A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back from vacation. *sigh* It was wonderful, wish we could have stayed even longer. Anyway, here's the next chapter - it's not my best, but it'll have to do, I still have the beach on my mind. Thank you for reading, and as always, thanks for the reviews. I'd like to ask those of you who haven't reviewed to please do so - there are over 300 of you reading, and at least 130 have it marked as a favorite, but the reviews have dropped. Chapter 6 had 43 reviews, then they dropped to around 21 for Chapters 7 & 8. You all know I love reviews...so please? Thanks!
(Previously):
"So tripping Mike wasn't enough, you had to hang his underwear for the whole world to see? Don't you think that's a bit much?" I pressed.
"In my honest opinion, neither action was enough - but I'm willing to give him a chance to redeem himself before we take any further action. Besides, it's not like we told the kids who the underwear belonged to - nobody knows except for those that need to know," Edward replied, leaning towards me as he grinned crookedly. There he goes dazzling me again, forgetting any of the pity I'd had for Mike just moments earlier...
"Yeah, well I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, Edward. Newton may have been humiliated this morning, but there were some serious vibes of revenge coming off of him too - just as they still are," Jasper murmured, while softly tracing the outline of Alice 's hand.
The rest of the meal progressed quietly, and a while later we were gathered back at our campsite with all the kids gathered near their counselors to discuss how we would spend our first 'free day.' As I glanced around, I noticed Emmett and his group were missing – what could be holding them up?
Chapter 9:
"Ok everyone, today's a 'free day,' so we need to decide what everyone would like to do and divide up accordingly," Alice announced from her perch atop one of the benches. "We'll go group by group and take suggestions, then narrow it down from there. First, let's start with the boys."
It was actually quite pointless to even ask, as the entire camp was unanimous in their decision – everyone wanted to spend the day at the lake. Alice mumbled something about Emmett being absent for the vote, and Edward spoke for him, saying he was quite sure they would be happy with the lake as well. Just as everyone separated and went off to their cabins to get their kids ready a loud clanging noise, followed by crashing sounds erupted from Emmett's cabin, causing everyone to glance curiously in that direction. What was going on in there, anyway?
I encouraged my campers to continue on so we could get ready, but I noticed Rosalie staring at Emmett's cabin intently, as if she were trying to decide if she should go investigate.
"Come on Miss Rosie, let's go, let's go!" her girls were tugging at her shirt, eager to get ready so they could depart for the lake. Not one to let her kids down, she moved along, even though she was still looking curiously over her shoulder.
Finally ready to go, we gathered at the start of the path that led to the lake. We were still waiting on Emmett's group when suddenly his cabin door flew open and he and his campers all came running out of it.
His kids were all covered in sweat and even Emmett himself looked disheveled. Before he could say a word, one of his campers started rambling loudly.
"Sammy got loose, and then Freddid too, and we had to catch –" he began excitedly, his eyes wide.
"ERR – what he means, is we were telling a really exciting story about…stuff, and they just got caught up in it, that's all. Sorry we're late – let's get moving, we don't have all day!" Emmett broke in, interrupting the kid.
"Why are they all sweaty, Emmett, if you were just telling a story?" Rosalie asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowed.
Emmett blinked. "It was an interactive story – like I said, they got caught up in it. Kids get involved in things, Rose," he replied, although his voice was a bit uncertain.
Rosalie was about to say something else when Alice jumped in. "Whatever, Emmett – next time don't keep us waiting. The kids are very excited - we're going to the lake, all right? We voted, but since you weren't out here, we just went ahead and decided," Alice explained, as if daring him to disagree.
Rosalie was just staring at him, clearly making Emmett uncomfortable. "Yep – sure, the lake's great – I assumed that's where we'd be going since they've all been talking about it so much. We're dressed for it, so let's just go already," he pushed, leading his kids down the path ahead of the rest of us. At least his vampire hearing had allowed him to dress his campers properly to swim.
