Title: NOTHING HAPPENED
Author: Molly Booth
Pub. Date: May 15, 2018
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: 336
This modern-day retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing takes place at the idyllic Camp Dogberry, where sisters Bee and Hana Leonato have grown up. Their parents own the place, and every summer they look forward to leading little campers in crafts, swimming in the lake, playing games of capture the flag and sproutball, and of course, the legendary counselor parties.
This year, the camp drama isn’t just on the improv stage. Bee and longtime counselor Ben have a will-they-or-won’t-they romance that’s complicated by events that happened—or didn’t happen—last summer. Meanwhile, Hana is falling hard for the kind but insecure Claudia, putting them both in the crosshairs of resident troublemaker John, who spreads a vicious rumor that could tear them apart.
As the counselors juggle their camp responsibilities with simmering drama that comes to a head at the Fourth of July sparkler party, they’ll have to swallow their pride and find the courage to untangle the truth, whether it leads to heartbreak or happily ever after.
CHAPTER 11
Claudia
IT TOOK TWENTY MINUTES to get the re going, but in the meantime, we got a show: Ben and Bee attempting to start it together.
“Shouldn’t we be building a pyramid?”
“Are you seriously using a lighter?”
“That kindling is green.”
“Back up. Do you want to burn your eyebrows o ?”
I thought about helping, but their arguing actually produced a
well-constructed camp re.
The island is small, maybe less than half a mile across, and in
the middle, there’s a re pit with log benches circled around. I sat across from Hana, too nervous to attempt sitting next to her. The re popped, the stars came out, and Donald passed out beers like it was Halloween and we were trick-or-treaters. Bee let him, and then situated the beer cooler in the clumps of bayberry bushes behind us.
“Stop being paranoid!” Donald laughed. “The police are not going to show up on the tiniest island ever in northern Maine and card us.”
That got a laugh from the group. But I kind of understood it. Bee was the camp directors’ kid. She needed to set a good example. Of hiding the alcohol.
Claudia
IT TOOK TWENTY MINUTES to get the re going, but in the meantime, we got a show: Ben and Bee attempting to start it together.
“Shouldn’t we be building a pyramid?”
“Are you seriously using a lighter?”
“That kindling is green.”
“Back up. Do you want to burn your eyebrows o ?”
I thought about helping, but their arguing actually produced a
well-constructed camp re.
The island is small, maybe less than half a mile across, and in
the middle, there’s a re pit with log benches circled around. I sat across from Hana, too nervous to attempt sitting next to her. The re popped, the stars came out, and Donald passed out beers like it was Halloween and we were trick-or-treaters. Bee let him, and then situated the beer cooler in the clumps of bayberry bushes behind us.
“Stop being paranoid!” Donald laughed. “The police are not going to show up on the tiniest island ever in northern Maine and card us.”
That got a laugh from the group. But I kind of understood it. Bee was the camp directors’ kid. She needed to set a good example. Of hiding the alcohol.
70
Claudia
Once everyone was settled in around the re, and the bug spray had been passed around, Bee opened a beer for herself and raised up the can.
“To Camp Dogberry, the most beautiful place in the world.”
A murmur of agreement.
“To old friends returning, new CITs coming—”
“Our fresh crop of servants,” Donald interjected, to a round of
cheers.
“And our beloved campers, soon to be here, to make us want to
give up and torch the place.”
Another cheer.
“And to summer.” She paused, to look up at the sky. Then she
grinned at Hana. “This summer.”
A toast of cans smacking into each other.
Bee was right. We only had one summer. Who knew what would
happen after that?
Across the re, I watched Margo whisper something to Hana.
She smiled in reply. Hana didn’t laugh a lot, not unless she was really comfortable. She mostly smiled. Tonight, her dark, curly hair was pulled back from her face and hovered loosely on her shoulders. Her skin was already starting to tan from hours on the water this week. I wanted to run my ngers down her arms, then catch her hands at the bottom.
“Hey, Claudia, can you pass me a beer?”
I looked up. John. I grabbed him a beer from the cooler and another for myself. I opened mine and drank half in one go. I needed to calm down.
Hana, so pretty. So perfect. Calm down.
“Claudia?”
Once everyone was settled in around the re, and the bug spray had been passed around, Bee opened a beer for herself and raised up the can.
“To Camp Dogberry, the most beautiful place in the world.”
A murmur of agreement.
“To old friends returning, new CITs coming—”
“Our fresh crop of servants,” Donald interjected, to a round of
cheers.
“And our beloved campers, soon to be here, to make us want to
give up and torch the place.”
Another cheer.
“And to summer.” She paused, to look up at the sky. Then she
grinned at Hana. “This summer.”
A toast of cans smacking into each other.
Bee was right. We only had one summer. Who knew what would
happen after that?
Across the re, I watched Margo whisper something to Hana.
She smiled in reply. Hana didn’t laugh a lot, not unless she was really comfortable. She mostly smiled. Tonight, her dark, curly hair was pulled back from her face and hovered loosely on her shoulders. Her skin was already starting to tan from hours on the water this week. I wanted to run my ngers down her arms, then catch her hands at the bottom.
“Hey, Claudia, can you pass me a beer?”
I looked up. John. I grabbed him a beer from the cooler and another for myself. I opened mine and drank half in one go. I needed to calm down.
Hana, so pretty. So perfect. Calm down.
“Claudia?”
About Molly:
Molly Booth (she/her/hers) writes books about Shakespeare and feelings. She's the author of Young Adult novels SAVING HAMLET (2016) and NOTHING HAPPENED (5.15.2018), both published by Disney Hyperion. In high school, she was a stage manager for three different community theatres, which almost killed her. She graduated from Marlboro College and went onto study more Shakespeare (twist!) at University of Massachusetts Boston. Molly is a freelance writer and editor and has been published on TheMarySue.com, McSweeneys.net, HelloGiggles.com, and various other websites. She co-hosts a Bardcentric podcast, Party Bard, and directs a lovely, hilarious, and fierce group of homeschooling teen Shakespearean actors. She also speaks and teaches workshops at schools, colleges, bookstores, book fairs, camps, and libraries. Molly lives in Massachusetts, where she spends a lot of time with family and friends, and the rest attending to her queenly cat and loaf-of-bread-shaped dog.
Literary agent: Alex Slater at Trident Media Group.
Literary agent: Alex Slater at Trident Media Group.
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