Chapter Eight
"Wake up! Wake up!" Ino said, slamming a pillow onto my back.
I groaned and lifted my leg, kicking her away.
"Andi, come on. It's seven oh four," Ino said.
I sat up and yawned. "Then why didn't the loud, blaring thingy go off yet?" I asked, eyeing them suspiciously, convinced that they were tricking me.
"It's broken. Some twelve year olds tried to blast I'm on a Boat at four this morning, but were stopped by Iruka-Sensei," Sakura explained. "The kids accidentally broke it while trying to escape."
"Oh, that sucks. I love that song," I said, reluctantly getting out of bed. "Uh…if it's broken, then how are all you awake?"
"Cell phones," they all said simultaneously while lifting their phones up. "Too bad you don't have one."
I scoffed. "Tell me something I don't know…"
"Yo, Andi!" Kiba said, punching my upper arm. "Wake up."
I tear my gaze away from the eggs that I was picking at and stare tiredly at Kiba. "What?"
"Why are you so tired?" he asked.
"I share a cabin with two girls who love to gossip more than anything. They gossip about a certain person. Over and over again. I do not get to sleep because of this gossiping. Good night," I said, pushing my plate away and letting my face hit the table.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
"Naruto, if you don't stop poking me, I'll kick you where the sun don't shine," I muttered, not lifting my head.
"Aw…how'd you know it was me?" he asked.
"You're sitting next to me genius," I replied.
"Oh, right," Naruto said with a chuckle before resuming eating.
"You should eat Squirt," Kankuro said, reaching across the table and poking my head. "We have a busy day."
I sighed and lifted my head. "Fine…but don't call me Squirt," I said, picking my fork up and stabbing my eggs.
"But you are a Squirt," Kankuro said, smirking.
I just scowled and got back to eating.
"Cannonball!" Choji yelled, running past me and making a giant splash as he entered the pool. I shivered as the freezing cold water struck my arm, but I jumped in nonetheless. There is no way in hell that I'm going to get hurled in again by the muscular fish-man…
"Hey, hey! Let's play volleyball!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "Can we Kisame-san?"
Kisame grinned, revealing his sharp teeth. "Of course! I'll get the net!"
"We should pick teams," Kiba said.
"Yeah, but there are fifteen of us. One team would have more than the other," I said.
"I volunteer to not play," Shika said, raising his hand and leaning on the pool edge. "You know, so the teams are even…"
"Me too!" Choji said.
"Oh, look it's uneven again. I'm out too!" Ino said, joining the two boys at the pool's edge.
Neji sighed. "Anyone else out?"
Shino and Hinata swam over to the pools edge. I took a double take of Shino, shocked I hadn't noticed before. His giant coat was gone! Well, duh, since he's in a pool, but damn! That kid is built! Everyone here is, thanks to their ninja skills…
"Okay!" Kiba said. "It'll be me, Naruto, Sasuke, Neji and Kankuro against Sakura, Tenten, Andi, Gaara and Lee!"
"Gee, you definitely don't have a stacked team," Sakura muttered sarcastically. "It's going to be Team 7 plus Kiba and Andi against Team Sand and Team Gai."
"Team 7, Sand, and Gai? What?" I asked, confused.
"Oh, when cabins split into groups of three for activities, we're given names," Sakura said. "Me, Naruto and Sasuke are team 7. Kiba, Shino and Hinata are Team 8, Ino, Shika and Choji are Team 10, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari are Team Sand and Lee, Neji and Tenten are Team Gai."
"But you're gonna be a member of Team Sand now, Squirt," Kankuro said. "Because you're replacing Temari, since she moved up to counselor."
"Oh, okay. And stop calling me Squirt!" I whined.
"Why do you get Sasuke, Naruto and Kiba?" Kankuro demanded of Sakura.
"Because we have two girls on our team. Plus, you have Neji and Lee," Kiba said.
"Oh, aye. Just because we're girls means we obviously suck at more at volleyball than you guys," Tenten muttered sarcastically.
"I'd agree with you, but I really do suck at volleyball," I said, nodding at Tenten.
She just chuckled. "So does Gaara," she said, pointing to the bored looking redhead standing in the shallow end.
