Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Camp. Camp Camp is owned by Rooster Teeth Productions.
Chapter 1: An Offer They Can't Refuse
The bell in the center of the camp struck eight times as the campers all hurried to the space right outside the mess hall, all lined up perfectly straight and tidy as they were taught to.
Their Flower Mother, Penelope Priss, stormed out from her cabin to the meet up circle, her hair still frizzy and her tired eyes apparent. She grumbled to herself before taking a large swig of a tomato cocktail from a thermos and speaking in her sweet motherly tone. "Good morning, Flower Scouts!"
"Good morning, Ms. Priss," the scouts responded with a curt bow.
"Listen up real good, ladies. Time for serious talk," she stated before taking another large gulp of her morning brew. "This year's Golden Daisies Extravaganza is coming up real soon. For all you newly inducted Flower Scouts, that translates to one day of demonstrating how refined and better we are than the other troops!"
"Ms. Priss," a Flower Scout shyly interjected. "What do we have to do for this event?"
"Simple, my dear Lizzie. It means that we have to prepare a talent show featuring all of our best skills put together. And we have a great reason to win: this year's prize is a first! The troop who wins the Extravaganza enjoys a week-long, all-expense paid trip to the Grey Mountain Spa and Resort!"
The Scouts screamed in excitement at the sound of the prize. No one could deny that it would be a great honor to attend one of the country's most luxurious spa resorts, much less ignore the fact that it would immortalize the troop as the first in Flower Scout history to attend the resort thanks to their efforts. All eyes were on the prize now.
Penelope gathered the excited spirits of her troops together. "All right girls! What are we going to do?"
"Win that contest!"
"And who's gonna come out on top and go to Grey Mountain?"
"We are! Troop #789!"
The girls shouted with pride and rushed off to their tents to plan out their attack plan for the Extravaganza, but not before Penelope had called out once again.
"Sasha, Erin, Tabii. You girls stay. I have some business with you."
Sasha's look of excitement had quickly swapped out for one of confusion. "Are we in trouble, Ms. Priss?"
"Oh, far from it. There's a few certain details I didn't mention to the other girls about the contest that I can only trust with you three. Meet me in my cabin one hour after curfew. I'll explain more then."
The cool night brought silence to the camp ground, a stark contrast from the bright energy radiating from the sun and campers before. A crescent moon shone a white glow on the towering pine trees surrounding the camp, with small fireflies dancing around the ground and dimly illuminating the brown and green path of the site.
Three figures had quickly rushed out from the flap of their tent and hid in every nook and cranny they could find between their starting point and their goal. Sasha led out in front, constantly checking their surroundings for any late-night stragglers besides them. She gave the signal to move forward with Erin and Tabii sticking to her like shadows as they dashed through the darkness and braked in front of Penelope's cabin.
Sasha quickly looked around one last time before using the secret knock she learned: two slow knocks, stop, three fast knocks, stop, four slow knocks, stop, and one final knock. The door swung open, revealing the shadowy figure of her Flower Mother as she searched the immediate surroundings for any unwanted attention.
"Get in. Hurry."
The three Scouts rushed inside the cabin as the door swung shut as quickly as it opened. The cabin of their leader was as magnificent yet trashy as they imagined it: a mahogany floor with stains of tomato juice and questionable fluid, a queen-sized bed with a comfortable amount of pillows and a myriad of fashion magazines scattered atop a violet satin bed sheet, a dark cherry wood dresser with a few unmentionables hanging from the slides, and a large collection of pictures and trophies decorating a large part of the opposite side of the cabin, featuring snapshots of a young Penelope in her golden youth with a prize-winning smile and a bubbly personality that was lost somewhere in the pages of time.
Penelope sat on her desk chair right next to her wall of accomplishments and picked up the cigarette she was enjoying that was placed on her oak wood desk. She took a long drag before speaking again.
"Listen good, you three. I might have been all peppy and supportive in the morning, but this is no laughing matter. I will have this troop be victorious and get me that spa week. I don't know why our previous trip to Cabo was suddenly cancelled since we clearly won that battle, but I'll be damned if I go another week without my monthly ritual of much-needed decompression." Another long drag from her cigarette strengthened the irritating smell of smoke in the air. "You three are going to make sure we win."
Erin was the first to speak. "What do you mean, Ms. Priss?"
"What I mean, my dear girl, is this: our current priority is learning about our enemies' plan to win the contest and putting a stop to it. Each Extravaganza has always been a stressful race to the finish. Although last year our troop finally won for the first time in our troop's history, we can't let that stop us from pushing harder. If what I've gathered from the monthly meetings with the other Flower Mothers is true, then they have all come up with some new, fresh ideas to wow the judges this year."
"And let me guess," Sasha cut in. "You want us to scout our other troops, see what talents they're trying to come up with, and potentially sabotage them so we're the only ones able to perform."
Penelope shot daggers at the Flower Scout. "What did I say about interrupting?"
