The Stars of Summer Read Online Free PDF Page A

least a year. “Thank you, Parm!” she cried. “This is perfect!”
    â€œOh, good—I thought you’d like it,” Parm said. “My dad’s recipe for gajar ka halwa is in the bag, too, in case you want to make it.”
    Gajar ka halwa was a delicious Indian dessert with carrots, nuts, and plenty of cardamom that Mr. Singh had taught Gladys and Parm how to make. “I can’t wait to try,” Gladys said.
    Sandy pushed his gift toward Gladys. “Here, open mine next.” She tore through the reindeer paper (“Sorry—it was all I had,” he said) to find a small yellow notebook. Its spine creaked as she opened it, and the paper inside felt thicker than normal paper and slightly fuzzy.
    â€œOoh, a diary,” Gladys’s mom exclaimed. “What a thoughtful gift, Sandy.”
    Sandy scooted closer to Gladys as her mom took a photo of them with the book. “It’s waterproof,” he whispered. “So you don’t have to worry about ruining it at the beach or the pool or”—he grinned—“at restaurants with clumsy busboys.”
    Gladys grinned back. She didn’t have any big plans to go to a beach or pool this summer, but a waterproof journal could definitely come in handy in places where she needed to write—like restaurant bathrooms. “Thanks, Sandy,” she said. It really was a thoughtful gift.
    â€œOkay, time for mine, time for mine!” Charissa was bouncing up and down on the edge of the sofa, her shiny red skirt crinkling and crumpling with each little jump. Gladys set the journal aside and felt her heart speed up as she reached for the huge gold box Charissa had given her in the car. Parm’s and Sandy’s presents were terrific, but she couldn’t deny that she was especially excited to open this one. Charissa loved to shop, and she seemed to share Gladys’s appreciation of good food like no one else. Could her friend have bought her a new set of shiny copper pots—or maybe even a standing mixer?
    These fantasies evaporated the moment Gladys picked up the box; it may have been huge, but it was way too light to hold any of the kitchen equipment she’d been thinking of. In fact, when she pried off the top, the box appeared to be completely empty . . . until she saw an envelope sitting at the bottom.
    â€œOkay, I sort of tricked you with the big box,” Charissa admitted (though, of course, she didn’t apologize). “It’s just that this present is
so huge and awesome
that it deserved a big package!”
    Gladys’s mind started racing all over again, this time with thoughts of what could be in the envelope. A gift certificate to one of Manhattan’s best restaurants? A picture of the new, professional oven that Charissa was having delivered to her house tomorrow?
    She opened the seal and pulled out a piece of paper.
    C ONGRATULATIONS ! it said in bold purple typeface. Y OU HAVE BEEN AWARDED ONE FREE SUMMER AT E AST D UMPSFORD’S FAVORITE DAY CAMP: C A MP B ENTLEY!!!
    Gladys’s stomach dropped.
    Y OUR SUM MER OF FUN BEGINS TH IS M ONDAY, J ULY 1, AT 8:30 AM. P LEASE WEAR SHORTS AND SNEAK ERS AND BRING A SWIM SUIT FOR YOUR INITIA L SWIMMING EVALUATIO N.
    Y OURS TRULY,
    L AURA & C ARL B ENTLEY, COFOUNDERS & DIREC TORS
    AND C HARISSA B E NTLEY, COUNSELOR-IN-T RAINING!!
    â€œWe’ll spend the
whole
summer together!” Charissa shrieked, leaping to her feet. “Is this the best present ever, or what? Camp Bentley has arts and crafts, and relay races, and there’s swimming time
every
day . . .”
    Gladys sat stone-stiff, trying to process the words on the paper. She got sunburned after about one minute outside, was a terrible swimmer, and hated being in big groups. Camp sounded like her own personal nightmare; in fact, she’d been refusing to go for years, even when her parents begged her to try it. For the last couple of summers,