"Here's the net!" Kisame said, walking out of the pool shack with a net wrapped around him and making him stumble. "Stupid…freaking…net…" he muttered, fumbling with the net and trying to untangle himself. Then he tripped over the net, falling forward into the pool. "KUSO!" he yelled right before he struck the water.
"What does that mean?" I asked Sasuke.
"Shit," he replied.
"Kuso, hm? I need to remember that…" I said, tapping my chin.
Sasuke just smirked and rolled his eyes at me.
"Okay! It's untangled!" Kisame announced, finally freed from the complicated net. "I just need to set this up here…and here…" he murmured, attaching the net to the metal poles.
"Here's the ball," Kisame said, tossing it to Gaara, who caught it without a word.
He nodded at Kisame in thanks before tossing it up into the air. He jumped out of the water partway and swung his arm, serving the ball over the net to Naruto.
Naruto's at the ball in a flash, sending the ball back over the net. Kankuro gets it and hits it over the net, where it's sent back by Sasuke. I stood there, shivering slightly in the cold water while the others played. It was mainly Sasuke, Naruto and Kiba vs. Lee, Kankuro and Tenten.
"Well this is exciting," Sakura said from behind me.
I turned around to face her. "Yeah…I haven't hit the ball once…" I said with a sigh.
Sakura smiled. Then her eyes widened. "Andi, look out!"
"Wha-?" I whip around just in time for the ball to smack me in the face. "…Ow."
"Andi are you okay?" Tenten asked, looking worried. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
I held up one hand and held my nose with the other. "I'm fine. Can I get a sub please?" I asked, wading over to the side of the pool. Choji nodded and took my place, and I leaned against the pool's edge.
"Andi, let me see it," Sakura said, swimming over to me.
I shook my head. "Nope," I said, refusing to let her see my nose. "I'm good."
"Andi," Sakura said sternly. "I have some medical training. Let me see it."
"Um…" I said, I took a deep breath and quickly jerked on my nose, wincing in pain as it cracked back into place. I removed my hand and looked at Sakura. "See? It's fine!"
"Oooh…" Hinata said, getting woozy and fainting on Shikamaru.
"D-don't crack bones like that!" Ino exclaimed, wincing and holding her own nose, as if I were going to reach out and crack her nose.
"Sorry," I said with a shrug.
"Sakura come on!" Naruto yelled. "We need to get back to the game!"
"Coming, Naruto!" Sakura yelled back swimming over to them.
After swimming, we were sent over to a giant, smelly old barn. My nose wrinkled in disgust…it smelled like those llamas from the corral had been here. "Eesh it smells!" I exclaimed. "What are we doing here?"
"Hello," a man with a scar across his nose said, grinning in a friendly manor. What was his name again…?
"I'm Iruka-Sensei!" he said, nodding at me since everyone else knew him.
"Sensei…why does it seem that our group is always the one stuck with this job?" Ino asked.
Iruka shrugged. "It was Lady Tsunade's idea. Sorry," he said.
"Wait," I said, looking around. "What are we doing here?"
"Well, Andrea, we always have a dance on the Saturday between the two weeks that campers are here," Iruka explained. "And so we randomly pick a cabin family to clean it up and decorate."
"Randomly my ass," Naruto muttered, only to have Iruka whack him in the head with a stick.
"If cabin families help clean up," I said. "Why doesn't Kurenai-Sensei, Kakashi-Sensei or Asuma-Sensei help?" I asked.
"Good question!" Iruka said. He glanced furtively around. "It's because they're lazy. Kakashi is always reading his book and Kurenai and Asuma-" he stopped talking abruptly and covered his mouth, not wanting to say something.
"What about Kurenai-Sensei and Asuma-Sensei?" I asked him.
"Oh, nothing," he said.
"They're making like Deidara's art in the woods," Kankuro said with a snicker. "Bang!"
Kiba, Naruto and I started laughing while the rest of the campers either smirked or rolled their eyes. Iruka, on the other hand, decided to yell.
"Kankuro Sabaku! You do not say stuff like that about your Cabin Counselors!" he exclaimed, red in the face.
