"You found what in the woods, exactly?"
"It was a tiny little hippo!" Ripley exclaimed, a goofy grin spread wide across her face.
"Like, a baby hippo?" Jen asked, arms crossed. "In a North American pine forest?"
Ripley shook her head and spread her arms out wide. "No, grown up hippo, but, like-" She brought her arms back in and held two fingertips barely apart. "-Wicked small." She whispered dramatically.
"Mhm." Jen said in reply. "So you want me to abandon all my duties here at camp, trudge several miles into the woods with you, on the off-chance that we might see some tiny mammal that shouldn't even be in a forest, let alone this kind of forest?"
Ripley smiled and nodded. "Yep!"
Jen sighed and rubbed her temples. "Which way did you say it was?" She asked, reaching for her pack.
/
"Ripley, you said you knew where you were going! We've been walking for nearly forty-five minutes now." Jen said, her brow furrowed in frustration. "I think it might be time to go back to camp. We can try hippo-hunting tomorrow."
"No no no!" Ripley said frantically. "It's just a little further, I swear!" She tugged on Jen's sleeve. "C'mon, it's not even dark yet!" She pleaded, making her eyes as big and adorable as she knew how.
"Fine, fine, a little further. But at the first sign of sundown, we're going back. Deal?"
"Deal!" Ripley said, pulling Jen into a thicket of trees before letting go and pointing toward a small ridge. "See? It's right there! Come on, Jen!" She took off, sliding down the ridge and disappearing behind it.
"Ripley!" Jen yelled and ran after her, sliding down the ridge and barely catching herself at the bottom, stumbling before righting herself and dusting off her skirt. "Sweet Mary Anning, Ripley, you could have gotten yourself…" She said, trailing off as she took in the sight before her.
There was a small, seemingly handmade wooden table, with balloons and streamers tied to either end. A huge cake took up most of the center, with the words "Happy Birthday Jen" carefully painted on in icing.
Jen looked to her right to see Jo, April, Mal, Molly, Ripley, and Barney all standing with gifts. "I… forgot my own birthday." Jen said to herself softly.
"That's okay! We didn't!" Ripley said with a big smile. "There's no tiny hippo, though. Sorry."
Jo spoke up next. "We hope you like it, Jen! Barney made the table. We had no idea they even had their carpentry badge but we thought it looked great!" She said, earning a blush from Barney.
Jen wiped tears from her eyes and sniffled. "It's amazing." She said, pulling them all into one big hug. "Thank you, nerds." She said, with a smile.
"You're welcome, Jen." They said in unison.