Barbara Kay tells her friend, Nancy, the good news - that she can go to camp, and the bad news - that she may not go to Eastpointe High with her. She doesn't know why. Nancy guesses that it is because she can't always be counted on. The girls shop for camp clothes. Barbara spots a carnival and gambles the money that should have been spent for camp treats. To earn money for camp, she takes cousin Teddy to a magic show. She decides being responsible is no fun.
The girls are taken to camp and meet their cabin mates. They become guides for a Cambodian girl, Tran Duc. She gets a hit playing baseball, and the girls scream, "Run." She does; she runs and hides. Barbara is commended because she runs for adult help in the situation.
Denise pushes Barbara in at swimming test time. Barbara gets angry because she can't swim. Counselor, Ms. Pearl counsels her, "Every person you meet and every situation has a lesson you can choose to learn, or not."
Barbara helps a messy campmate, and she begins to understand how her mother feels when she does not take care of her belongings.
Barbara and Karen arrange to trade jobs. Barbara forgets. Both are restricted, and have to write notes about what they should have done differently. Barbara finally writes that she learned she must keep her promises.
During a scavenger hunt, Tran Duc is injured far from camp. Barbara shows her ability to act responsibly by using her compass to take a shortcut back to camp for help. The night of the last campfire she is given a surprise honor.
She ignores a deadline for packing her bedroll. While laboriously toting her pack to the parking lot, she thinks about how learning to be dependable is kind ofa zigzag path. Do you think that people are going to be able to depend on Barbara in the future? More importantly, do you think she will be able to depend on herself?