"Neither of them are my Cabin Counselors," he said with a shrug. "I've got Kakashi-Sensei."
Iruka glared. "It doesn't matter! They're still a part of your Cabin Family!" He wiped the spittle from his mouth before continuing. "And, for saying such a thing, you and your group will be working on the top floor, sweeping away cobwebs and setting up the lights and sounds!"
Gaara and I turned slowly to glare at Kankuro. "You're dead," we said simultaneously.
Kankuro, Gaara and I are up on the beams supporting the roof, getting rid of cobwebs and the like. Thus far I have stepped on three dead birds and a dead squirrel. Thank god I decided to wear sneakers instead of flip flops today…
We have no harnesses or anything to keep us from falling. It's only a fifteen foot drop! But there's hay on the bottom…but still! I'm clinging to a pole for dear life while Kankuro and Gaara are easily walking along the beams, sweeping away cobwebs, dead animals, dust, etc.
"Come on, Squirt," Kankuro said. "Stop hugging that pole."
I just shook my head, staring over the edge.
Kankuro smirked. "You're gonna turn me on if you don't let go of that pole."
I glared and released the pole, marching across the beams as far away from Kankuro as possible. "Jerk," I muttered, kicking a dead bird off of the beam and hearing a shriek below. I dropped onto my stomach and cupped my hands over my mouth. "Sorry Sakura! It was an accident, I swear!"
"Andi! When you get your ass down here, my foot is going up it!" Sakura screeched, wiping the feathers out of her hair.
"Heheh…I think I'll just stay up here then," I said, standing back up and picking up my garbage bag containing the dead animals.
"Hey Andi," Gaara said, getting my attention. "Come here."
"…Why?" I asked suspiciously. Gaara and Kankuro were trying their best to look innocent…but innocence and the Sabaku brothers don't exactly go together.
"Just come here," Kankuro said, beckoning me over.
I sighed. "Okay, okay, I'm coming," I said, slowly crossing over to them. "What is it?"
Kankuro's arms went around my waist and hoisted me up. I let out a shriek while Gaara grabbed one leg and Kankuro moved his hands from my waist to the other leg.
"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, my hands latching onto their heads as I was lifted higher.
"Stop pulling my hair!" Kankuro grunted. "We need you to go into the crawlspace and hook the wires up, since some rodent or something messed with them."
"Why the hell do I have to do it?" I asked, crouching as they lifted me as high as they could. I was avoiding the crawlspace like the plague.
"You're the smallest, genius," Gaara muttered. He then grunted in pain as I tugged on his hair. "So get in the hole already!"
"No, Andi won't fit. The hole's too small, Andi is too big!" Tenten said, staring up at us from the ground.
"That's what she said!" Kankuro and I said at the same time, me laughing despite the scary situation I was in. Kankuro took advantage of the fact that I was laughing to throw me up toward the crawlspace.
Not wanting to fall and crash down to the floor below, I instinctively threw my arms out, grabbing the wall and hoisting myself in.
I gasped for air, inhaling dust and cobwebs in the process, sending me into a coughing fit.
"You okay up there Andi?" Kankuro yelled up to me.
After the coughing fit subsided, I nodded, though he couldn't see me. "Yeah. But I swear to god, Kankuro. If I crawl through some animal droppings or something, I'm going to shove them down your throat."
Gaara snickered.
"Same goes to you, Gaara!" I said before hesitantly crawling forward, being very careful to keep an eye out for nasty animal-related substances.
"CAW!"
"Aughh!" I shrieked, shielding my face. There was the flapping of wings and then silence.
"Andi?" Kankuro exclaimed worriedly. "What's going on?"
I slowly opened my eyes and put my hands down, laughing shakily. "N-nothing. I just saw a bird…and it cawed in my face…"
"Gee don't scare us like that," Kankuro said. "I thought some axe murderer was up there with you."
"Aw gee thanks Kankuro. Now I feel soo much safer up here…" I muttered sarcastically, pressing on.
I arrived at the dusty old power box and stared quizzically at it. There were red, blue, yellow, black, white and purple wires sticking out every which way. "Um…guys?" I said, raising my voice so that they could hear me. "I'm at the box. What the hell do I do now?"