Confused, I glanced at Edward, who Rosalie was watching intently now as well; she was likely looking for signs that would reveal something about Emmett's thoughts. Edward didn't say a word – he just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, until Rosalie gave up and joined her campers on the path. When she wasn't looking, he looked over at me and winked, and silently mouthed "later." Clearly, he didn't want Rosalie overhearing whatever had been Emmett's problem.
When we arrived at the lake, the kids immediately started peeling off the layers of clothing that were covering their swimsuits. They were positively eager to get into the water; despite the fact that it was consistently overcast, the temperature could get quite warm on summer days. It was already hot out, and it was still early in the day. We began to arrange the blankets we'd brought for everyone to have a place to sit if they wanted, and most of us settled down to watch the campers have fun.
Jessica climbed her lifeguard tower and reluctantly focused her attention on the water. It was obvious she'd rather be talking to Mike, as she kept trying to glance in his direction.
Minutes later, the sound of some sort of engine could be heard coming from the path we'd taken to get here, and I turned to see what it was. Suddenly, a rather large four- wheeler came flying out from the weeds, with some sort of cart attached to the back of it which crashed against the gravel noisily. It was obvious the driver was going too fast and not being overly cautious, and when the vehicle came to an abrupt halt on the beach's surface it sent a cloud of sand and dust whirling in the air covering everything – and everyone.
"Jasper! Do you think you could have used a bit more discretion? Now we're all covered in sand," Rosalie hissed, glaring angrily from where she sat.
"Sorry…guess I kind of got caught up in the adrenaline rush," Jasper apologized. "You can always wash it off in the water though," he suggested, motioning toward the lake.
"Excellent idea, my brother!" Emmett exclaimed, peeling off his shirt. "But first – where'd you get that? I'm going to have to try it out later," he said, pointing at the four-wheeler.
"No can do, Emmett. This is for the groundskeeper's use only – it was in the shed behind my cabin," Jasper replied, glancing over at Alice.
Emmett rolled his eyes, and threw Jasper a look of irritation before he turned to the lake. He took off running for the dock and threw himself off the edge bellowing "Cannonball!" Kids began to squeal as a massive wave overtook them.
Jasper began unloading various items that had been strapped into the cart. There were inner tubes, rafts shaped like animals, noodles, balls, scuba masks, and tons of assorted toys to play in the sand with. The kids began swarming from the water to take in the new objects, and one by one began dragging the rafts and things back toward the water. It was a good thing someone had already filled the rafts with air – some of them were huge.
"Where the heck did all that come from? I thought Sue said there were some inner tubes in the shed – not the entire toy section from the Pool Depot," Rosalie murmured, watching as the lake was filled with oversized floating turtles, dolphins and seals.
"Well…anyway, I've got to get back – lots to do today," Jasper said evasively, climbing back onto his vehicle.
"Oh, Jasper? Just one more thing – that looks to be the new Honda ATV, which didn't actually become available until a month ago – how could it have been in the shed if the maintenance man had quit last year?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow. Something was definitely going on that I didn't get.
Jasper didn't reply. Instead, he shook his head, almost smirking, and took off back toward the camp. Alice hopped up and made her way over to the leftover toys and began organizing them into piles depending on if they were meant for the sand or water.
"What's going on, Edward? What was that all about?" I asked.
Edward chuckled. "Remember the other night when I told you Alice doesn't respond well to being told she can't do something, and how it tends to have the opposite effect?"
I nodded, vaguely recalling something of the sort as I was falling asleep.
"Well –" he started, but was interrupted as Mike wandered over to our blanket.
"Anyone want to go for a swim?" he asked, staring directly at me.
A very faint low growl came from the back of Edward's throat.
"No thanks, Mike. I'm talking to Edward about our honeymoon plans," I replied, smiling up at him. Maybe that would get the point across.