"Oh, please, Ms. Priss," Tabii had finally spoken up, her voice apparent with annoyance. "We didn't keep ourselves up close to midnight and lose out on beauty sleep just for some petty plan for making sure we dominate the competition."
"And you didn't. If you all had let me finish, you'd know that this is not just to secure our right place in first. This is about revenge," she finished with a devilish smirk.
Erin and Tabii stared wide-eyed at their leader while Sasha looked less than impressed and sighed with exasperation. "Tell me it's not that Suzie Mendez again."
"Who else could it be about? That skank has always gotten in my way ever since community college. Always being the leader of one of the top troops on the West Coast, with strong cookie sales each year, being an official ambassador for five countries, being happily married – which I don't believe for a second – and even 'earning' the chance to be in the running for Flower Queen next year." She crushed her lit cigarette in her fist. "That bitch needs to die."
"Look, Ms. Priss," Sasha started with her resolution. "I understand that you don't get along with all of the Garden Mothers and would much rather drink yourself 'til you black out again than sit in the same room as Suzie Mendez, but I'm not about to put my life and image as a Flower Scout on the line just 'cause there's a bitch you wanna strangle. Now if you excuse me," she signed to Erin and Tabii, "we have to wake up bright and early to start thinking of what to do to win the Extravaganza." She turned away from Penelope and headed to the door. "We're out, girls."
"Not so fast," Penelope shot out with a hard stomp of her heel. "I know that this is pretty risky territory I'm having you girls enter, so allow me to sweeten up the deal for you girls," she quickly added.
Sasha stood still, her hand already ready on the cabin's doorknob. Erin and Tabii could only look conflicted and look back and forth between their friend and their leader.
Penelope cleared her throat. "Do this for me, and I'll give you girls a nice gift: access to the Flower Mother's Association Club for the rest of the summer."
Erin and Tabii gasped loudly, and Sasha slowly turned to face Penelope again, her expression wide with shock.
"You really mean it, Ms. Priss?" Erin inquired, her eyes filled with glee. "Y-you'll really give us all-summer access to the Association Club?"
Her leader chuckled with wicked pride. "That's right," she sang. "You girls will get to experience all the privileges that I and all other Flower Mothers can enjoy. You'll be able to network with all the other troops in the country and enjoy your time with them; you'll go out on all the events they host, like trips to theme parks, scuba diving in Hawaii, skiing in the Poconos and all that fun stuff!"
Tabii joined Erin in having bright stars in her eyes from just hearing the offer. Sasha could feel the temptation pulling at her heart. A cross-country trip was one of the things to do on her bucket list, and the reality of being able to do that just after starting high school was beginning to sink in and take control of her will.
"And," Penelope continued, "If nothing in this country pleases you, you're more than welcome to catch a flight and attend one of our growing locations somewhere in one of our fifty-seven countries. There's really almost no limits to what you can do with my level of access."
Erin and Tabii hugged each other and jumped in glee. Sasha looked at her friends and wanted to join in the pre-celebration of going all over the world this summer, but there was still a sliver of doubt still hanging in her heart.
"And if we get caught?" She broke the cheer with a dead silence.
Penelope pondered for a minute. "Well, should worse come to worse, I can just bribe one of the few lawyers I know personally and bail you out. We may have to play with the system a little and wipe your records clean of ever being part of Troop #789 if that happens, but hey. You gotta give a little to get what you want, right?" she finished with a naughty smirk.
Fear now apparent on the visage of all three Scouts, Sasha shot back. "Are you fucking serious?! If this all goes to hell, we have to start all over again?!" She could already imagine the act of giving up her sash with eighty-seven badges on it, the pride and joy that she delicately cared for after years of training, effort, bargaining and work she had invested in. A small wave of nausea attacked her head.
A light shrug came from the Flower Mother. "Like I said, gotta give a little to get what you want. It's your choice to make, girls."
Sasha's breathing had quickened as panic finally settled in her system, her nervous eyes quickly shooting towards her friends. "Huddle, NOW!"
Erin and Tabii quickly formed a ring with Sasha away from Penelope, whom could only hear fear in the young girls' whispered voices. After a minute or so of murmuring and arguing, the team broke apart and faced her together.
"All right. You win. We'll take this 'job'," Sasha had conceded.
Penelope's full-on smirk had developed into a wicked grin. "Excellent choice, girls," she chuckled. "You won't regret making this decision."
"Well, I hope not," Sasha replied, already feeling like she signed a contract with the Devil and was only going to be cheated at the end.
"Now listen, you must leave immediately," Penelope started. "The Extravaganza takes place in a little less than a month, and there's already so much for you to do. You'll have to go to each troop, report back to me as to what they're planning and find a way to stop and/or destroy their efforts without a trace of you three ever being there. And don't get caught now. Or no Association Club for you three."
Erin and Tabii looked at Sasha, who could only sigh deeply. "Understood."