"Oh! Hold on," Iruka yelled. The rustling of paper could be heard. "Red chords to the blue socket, blue to black, black to white, white to yellow, purple to red and yellow to purple!"
"…Okay!" I yelled, hooking them up as he said. "Now what?"
"Flip the big black switch and then turn the knob!" he yelled up.
I did as he said and the machine began humming as it turned on. "Okay! It's done! Can I get out of here now?" I yelled through the cracks.
"Yup!" Iruka yelled back.
I sighed in relief and crawled through the little tunnel toward the light and peered down. "How am I supposed to get down?" I asked.
"Jump," Kankuro said with a shrug. "We'll catch you."
"Ha ha…no," I answered flatly. "I choose life, thanks."
"Come on Andi," Gaara said. "How else are you going to get down?"
"Uh…" I said, thinking hard. I sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll jump. But if you drop me and I die, I will haunt you guys for the rest of your life," I said.
"Yeah, yeah," Kankuro said, waving his hand dismissively. "Just jump, Squirt."
Muttering curses under my breath, I gulped and slid off of the edge, hanging down with my hands holding onto the edge. I took a deep breath and let go, dropping a few feet before being caught by Kankuro and Gaara.
I let out a sigh of relief as soon as my feet were planted firmly on the ground, albeit that the ground was actually the ceiling, but I digress.
We spent the next two hours cleaning out the filthy barn. Honestly, if they host a dance every year, then why do they let it get so messy? They should just have routine cleanings every other month or so, so that the campers don't have to do it…
Lunch was pizza with whatever we wanted on top. I had sausages, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and basil on mine and damn was it good!
"Andi! Kurenai-Sensei said she'll take us shopping for the dance!" Sakura said after lunch.
"I don't have money with me," I said.
"Why not?" Ino asked. "I never go anywhere without my credit card…"
"Uh, yeah. I don't have one. Besides, I didn't think I'd need to bring cash to a summer camp," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning against the wall of the mess hall.
"You can borrow some of my money," Hinata said.
I smiled at her. "Thanks, but I really don't even need to buy anything. And I've never been a fan of shopping," I said…which was true, but it wasn't the whole truth. I was tired, so I figured that while they were out shopping, I could crash in the cabin and catch up on sleep.
"Alright kids," Kurenai said as she and Asuma emerged from the bushes. "We're done planning for the party now, so we can go shopping."
"I didn't know party planning involved banging," Kankuro whispered to me.
"It depends what kind of party you're going to," I whispered back with a snicker. He chuckled.
"Andi isn't going with us," Tenten said. "She doesn't like shopping, and she doesn't have money with her."
"Oh, Andi…will you be alright with us leaving you behind with the boys?" she asked, eyeing the crowd of ten boys.
I nodded. "No big deal. I hang out with a bunch of guys all the time," I said with a shrug.
"Well, if you're sure…" she said, looking at me and giving me one last chance to go with them.
"I'm sure," I said with a nod. "Have fun."
"Shopping!" Ino squealed, hugging Sakura quickly before dashing off in the direction of the parking lot toward Kurenai's car.
The rest of the girls and Kurenai grinned before walking off after her, leaving me behind with the boys, Asuma and Kakashi.
"So you hang out with boys a lot, eh?" Kiba asked. "What do you do with them, hmm?" he asked with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm on an all boys hockey team you perv," I said, flicking him in the nose. "If I can handle twelve guys who love nothing more than ramming people into the boards, I think I can handle the ten of you."
He scrunched his nose up and jerked his head back, rubbing it in discomfort.
"Alright, settle down," Kakashi said. "Let's get to the next class."
"Next…class? But I thought we were done! That's why the girls left, right?" I asked.
Asuma shook his head. "Nope. The girls do their shopping when we have a combined Wilderness and Outdoor Nature class that lasts like four and a half hours."
My jaw dropped. Four…and a half…hours…with Tobi and Zetsu…?
"It'll be fun!" Naruto said, slapping me on the back while Sasuke brought his hand to my chin and shut my mouth. "After the hike, we get to swim in the lake!"
"How long is the hike?" I asked.
