A Rare and Precious Gift
Note: Sorry I took long to get it done, I was away for 2 weeks that's why.
Deep in Prickly forest, the birds are singing and chirping around, the insects are crawling and fluttering around and the critters are scurrying around looking for food or scouting the area and...music? Oh yeah...there is music in the forest. It's the sound of the strumming of a guitar, from a Bean Scout with blue hair and he's none other than Allan the hare scout from Camp Kidney sitting on a rock and strumming his guitar which attracted all the forest creatures to him like a magnet. "Ahhh...music to my ears makes me feel peace in my heart." he said to himself as he played some music in front of the forest inhabitants.
At Acorn Flats...
"Bye Almondine, I'll be back in a while."
"Ok, see you later Amber."
Watching Amber leave Acorn Flats, Almondine gave a thumbs up signal and Jane Doe quickly gathered all the Squirrel Scouts for a short meeting. "Okay Squirrels, as you know, today is Amber's birthday! Yayyy!" All the Squirrel scouts cheered with excitement. "Now continuing, we will throw her a surprise party tonight." They cheered louder with excitement. "Also, I had invited the Bean Scouts to join the celebration. That way it'll be lots of fun. Ooohhh! This is going to be so exciting!." That part of the speech, made all the Squirrel Scouts shriek with horror except for Patsy who enjoys seeing one Bean Scout she likes greatly.
Now back to the Prickly Forest scene...
One thing's for sure about Amber, she loves nature. In the forest itself, she can be seen smelling flowers, admiring the trees and the leaves, examining rocks, playing with the butterflies(Like for instance, allowing them to land on her ears) and...music again? Oh well she heard it anyway and it's the same as just now back at the scene but this time, she heard singing and it's a beautiful singing voice she's hearing right now until..."SQUISH!" "Huh?" Oops. Turns out she stepped on a tail of a copperhead snake making it angry as it slithered towards her. "AAAAHHHHHHH!" That was Amber as she ran from the scaly reptilian but tripped over a small rock injuring her right knee as a result. Then the copperhead raised it's body up, ready to bite her when..."HYEAAA! KICK!" Looking up, she gasped upon seeing Allan deliver a flying kick on the snake sending it crashing onto a tree. Ouch. It hurts real badly as the snake slithered away quickly.
After that nasty experience, "You okay?" asked Allan.
"Uhhh...yeah, OUCH! my knee!" cried Amber as she clutched onto it feeling the pain.
"Hold on, I'll take care of this." said Allan as he dug through his pockets and took out a bandage a small bottle of alcohol. After apply a few drops on the bandage, he carefully placed it on her knee saying: "This might a bit but it'll do the trick." he then helped her up carefully ensuring that she walks slowly to prevent the increasing pain on her knee.
As they walked together, "So we meet again Amber."
"And...thanks for what happened just now."
"No problem, I'm always there to help others."
"You do?"
"Yeah. My parents taught me to help those in trouble or in need and to protect the defenceless. In doing so, there will be honour and trust. Used to earn respect and speaking of which, why are you alone in the forest."
"Well I came here to enjoy nature."
"Nature? Wow, now we both have something in common."
"Hold on? We?!"
"Well yeah, I sometimes play my music and hang out with my little friends who enjoy it." To prove it, he took out his guitar case which was strapped behind his back, opened it, took out his guitar and sang:
I'm singing a song all about nature
It moves my heart to enjoy the creations...
As he sang, all the birds, insects and critters all appeared and surrounded Allan enjoying his singing and music. Amber couldn't help but enjoy it too until he stopped suddenly. Seeing this confused everyone until he opened up his hand and to their surprise, an eagle egg landed on his palm.
"Gimme a second." he said as he then jumped up on a nearby tree, branch to branch just like on the first day. Amber and the forest inhabitants watched as he did it with agility and balance until he stopped at a branch which has an eagle nest. Carefully, he placed the fallen egg back onto the nest and the mother eagle(who has been watching him) rubbed it's beak smoothy and softly on his blue hair as a way to thank him. After that, Allan jumped off the branch and landed on his feet without a scratch similar to the first day.
After his amazing 'performance', all the inhabitants cheered and then left leaving the hare and rabbit scouts alone.
"Now back to the topic, you also enjoy nature right? Well, why don't you explain to me your way of enjoyment?"
So Amber told him her way of enjoying nature in which she revealed something special. "Often times I collect rocks to bring back to camp to analyse and study it's natural structure. However, there is one I long to see and analyse it and for some reason the rock that I've been searching for some time was where I was named after."
"Interesting." thought Allan upon hearing her sentence. Then, he plucked a dandelion and blew it dispersing it's seeds. "Now that's cool." Amber exclaimed.
