The Camping Trip: Chapter 1
****
RING-RING-RING!!
"All right. Now settle down, class. Now before we get back into our unit in parallelograms, we need to discuss the provisions you are to bring for the five-day trip," Ms. Haruna said as the bell rang and the class quieted. "Remember to bring a sleeping bag, extra blanket, et cetera. The trip is tomorrow and we board the buses at eight, so don't be late."
In the back of the class, a hand came up. "Ms. Haruna, about the cabins, are we doing co-ed or in groups, or..." Duo Maxwell inquired.
Ms. Haruna answered with, "We're doing co-ed this year. You will all be notified of whom you will be staying with tomorrow on the bus. Any other questions?"
Another hand came up, this time, from the front of the class. "Where exactly will we be camping, Ms. Haruna?"
"Well, Serenity, we will be staying near the ford in the river and during our stay, we'll be looking at magical runes and learning about them. You are to script a paragraph about each symbol, inscription, or incantation we encounter. The district has defrayed all the costs for this trip, so your parents don't need to worry about any costs. The only thing you need to be aware of is that this location is the unfortunate heir to a few pest problems. If any of your cabins are infested with insects or anything of such, tell me or one of the parents who volunteered to go with us and we'll do something about it. We'll be doing things there the old-fashioned way. Collecting faggots and sticks for firewood and such. Also, we'll be importing some supplies from other schools for our trip. At the finale of the trip, we'll have bannocks and collect small-flowered heathers to use in crafts."
Serenity Tsukino nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Haruna."
Ms. Haruna acknowledged her and then said, "Now, class, take out your mathematics books." The class groaned and was reluctant to do so, but did none-the-less.
****
After a long bus ride, and many rows between two of the class troublemakers, Duo and Wufei Chang (the racket loud enough to wake up an entire neighborhood), the class finally arrived at the camp site. They were instructed to replenish their energy and lay back at their cabins to unpack.
Among those running towards the cabin were Serenity and her new co-ed partner, Heero Yuy. They were loping through the flat terrain, luggage in hand, and were quietly discussing their "extracurricular" activities they take on during the night. Or in other words, their missions.
"Unfortunately, Treize is still alive," Heero stated in his gruff monotone. "It is imperative that he is annihilated as soon as possible. Also, OZ is working on constructing more bases around the world. One is quite near us in this area. Our next mission is to eliminate them with the other guys. They know of this already."
"The constructors used to be students of the doctors before, right?" Serenity continued when Heero confirmed it. "Then why did they become OZ soldiers?"
"I'll need to look that up on my laptop when we get to the cabin. Is yours with you?"
"Yes, it's in one of my scanty bags. It's too bad Ms. Haruna didn't allow us to bring much. And that's our cabin on up ahead." Serenity pointed at the small shack about a few yards in front of them.
They jogged up to it and carefully opened the thick door, looking inside. Seeing that there was nothing wrong with it, they stepped inside and put their things down on the two beds in the one-room building. Serenity opened one of her bags and took out a pencil and a journal, quickly inscribed some of her thoughts onto the paper and then shut it. Then she took out her silver-colored laptop, like Heero had done before.
"Well, it seems like the two former students of the doctors, Ann Burrows and Alan Thomas, had purloined a few things from them and had lost their trust. They were ashamed after that and were quite easy to persuade. Treize, the venerable and influential figure he is, got to them as they were in their vulnerable state. They are almost equal in abilities to us, having been trained, and are quite dangerous to have around on the opposite side of this," Heero said after about ten minutes of searching around on his laptop.
Serenity nodded and turned back to her own laptop.
They both were hacking into a few OZ systems when they heard the bell ring, signaling that it was time to head back to the center of the camp, where they were be separated into groups and explore the small forest next to them. The two quickly hid their laptops beneath their cot and ran back to the campfire, meeting up with their friends, Duo, Trowa Barton, Quatre Winner, and Wufei.
When they reached their destination, Ms. Haruna told them to gather in groups of six and head off into the forest to explore. Naturally, Serenity, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei went together, heading into the density of trees.
They were all examining a slender-billed thrush singing when they heard a few guffaws, loud and unpleasant laughs. It came from a little ways to their right and they went to investigating, their hearts palpitating with excitement. They g-group (Serenity and the guys) were cunning in their advance, so the men that they heard were unaware of their presence until g-group jumped out from behind them and knocked them out.
"Definitely OZ soldiers. Now, they were coming from this direction," Serenity pointed to their right. "And were heading that way." She pointed to their left.
"So then let's split up in two and do a little more investigating. I'll go with Wufei and Trowa. Serenity, you go with Heero and Duo. And guys, if you come upon the base, notify us so that we can come and back you up. Be careful and we need to get back to camp before anyone suspects anything. Okay?" Quatre suggested as he pointed to the small watch on his left wrist. Each of the six nearly identical watches were used for communication between them. The only differences were the specific colors each had.
They all nodded and went on their way...
To be continued...