"Ten miles!" Lee exclaimed.
My eyes bugged out.
"Round trip, of course," Neji said, smirking.
"Damn…" I muttered.
"Hello everybody!" Tobi exclaimed excitedly while Zetsu just nodded at us. "Are you all excited for you- wait! There's a girl here! I didn't notice because of your hat, Andi-chan!"
…Chan?
I sighed. I was wearing my black and white skull baseball cap that my sister Marian had given me, sideways. Apparently that made me look like a boy…
Naruto laughed and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Yup! Andi here would rather go on a ten mile hike and swim in the lake instead of shopping!"
"Such youth!" Lee exclaimed, holding a fist up in front of his face.
"Okay! Let's move out!" Tobi said, spinning on one heel and walking away.
"Tobi…" Zetsu said in a deep voice. "We need to go over safety, remember?" he asked in his other voice.
Tobi halted mid-step and swiveled around on one foot again, facing us this time. "Oh! Right! Thank you, Zetsu-san!"
He marched back over to us and reached into his backpack, which was still on his back, and began struggling. Half of Zetsu rolled his eye while the other half chuckled.
I couldn't help but find that…weird. But I'm getting used to it.
Zetsu placed a hand on Tobi's shoulder, putting a cease to his struggling. Zetsu reached into Tobi's backpack and handed him a clipboard.
"Right! First things first!" Tobi said, reading the paper. "Everyone get with their traveling buddy!"
"Who?" I asked.
"Basically, since the girls aren't normally here, we just get into our regular groups, minus the girls. But since you're here, you're with Kankuro and Gaara," Shika said, nudging me in their direction.
"Yo," I said, nodding at them.
"Don't wander off of the trail," Tobi continued. "Avoid poison ivy and poison oak, don't touch the wild animals, don't eat the mushrooms on the side of the trail…"
"Why would they need that rule?" I asked, referring to the mushroom rule.
Gaara just nodded in Choji's direction.
"Ah…" I said, nodding.
"And if you have to pee, bring a buddy!" Tobi finished.
"…You're joking, right?" I asked.
Tobi cocked his head to the side. "Hmm…you shouldn't use the bathroom without a buddy…but there aren't any girls here besides you… ah, just hold it in if you have to go!" he said, smiling cheerfully before spinning around and beginning his march.
"Words of wisdom," I said, shaking my head and following the guys, standing between Kankuro and Gaara with Asuma and Kakashi behind us with Zetsu at the very rear.
"Are we there yet?" I asked Zetsu.
"…"
"Are we there yet?" I asked again.
"…"
I sighed. "Dude, I know you at least speak English…" I whined. "Hey, how do you say 'are we there yet' in Japanese?"
"Mada tsuka nai no," Sasuke replied easily.
"Oh!" I said. "Eh…how do you know Japanese so well?"
"I live in Japan," he replied offhandedly.
I stared slack-jawed at him. "You came all the way over to the States for Summer Camp?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Why not?"
I just stopped in my tracks and watched him walk away.
A hand clapped against my back. "Have money, will travel," Kankuro said matter-of-factly.
"I guess so," I said, finding it hard to believe that he would come all the way over here to spend two weeks at camp…
I cleared my throat. "Hey, Zetsu-san. Mada…tsuku…no…nai…?" I asked him.
"It's Mada tsuka nai no,baka," Sasuke called over his shoulder.
"Oh, whatever. Are we there yet?" I asked in English, since I obviously failed Japanese.
"…"
"Tell me again…why am I the only girl on this hike?" I asked them.
"Because, Andi," Naruto said. "The other girls wanted to go to town to buy supplies and whatnot for the dance this weekend and you didn't."
"…Oh. Right," I said, nodding. We had been hiking for about three miles, and I have successfully gotten a rock stuck in my shoe with no intention of coming out, no matter how hard I try. I've stumbled over tree roots and walked into spider webs, but I haven't shrieked girlishly.
After that experience in the crawlspace, I think I can handle a mere spider web…
As we continue our hike, I can't help but zone out, thinking about what would have happened if I had decided to go shopping with them instead. Sure, I don't like malls or shopping period, but surely it'd be better than trudging five miles to the lake and then five miles back. I mean, what is po-
"Gah!" I yelp, placing my foot down wrong and flying face first into the dirt.