"Yeah, and thanks for sharing your way of enjoying nature and besides it's fun that we get to interact with each other by sharing our enjoyments. Right?"
That surprised her in shyness. Sensing it, "Well never mind about what I said earlier, gotta go and see you again sooner or later I hope." Wasting no time, he took out his skateboard(which is blue and has a yellow lightning bolt design on the base and underneath it has the letter "A" in red)from his guitar case(For some reason, it also can be stored into it) and skated off doing stunts along the way leaving Amber with thoughts about him.
Later at Camp Kidney...
When Allan skated back to camp, he saw all the Bean Scouts making preparations. He then met up with his gang and the jelly trio. "Hey guys, what's with all those multi-coloured wrapped presents you're working on?"
That surprised them. "Haven't you forgotten that we are invited to a Squirrel Scout's birthday party?" asked Raj.
"Or let me guess, you are not paying attention to the announcements a few days ago about the party." stated Lee.
Allan was thunderstruck about what they said as he recalled that...
(Flashback) a few days ago...
"Now as you know we are invited to celebrate a Squirrel Scout's birthday and..." While Scoutmaster Lumpus was doing the talking, Allan however was into his music player listening to Yiruma's "River flows in you" music and...
OK, back to the present day...
"Okay... I might have slipped off a bit." admitted Allan. "So anyway, what's the name of the Squirrel Scout we are invited to attend her birthday?"
"Well according to Patsy, Amber is the Squirrel Scout we are invited to attend." answered Lazlo.
That made Allan gasp. "Hey! what's with that shocked expression of yours?" asked Brandon.
"I...uh..." That's when he took his skateboard and skated off immediately without a word.
"Is he out of his mind today?" asked William.
"Come to think of it, mentioning Amber's name in front him..." wondered Recon. "Wait a second, could it be that Allan is..." Yeah, you just wait and see for yourself...
Leaving Camp Kidney by skateboard...
"Her birthday is today!? Why didn't I think of that when I was with her just now and how can I get her a present in no time?!" Allan thought to himself as he skated his way to Prickly Pines.
At Prickly Pines...
Once Allan arrived, he overheard 2 of the residents chatting about a gift shop that opened yesterday and immediately skated around town to search for the place. It didn't take long as the place is located beside the bar. Emptying his pockets, he found out he's cashless making him feel heartbroken until..."CRASH!"
Hearing it, Allan looked up and saw 2 thugs leaving the gift shop each carrying a sack containing some stolen goods.
"HA! HA! HA! I guess robbing doesn't hurt a thing if you ask me boss!" said the first thug who is a shaggy-furred dog.
"That's right! and you know the saying: "A thief cannot leave empty-handed." agreed the second thug who is a messy grey-furred wolf.
"And you know the saying: "Justice is served." said a voice.
"HEY! who said that?" asked the wolf.
"I did!" and then, a flying kick was delivered onto the wolf as a special delivery attack sending him into a trash can.
"Wow boss you sure got trashed big time." said the dog until..."POW!" he was punched onto the trash can sending it up in the air and dumping it's contents(including the big one) onto the dog and "CRASH!" went the trash can as it landed on the head of the wolf while the lid hit the dog like a cymbal. All those watching the showdown turned to Allan who was cracking his knuckles as he said: "Looks like I took out the trash." Soon the police arrived and arrested the thugs(They are also wearing anti-stench suits to bear the smell from the thugs as they stink big time) and as since Allan took care of things from here, the owner of the gift shop who is a white swan repaid him the favour.
"Thanks for what happened just now. In return, I will let you choose a gift you might want and it will be complimentary for you in my shop."
"It is a honour." thanked Allan as he bowed to her and she brought him in. As he stepped in, he saw a lot of gifts varying in their different shapes, sizes, textures, colours and their price. Examples like cards, books, collectibles, valuables like rings & earrings and many more random trinkets. Using his vision, Allan scanned the whole shop for a while until he caught something that drew his attention. On a shelf, there are rare and precious stones laid in a row and one of the stones is coloured yellow and orange and is exquisite despite being irregular.
"I'll take this!" he declared.
"Well...uh...it's not for sale..." but the swan did some quick-thinking and after a few minutes, "Okay! It's all yours then!" She took the precious stone and placed it in a box. Also because she stated to Allan that he can choose a gift for free, she immediately sent him off giving him some wrapping paper as it was said that they are complimentary to anyone who made any purchase in the shop. So Allan managed to get a gift through a miracle which is aka a good deed and it is a rare and precious one somehow. Wowww...
OK, back to where he was. Leaving Prickly Pines, Allan skated his way back to camp with thoughts in his head. "Something tells me that the stone I got must be the one Amber was named from! For some reason, this will be a rare and precious gift I had finally got for her. Oh yeah, this will be a one heck of a surprise when she opens it on her birthday tonight."