Rosalie sighed and got up, very faintly muttering something that sounded a lot like "Idiot." She seemed to be as fed-up with Mike as Edward was. She wandered over to some of her campers who were playing in the sand, and knelt down to join them, settling next to Emma, the foster child.
Mike walked away clearly dejected, and Jessica took that opportunity to pounce, calling him over to her.
Before I could ask Edward to explain more about what he'd been saying earlier, Alice saw that Rosalie had left us, and came back over. "Can you believe Emmett? I swear he has a death-wish," she whispered, glancing over her shoulder at Rosalie, who was now completely immersed with building an extravagant sand mansion with her girls.
Edward chuckled. "I'd have to agree with you there, Alice. You'd think he'd know better from last time."
Now what was I missing? If there was an award for the most confused person on the planet, I would easily win it today.
"What? Would someone please explain to me what the heck you're talking about?" I said a bit harshly.
"You know all that noise that was coming from Emmett's cabin before we left? Well, it seems as though one of his campers – that Simon kid, you know, the one that was upset about leaving his cat behind? Well, he has quite the weakness for animals. So much so, that he smuggled his two pet guinea pigs into camp. He hid their little cage in his bag because he couldn't stand to leave them at home. Remember when they came running out of their cabin and that kid blurted out about Sammy and Fred getting loose?" Edward whispered, glancing warily over at Rosalie.
"So Sammy and Fred are the guinea pigs?" I asked.
Alice giggled. "Uh huh. And what's worse, is that kid keeps finding various things in the woods like salamanders and bringing them into the cabin. Emmett keeps finding them and panicking, thinking Rosalie is going to find out and blame him – that's how I know – I had a vision of Emmett purposefully deciding to hide it from her," she added, her eyes bright.
"Wow…of all the bizarre coincidences…" I whispered, almost feeling sorry for Emmett. Maybe Charlie knew the Cullens more than I thought; Alice's campers all had her enthusiasm for fashion, Rosalie's kids worshipped her, Edward's kids were all quiet but confident, Emmett's kids were loud, and now one even had this issue with animals…for that matter, my own campers were shy and quiet, and I had an immensely clumsy individual on my hands as well. Then something else occurred to me.
"Wait – you both made it sound like it was Emmett's fault, but to me it sounds like it's just the kid doing it, not Emmett – why are you saying he should know better if he's not responsible?" I asked, thinking back over their comments.
Edward smiled lightly. "It may be the kid starting it, but instead of taking the various critters back into the woods, Emmett has set up a sort of 'refuge' for the things Simon keeps bringing in…he's dedicated the entire back corner of their cabin to the things."
"Why? I mean – are you kidding me?" I asked in disbelief.
"Unfortunately no, I'm not kidding…" Edward replied, pausing as Emmett made his way out of the water and headed in our direction.
"You guys should get in – it's great!" Emmett boomed, shaking droplets of water in all directions. He threw himself down onto the blanket across from us.
"It's best I not risk it – besides, so far Sophie hasn't had any problems, and goodness knows if I got in the water she'd probably drown or something," I muttered in response, causing Edward to frown.
"So, I've been thinking – what do you think about that whole "Great Forest Fairy" thing? Even Big Sue mentioned it – maybe it's got some merit behind it," Emmett said, watching our expressions carefully.
"Emmett. You fully know there are no such things as fairies – period. Why would you even buy into such nonsense," Alice replied, exasperated.
"Sure, and most people go around thinking there's no such thing as vampires either, but here we are, sitting on the beach," Emmett retorted.
"Whatever, you're being ridiculous," Alice said. She reached over and picked up a small shovel and started drawing intricate designs into the sand.
"She's right you know. There's no such thing, and you should really let it go," Edward said, glancing over at Emmett seriously.
"What? I never said I believed it, I was just asking a question. Jeez - you guys can be so judgmental," Emmett replied defensively.
Edward sighed loudly. "Emmett, I can hear your thoughts, remember? You do believe it, and I can only imagine how much time you're going to waste on this nonsense. You've got enough happening that could seriously anger your wife – do you really want to add the belief of fairies to the list?"