"That's what happens when you daydream while hiking…" Kankuro said, sighing and coming to a halt beside me.
"Shut up," I muttered, placing my hands on the ground and pushing myself up. I stood up, felt an icy feeling in my ankle, and collapsed sideways into Gaara.
"Whoa," Gaara said, catching me and helping me stand again. "You okay?"
I nodded and took a step forward and yet again felt the icy feeling in my right ankle. I started to fall again, but arms wrapped around my waist and gently sat me down on the ground.
"Calm down Andi," Kakashi said, crouching beside me on the ground. "Tobi!"
Tobi, who was at the front of the group, turned around and ran over to us. "What's the problem?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and looking down at me.
"Check her ankle out, would you?" Kakashi asked, standing and leaning against one of the trees.
Tobi dropped down into a crouch in front of me and his face changed completely. It was no longer goofy and carefree, but observant and serious. He reached out and grabbed my ankle lifting it slightly off of the ground.
I hissed in pain.
"Relax, Andi-chan," Tobi said in a very serious voice. "I just need to check to see if you broke it."
I bit my lip and nodded, and he began to slowly rotate my ankle, kneading his fingers into it, feeling the bones.
"Hmm…" he said, gently placing it back on the ground. "You just twisted it, but you won't be able to walk on it…Once we're at the beach, you can swim around in the water to strengthen it without exerting pressure on it."
"Um, Tobi-san? How will I get to the beach if I can't walk?" I asked him.
His eyes lit up and the serious expression melted away into his normal, happy face. "One of Andi-chan's friends will carry her!" he said, jumping off the ground and heading back to the front of the group.
"Uh…" I never got to ask my question because I was scooped up and slung over someone's shoulder, giving me a perfect view of their ass.
"Oi! Kankuro! Get your ass out of my face!" I exclaimed, trying to lift my body up so I wouldn't be too near it.
"Actually, Squirt," Kankuro said. "It's your face that's in my ass, not the other way around…" he said with a chuckle.
I snarled and made a fist, punching the back of his knee cap. He stumbled a bit but didn't lose his footing. "Tsk. That wasn't very nice."
"Yeah, well neither is your ass," I replied.
He chuckled. "On the contrary, Squirt, I was told numerous times by numerous girls that I have a very nice ass…"
"Were they blind?" I muttered.
Kakashi, Asuma and Gaara chuckled, and Kankuro swiftly raised his shoulder, nailing me in the gut and making a very unladylike "Oof!" escape my lips.
"Isn't there another way to carry me?" I asked. "That doesn't involve my face being in such close proximity to your ass?"
He came to an abrupt halt, and I shut my mouth, worried that I'd upset him and he'd just drop me. What he did instead was sling my body around as if it were nothing and began carrying me piggy-back style.
"Is this better, Squirt?" he asked, tilting his head back to look at me.
I nodded and rested my chin on his head, my arms draped loosely around his shoulders. "Yup!"
I smiled when we arrived at the lake. There was a giant stretch of sand with several large rocks overhanging the lake that you could sit on or jump off of into the lake. The waves were crashing gently against the shore and rocks, not wildly like it sometimes does.
Kankuro put me on a rock before he shed his shirt and shoes and cannonballed into the lake with a loud "Wahoo!"
Within no time at all, everyone, Senseis included, was in the lake…except for me and Gaara.
"Aren't you going to go in, Gaara?" I asked him. He was sitting on the big rock next to mine, knees up and arms loosely wrapped around them as he stared at the lake.
He just shrugged. "Probably not. What about you? Don't you need to strengthen your ankle?"
"Oh, right," I said. I gingerly pulled off my socks and sneakers, keeping my tank top and shorts on, before crawling over to the edge of the rock and dropping into the water.
After a few minutes of swimming, I was able to stand on it again.
By now, Gaara had removed his shoes and shirt; he was just sitting on the rock boredly.
"Gaara, come on in! The lake is way warmer than the pool!" I called up to him.
"Yeah, come on Gaara!" Naruto yelled.