Now let's head to Acorn Flats to check things out shall we?...
Back at Acorn Flats, Amber was still thinking about Allan's words when she returned and up to now still recalled his words as she stayed in her cabin to ponder for a while. Then Almondine showed up and asked: "So how was it Amber?"
"Well It went well as always Almondine."
"I see and hey! What happened to your knee?"
"Oh I tripped and injured it."
"Then, who helped you bandaged it?"
Upon hearing that, Amber was silent and as for Almondine, she continued to spend some time with her forgetting about the question she asked while at the Food Terrace,(which is an alternate version of the place where the girls had their meals, similar to the Mess Hall in Camp Kidney.) Jane Doe is planning the surprise party by preparing the refreshments with Patsy, Nina and Gretchen while the rest worked on the decorations with Miss Mucus. Right now, the girls are taking a break and there is a conversation between Patsy and her friends.
"You know, it will be better if those rotten Bean Scouts don't show up at the party tonight!" complained Gretchen.
"But Gretchen, we can't object to it since it was Miss Doe's idea to...
"Oh shut up Neckerly! There's got to be a way to...(Pause)Yeah right people, she would rather call Nina her surname. Seriously. Ok, back to the conversation...
"Never mind about that, besides, what I realize somehow is that things had changed between us and the boys this summer and I wonder why but..."
"Patsy has the point. The boys built a dodgeball court with their bare hands and a bit of tech in the last fanfic." said Nina.
"Oh yeah, I remember that game since I socked that loudmouth platypus big time!" recalled Gretchen with a smirk. After all that talking, they decided to help their scout mistress with the birthday cake and it's a grandeur. eh? and seriously it can't be described that much. Well, off to the next scene here we go!...
Ok, back to Camp Kidney...(sigh)
Now that Allan has finally got a present for Amber, he first decided to make it look neat. So now that he reached Camp Kidney, he skated straight to his cabin. There, Recon was playing "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" in his X-box 360 (ironically, the X-box 720 was not yet released so it's clearly unknown on when's the release date of it.)
"Recon! you're workshop is open?"
"Sure, the light is still on after I installed a rock polisher to it."
"Dude, thanks!"
"No problem, oh! pwned again! hahaha! Oh yeah! Eat my AK-12! wahoo!" Looks like Recon is going haywire over the game so Allan decided to get started. "Oh yeah, one last thing, be at Acorn Flats by 7:30pm."
"Gotcha!" Allan called out as he stepped on a red button on the cabin floor and a hatch opened up and he jumped in. You remember the first day of summer break Recon installed a basement in their cabin Right? Well now, you get to know what's in the basement. Inside contains a science lab, a pool table, several gym equipment, another hatch to get out of the basement to the campground and finally, the workshop he mentioned just now to Allan and so Allan quickly wore a pair of safety goggles and went to work. Taking out the stone, "All it needs is a little polishing and cutting and an inscription to make it look perfect on the outside and the inside." he said as he started the polisher machine. "Besides, it wouldn't take long to get the job done in no time." Really eh? let's find out as time flies...
After using his painstaking effort, "Finally! yes!" he exclaimed removing the goggles and examining the new stone which was cut into a regular shape and it has an inscription which must not be named yet because when he looked at the time, "WHAT?! OH NO! I'M SO LATE!" he yelled. Keeping the stone back in a box and wrapping it with the paper he got for free just now swiftly, Allan grabbed his skateboard and present and leaving his cabin, he skated off to Acorn Flats hoping that he'll make it.
Now back to Acorn Flats again...how tiring can it be?(sigh...)
Exactly 7:30pm, the Bean Scouts arrived and they all brought their presents and laid them on a corner with the Squirrel scout's. Right now at 7:45, the scouts are chatting among themselves while waiting and for Jane Doe and Lumpus...
"So Miss Doe, uh, shall we begin the celebration?"
"Oh yes indeed Loumpus! I see Almondine coming with Amber! Quickly everybody, lie in wait and somebody turn off the lights because once Amber comes in and turns on the light, we will all shout a 'surprise' in front of her!"
"Uh, it's Lumpus. Oh whatever." said Lumpus as everybody got into position and the lights are off.
Outside, Almondine and Amber are on their way to the Food Terrace. "So what's the surprise awaiting me?" asked Amber. "You'll see for yourself." answered Almondine as they arrived and she opened the door for her friend. "Gosh it's really dark." said Amber as she tried in vain to search for the lights and after finding it, she flicked it on and...
"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMBER!" Looking in front, she saw boys and girls and their scout leaders and their assistants cheering with happiness.
"Oh wow! What a surprise!" said Amber who was slighty displeased to see the boys but cheerful to see her friends.
