Howdy, folks! This is my first Camp Lazlo fanfiction, so please be nice. This story is mostly about my fan character, Karen McGrowl, and her family. Since most people don't know about her, this is the perfect opportunity to learn about her life.

So, enjoy and review after each chapter please. Since there are only three chapters for this story, it won't be too hard. Ok? Thanks!

Disclaimer: Neither Camp Lazlo nor its characters belong to me. They belong to Joe Murray and Cartoon Network (bless you). Karen, however, does belong to me since I created her. Please ask before you use her in your fanfictions. I would very much appreciate it.

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Chapter 1: Family Matters

It was the early afternoon of a day in mid-July when Lazlo, an optimistic monkey, was running in a field of colorful flowers and laughing cheerfully. He sat down to rest on the soft blanket of fresh flowers and soak in the amazing atmosphere. At times like this, he wished that every day was like this. After a moment of tranquil thought, Lazlo stood up and ran again.

It didn't take long until something interesting up on a tree branch caught his eye. He climbed the tree to see who or what it was and found a familiar girl holding a flat object. He smiled and decided to greet her.

"Hi, Karen! What are you doing?" Lazlo asked the girl.

This girl, known as Karen, turned to glare at the monkey. It was obvious from the pointy ears, orange fur, and long tail that she was a cat, and her uniform hinted that she was a Squirrel Scout. As soon as she saw who spoke to her, she stopped glaring at him.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, Lazlo! What are doing here?"

Lazlo shrugged. "I dunno. What's that in your hand?"

Karen quickly realized that the object in her hands was still showing, so she hid it behind her back. "It's...nothing...none of your business!" A strong gust of wind blew the object out of her hand and towards Lazlo.

Lazlo caught the object and saw that it was a colored photo of two grown cat people, one that was male and the other female, two young cats of different genders, and a kitten in the grown female's arms. All of them had orange fur except for the young male cat, who had gray fur. Out of curiosity, Lazlo asked Karen, "Is this your family?"

Slightly embarrassed, Karen snatched the photo from Lazlo and looked down. "Yeah, that's them. Pretty pathetic, eh? This was taken the day before…before…"

Lazlo blinked. "Before what, Karen? Please tell me."

"Before my parents became criminals, got arrested, and sent to prison! Now are you satisfied?" Karen jumped down from the tree and marched off angrily, leaving Lazlo bewildered by that fact. 'No wonder Karen's so tough,' Lazlo thought to himself.

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I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I guarantee that the next chapter will be longer. Please R&R, and limit on the flames. Besides, all flames will be used to burn the marshmallows. Raj would not like his marshmallows to be burned…