"Yes, Gaara. The water is wonderful!" Lee agreed as he clambered onto a rock. I looked away. I am still not used to seeing Lee in a tight green speedo. Lee took a deep breath before running and jumping back into the lake.
"I'm fine, really," Gaara said.
"Psst, Andi," Choji said, poking me in the side.
"What?" I asked, spinning around to face him.
He leaned forward and whispered in my ear. I snickered and nodded and sneakily exited the water.
"Come on, lil bro! Just get in the lake!" Kankuro yelled.
"Come on Gaara," Sasuke said. "If I'm in, you have to come in too."
"Likewise," Shino said with a nod.
Gaara just shook his head, his gaze locked on the horizon.
I, meanwhile, had come up behind him, creeping stealthily until I was directly behind him. "Gaara!" I yelled, startling him enough for him to drop his guard, enabling me to push him into the lake. He grabbed my arm on the way down, and the both of us went crashing in to the eight foot deep water.
We both surfaced and began spitting out water and gasping for air. Screaming whilst falling into the water is never a good idea…unless, of course, you like mouthfuls of dirty lake water…
"Andi…" Gaara said, glaring at me.
"…Yes?" I asked innocently.
He just grabbed my shoulders and dunked me under water. I came back up laughing and a dunking war commenced.
After swimming for a good half of an hour, the counselors made us leave the lake.
"Okay!" I yelled, getting one more dunk in on Sasuke before running to the safety of the beach, clothes dripping wet. Sasuke, once he surfaced, threw a chunk of seaweed while he was coming out of the water.
I made a disgusted face and peeled it away from my body and dropped it onto the sand.
While the guys were busy pulling their shirts on, I was peeling my tank top off and squeezing it dry before pulling it back on and doing the same with my shorts.
"Towels," Kakashi said, tossing small hand-towels to each of us.
We ran the towels through our hair and over our bodies. I sat down and dried my feet thoroughly before pulling my socks and sneakers on, because nothing is more uncomfortable than hiking with soggy sneakers.
"Okay! Buddy up and let's go!" Tobi said, one hand in the air as he spun around and began the hike through the woods.
We grabbed our buddies and slowly trudged after him, disappointed at having to leave the lake.
After walking for about a mile, Kankuro began whining.
"Man…I'm tired…" he complained, wiping away beads of sweat. He looked at me, a devilish glint in his eyes.
"…Kankuro? Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, sidestepping away from him and closer to Gaara.
He smirked. "No reason, Andi. Why do you ask?"
"Gah! You called me Andi! You only call me Squirt unless it's a serious situation or you're planning something evil!" I declared, scooting closer to Gaara.
Kankuro stopped, looking hurt. "Aw gee Andi. That was mean…"
"Sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to-!"
I was cut off by Kankuro jumping up and latching onto my back, piggy-back style.
"K-Kankuro!" I exclaimed, stumbling forward due to his weight and then pitching sideways. Gaara quickly stepped out of the way, and Kankuro and I tumbled down a little hill, hitting logs and rocks and god knows what else on the way.
When we finally rolled to a stop, Kankuro was no longer attached to me. I was face down in the dirt, and he was on his back.
"Kankuro…" I began, voice muffled.
"Yeah?" he asked weakly, turning his head to face me.
"You're an idiot."
"Yeah. I know," he agreed, forcing himself into sitting position. He stood up and bent over, helping me up.
"Oh man that was awesome!" Naruto yelled, standing at the top of the ridge and pointing down and laughing at us.
Kankuro and I exchanged glances and picked up a few of the bigger sticks and began chucking them at him and anyone else that was laughing.
When we finally made it back to the campsite, everyone else was already at dinner. We were a bit late because of some, ah, minor detours. Naruto thought he knew a shortcut. He didn't.
"You guys are late!" Tenten said as we strolled into the mess hall as dessert was being passed out. "What took you guys so long?"
We all just pointed at Naruto, who chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Oops?"
Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to me. "So? How was the hike?"
I thought about it. Bug bites, bruises, stick fights, water-dunking-wars, piggy-back rides, getting lost and getting stuck in a mud puddle. "…Awesome!"