"We've been preparing for this day to come." said Patsy. The other girls agreed to the extent that the party was well-organised until...
"Oh and Loumpus, I trust that every Bean Scout is here?" asked Jane Doe Upon hearing that, he whispered to Slinkman about it and he replied: "Well sir, one is uh, I hate to say it but he's missing." That shocked everybody but how did they know it even though this is only between Lumpus and Slinkman? Then for the BRAWL gang...
"Hey Recon, you told Allan the time right?" whispered William.
"Yeah, I wonder if he got my word?" whispered Recon.
"Probably he turned a deaf ear which is defined as a phrase to ignore one's words." whispered Lee.
"Grrr... if he doesn't show up soon, his adventure ends." whispered Brandon. "If only I could smell his presence...You will Brandon, you will...
Now outside the area...
"Almost there!" thought Allan as he continued skating faster in a frenzy since he's arriving at Acorn Flats. Back there, "Eh? I smell his presence!" exclaimed Brandon. Everybody stared at him thinking that he was dreaming but however outside, Allan finally reached his destination but met with an accident. As he entered the area, his skateboard tripped over a stone. "AAAAAHHHHH!" That was him alright, being sent flying to the Food Terrace. There, "Uh-oh, he's gonna break through the door! thought Brandon and he yelled:"CLEAR THE WAY! CLEAR THE WAY!." but everybody just ignored him until, "CRASH!" Allan broke through the door and bowled over the dung beetles, the loons and the lemmings and landed in front of Amber. "STRIKE!" cheered Bill the aardvark scout.
Now back to the scene, "Allan Shinobi Ryugasaki Fukami. I must say that I am really disappointed with you!" shouted Amber but not so loud.
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry I'm late for 15 minutes." apologized Allan as his present dropped in front of her. Seeing it displeased the Squirrels over the size but Amber doesn't mind any kind of gift as she decided to open it first as a way to forgive Allan. "Wow...that is one miniature present you've got." she said. "Yeah about that, just open it."
Ok he said it, so Amber opened it and a blinding flash flooded the whole place nearly blinding everyone and after 5 seconds, it faded away revealing the regularly shaped precious stone with the inscription: "AMBEROX!"
"What the heck?" exclaimed Gretchen. "What kind of birthday gift is this?!" Everybody upon hearing it stared at Allan while Amber examined the stone and suddenly exclaiming between pauses. "Oh wow! That...is...the...best gift ever!." That sentence made everyone stop and stare at her. "So you like it?" asked Allan. "I do! It's exactly what I've been wanting to see with my own eyes since I was named after it.' answered Amber. The next thing Allan knew it, she suddenly gave him a warm hug and all he can do is turn red and smell her curly, light, pink hair sighing to himself, "Oh wow she smells like rainbows naturally." To top it off, their ears are touching each other that's all.
Well the party went well socially as Lazlo and Patsy are sharing a piece of cake together romantically, Recon showing his design works from his laptop to Nina and teaching her a bit of tech or two and even Lumpus and Jane Doe had a drink or two as a way to enjoy themselves. "So much fun!" said Lumpus as he continued drinking with his love interest.
At about 10pm, it is time for the Bean scouts to head back to camp and turn in for the night. "That was some party." said Samson. "Right Edward?"
"Yeah, not bad if I say so myself." answered the platypus as he polished off the last pepperoni pizza and he and the guinea pig joined the others to the bus. Behind them, a very drunk Lumpus followed behind staggering around and saying Jane Doe's name over and over again while Slinkman tries to guide him back to the bus effortlessly. Nearby, the BRAWL gang was waiting for their leader who was hanging out with his love interest.
"Arigato for the party Amber."
"What does it mean Allan?"
"It means "thank you" in Japanese. Well gotta go and see you again tomorrow." Smiling, Amber gave him another warm hug with the same effects from just now and the BRAWL gang now understand the shocked expression he had just now. As Allan joined them, "So, you've got yourself a girlfriend right?" teased William. "Shut up we're just friends but...but he turned and smiled at Amber who was watching him and she smiled back. Seeing this, Almondine asked: "So you like him don't you?" "No we're just friends but... "Oh come on I can tell you like him because first you're names starts with "A", second your names have 2 vowels and 3 consenants and finally while you're hugging him, both of your ears are touching each, therefore, it's a sign of a relationship between you and him." explained Almondine.
"So you're telling me that...we're in love?" asked Amber. That's when Jane Doe overheard their conversation and exclaimed:" Oh Amber! To be young and in love! So romantic!"
Upon hearing that, "I'm not in-" but looking at the precious stone Allan gave her made her realize that, "I guess so..." she thought and she even smiled about it as she watched the bus drive off back to Camp Kidney.
THE END