Emmett mumbled something incomprehensible under his breath, but quickly got quiet as Rosalie glanced over at us. He waved and blew a kiss in her direction, which made her smile.
A couple of hours later, we heard the sound of the four-wheeler again, this time approaching more slowly. Jasper was back, and had brought lunch in the attached cart. Before we'd left the campsite, we'd told Angela to alert Esme of our plans to go to the lake so they could arrange for lunch to get to us.
After the kids had eaten and rested a bit they immediately took to the water again, Emmett following closely behind. They were desperate for him to go back in with them - apparently he'd been giving rides on his back in the water with two or three kids at a time, pretending to be some kind of giant sea mammal.
Eventually Rosalie's kids convinced her to get in with them too. All it took was a few 'Please Miss Rosie, we love you!' calls and she was down to her tankini and in the water. At least she'd had the common sense to choose modest swim wear for this trip.
With all the kids out in the water with Emmett and Rosalie, the rest of us continued to relax on our blankets. Mike was still sitting by Jessica, listening to her go on about her plans for college, and which sororities she'd be pledging.
As I watched Alice study her checklist for the wedding she'd somehow managed to bring, a question came to mind. "So, what have all of you been doing at night?" I asked, realizing I hadn't had time to wonder much about it until now - everything had been so overwhelming.
Edward grinned slightly. "I've been spending the majority of my time out by the fire, making sure you're all right. Since I can't stay with you in your cabin, it's the next best thing," he added. "Rosalie is sometimes out at the fire with me, but mostly she stays inside with her campers; she likes being close to them."
"What about you Alice? What have you been doing?" I asked curiously. She'd begun to look guilty when I'd brought the subject up.
Alice hesitated, glancing at Edward, who narrowed his eyes at her. She sighed in exasperation. "Too bad, Edward - it's Bella's choice, not yours." She turned to me. "Well Bella, actually I've been hanging out at Jasper's cabin at night. Emmett's usually there too - Rosalie watches and listens to our kids to make sure they're all right while we're gone. If any of them were to wake up or have problems, she said she could handle it, and Edward's always lurking around the fire, so he can deal with the boys if they wake up. I was going to ask you to come along, but someone," she glared at Edward, who looked furious, "wouldn't let me ask you because he insisted you needed to sleep. It's not like she couldn't sleep at Jasper's," she added, turning back to Edward.
"Wait - what's going on at Jasper's? That place looked worse than our cabins. Why would you want to spend your time there? I'm sure Jasper could sit around the fire with you guys instead - wouldn't you be more comfortable?" I asked.
Alice snorted delicately. "Why don't you come with us tonight and see?" she replied, while Edward adamantly shook his head. "We're always back before the kids wake up – I'd make sure to wake you and get you back into your cabin in time."
"Absolutely not - Bella needs her rest. I know your idea of letting her rest and it's not enough, Alice. She'd be exhausted tomorrow, and she's got to be able to pay attention at her scheduled activities," he said.
"Whatever, Edward. I'll ask you later, Bella. If you want to come, you should - you'd like it, I'm quite sure," she said, her eyes sparkling mischievously.
The two of them were wearing me down with their bickering, so I just shrugged my shoulders and leaned back, eager to get a quick rest in before it was time to head back to camp. What could be so special about Jasper's place? The last time I saw it, it looked like it was about to fall apart. As Alice and Edward continued to converse in hushed, irritated tones, I let my mind drift off.
Eventually it was time to head back to camp to get ready for dinner. After Jasper came back and loaded all the rafts and toys up, we cleaned up everything else and herded the kids back up the path. Sophie appeared out of nowhere, taking my hand in hers grinning up at me - I could tell she was feeling triumphant for an 'accident-free' day, and knowing how she felt, I couldn't help but grin back.
A/N: Thanks for reading, please review!
