry-Popsicle red.