****
RING-RING-RING!!
"All right. Now settle down, class. Now before we get back into our unit in parallelograms, we need to discuss the provisions you are to bring for the five-day trip," Ms. Haruna said as the bell rang and the class quieted. "Remember to bring a sleeping bag, extra blanket, et cetera. The trip is tomorrow and we board the buses at eight, so don't be late."
In the back of the class, a hand came up. "Ms. Haruna, about the cabins, are we doing co-ed or in groups, or..." Duo Maxwell inquired.
Ms. Haruna answered with, "We're doing co-ed this year. You will all be notified of whom you will be staying with tomorrow on the bus. Any other questions?"
Another hand came up, this time, from the front of the class. "Where exactly will we be camping, Ms. Haruna?"
"Well, Serenity, we will be staying near the ford in the river and during our stay, we'll be looking at magical runes and learning about them. You are to script a paragraph about each symbol, inscription, or incantation we encounter. The district has defrayed all the costs for this trip, so your parents don't need to worry about any costs. The only thing you need to be aware of is that this location is the unfortunate heir to a few pest problems. If any of your cabins are infested with insects or anything of such, tell me or one of the parents who volunteered to go with us and we'll do something about it. We'll be doing things there the old-fashioned way. Collecting faggots and sticks for firewood and such. Also, we'll be importing some supplies from other schools for our trip. At the finale of the trip, we'll have bannocks and collect small-flowered heathers to use in crafts."
Serenity Tsukino nodded. "Thank you, Ms. Haruna."
Ms. Haruna acknowledged her and then said, "Now, class, take out your mathematics books." The class groaned and was reluctant to do so, but did none-the-less.
****
After a long bus ride, and many rows between two of the class troublemakers, Duo and Wufei Chang (the racket loud enough to wake up an entire neighborhood), the class finally arrived at the camp site. They were instructed to replenish their energy and lay back at their cabins to unpack.
Among those running towards the cabin were Serenity and her new co-ed partner, Heero Yuy. They were loping through the flat terrain, luggage in hand, and were quietly discussing their "extracurricular" activities they take on during the night. Or in other words, their missions.
"Unfortunately, Treize is still alive," Heero stated in his gruff monotone. "It is imperative that he is annihilated as soon as possible. Also, OZ is working on constructing more bases around the world. One is quite near us in this area. Our next mission is to eliminate them with the other guys. They know of this already."
"The constructors used to be students of the doctors before, right?" Serenity continued when Heero confirmed it. "Then why did they become OZ soldiers?"
"I'll need to look that up on my laptop when we get to the cabin. Is yours with you?"
"Yes, it's in one of my scanty bags. It's too bad Ms. Haruna didn't allow us to bring much. And that's our cabin on up ahead." Serenity pointed at the small shack about a few yards in front of them.
They jogged up to it and carefully opened the thick door, looking inside. Seeing that there was nothing wrong with it, they stepped inside and put their things down on the two beds in the one-room building. Serenity opened one of her bags and took out a pencil and a journal, quickly inscribed some of her thoughts onto the paper and then shut it. Then she took out her silver-colored laptop, like Heero had done before.
"Well, it seems like the two former students of the doctors, Ann Burrows and Alan Thomas, had purloined a few things from them and had lost their trust. They were ashamed after that and were quite easy to persuade. Treize, the venerable and influential figure he is, got to them as they were in their vulnerable state. They are almost equal in abilities to us, having been trained, and are quite dangerous to have around on the opposite side of this," Heero said after about ten minutes of searching around on his laptop.
Serenity nodded and turned back to her own laptop.
They both were hacking into a few OZ systems when they heard the bell ring, signaling that it was time to head back to the center of the camp, where they were be separated into groups and explore the small forest next to them. The two quickly hid their laptops beneath their cot and ran back to the campfire, meeting up with their friends, Duo, Trowa Barton, Quatre Winner, and Wufei.
When they reached their destination, Ms. Haruna told them to gather in groups of six and head off into the forest to explore. Naturally, Serenity, Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei went together, heading into the density of trees.
They were all examining a slender-billed thrush singing when they heard a few guffaws, loud and unpleasant laughs. It came from a little ways to their right and they went to investigating, their hearts palpitating with excitement. They g-group (Serenity and the guys) were cunning in their advance, so the men that they heard were unaware of their presence until g-group jumped out from behind them and knocked them out.
"Definitely OZ soldiers. Now, they were coming from this direction," Serenity pointed to their right. "And were heading that way." She pointed to their left.
"So then let's split up in two and do a little more investigating. I'll go with Wufei and Trowa. Serenity, you go with Heero and Duo. And guys, if you come upon the base, notify us so that we can come and back you up. Be careful and we need to get back to camp before anyone suspects anything. Okay?" Quatre suggested as he pointed to the small watch on his left wrist. Each of the six nearly identical watches were used for communication between them. The only differences were the specific colors each had.
They all nodded and went on their way...
To be continued...