Author's Note: Well then. I'm back. Been a while, hasn't it?
A lot of stuff has happened. I've joined some communities that take up the bulk of my time, and I didn't quite know where to go after Camp Scientist. Then I just got a spark of inspiration: Redo Camp Scientist to make it more in-line with my current writing style and the tone of the comics. So that's what I'll do.
There's a lot of stuff I intent to change; Less action, more humor, make Calvin feel less like he's the reason everything goes wrong, and more cohesion in the plotline spawned from me making stuff up as I go. It'll start out more or less the same with a few deviations and updates, but it'll start branching out later on. Either way, this is supposed to be the definitive edition so you'll be expected to read this one anyways.
I certainly hope you'll enjoy this new version. Now, as I used to say: On with the show!
It was a peaceful, sunny summer day. It was the last day of school, and it was only a matter of time before the children got home and loudly celebrated. The parents of the neighborhood were relaxing, enjoying the precious few minutes of peace they had left.
Just then, a yellow school bus drove up to the sidewalk next to a little two-story house. As soon as it's doors opened, a small boy with blond, spiky hair and a red, striped shirt burst out of the bus at incredible high speeds, laughing like a loon.
"I'M FREE!" he shouted. "I'M FINALLY FREE! YOU USED TO CAGE ME AND LECTURE ME ALL YOU WANTED, BUT THOSE DAYS ARE OVER! I'M FREEEEEE!"
Yeah, about that peace...
The bus driver simply rolled his eyes as the short buffoon continued to loudly rant and rave from the sidewalk. Wordlessly, he drove the bus to it's next stop.
"YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT!" Calvin shouted as he walked toward the door to his home. "DRIVE AWAY WITH YOUR TAIL BETWEEN YOUR LEGS! FOREVER YOU WILL KNOW THAT YOU HAVE FAILED, FOR I AM CALVIN THE-"
As he opened the door, Calvin was abruptly cut off by a blur of orange and black bursting out of the doorway and slamming into him. The two rocketed back, tumbling across the lawn and carving a path through the dirt.
Calvin was momentarily dazed. After a moment, he shook it off and looked up at his assailant, a tiger named Hobbes. For those not in the know, Hobbes was Calvin's best and most constant friend, even if they fought occasionally (And by occasionally, we mean ten times a day on average). Also, Hobbes just so happened to be a tiger with a pair of opposable thumbs and the ability to stand on two legs. At the moment, he was busy laughing his head off.
Calvin glared at him, brushing dust and dirt off his clothes. We got up and made his way towards the doorway as Hobbes continued to laugh his head off. "One day, I'm going to turn you into a rug, you hear?!" he shouted. "A RUG!"
Calvin's mom was reclining in the living room, enraptured by the book she was reading. Her eyes darted across the page, hypnotized by the tale of... Whatever it was she was reading. She was snapped out of her trance by the sound of shouting and the door opening; The telltale sign of Calvin coming home.
She sighed. 'Guess it's time to tell him the news.' she thought.
She stood up and walked over to the kitchen. There, she found her son, battered and bruised and covered in dirt. She had given up trying to figure out the reason behind this a long time ago; Whenever she asked what had happened, the most she'd get out of him was something along the lines of "Some days I wish I had a gerbil instead."
"Hi, Calvin." said Mom. "I see you're back from school."
Upon hearing those words, Calvin sparked back to life. "Yes, mother I have escaped that wretched prison forever! Hahaha!"
Mom tried her best not to roll her eyes. "Calvin," she said, "I have something important to tell you."
"What?" asked Calvin. "Have scientists discovered a way to revive dinosaurs?"
"No, it's not that." replied Mom.
"Have alien forces begun their invasion to enslave humanity?"
"No, Calvin."
"Has Christmas come early?"
Mom sighed. "Calvin, I've signed you up for a summer camp." She handed him a pamphlet, which he took and examined
"Oh," said Calvin. "Huh. I thought it was actually something important." And with that, he turned and walked away.
Mom blinked rapidly, taking step back without realizing it. Considering Calvin's immense hatred for education and rules, he was taking the news alarmingly well. Something was wrong here.
Then Calvin registered what was going on. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
Mom sighed, partially out of relief and partially out of exasperation. There it was.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Calvin shouted. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"
"Calvin-" Mom began.
"I JUST GOT OUT OF SCHOOL! I WAS FORCED TO SIT IN A CLASSROOM FIVE DAYS A WEEK, EVERY WEEK!"
"Calvin-" Mom tried again.
"YOU DIDN'T EVEN CONSULT ME! YOU'RE DEPRIVING ME OF MY RIGHTS! MY FREEDOM! MY LIBERTY! MY-"
"CALVIN!" Mom shouted, cutting him off.
Mom knelt down to Calvin's level. "Look, Calvin, I know you don't like this, but sometimes in life you have to do things that you don't want to do. Besides, you might actually have some fun there."
"It has school in the name." Calvin shot back. "School is not fun. By definition, Summer school is not fun."
Mom sighed. "You should probably start packing for the trip."
As Calvin began walking to his room, Mom said to him, "Also, it's a summer camp, not a summer school."
Calvin trudged through the door, looking very sour indeed. Hobbes was laying on Calvin's bed, reading one of Calvin's Captain Napalm comics.
"What took you so long?" Hobbes asked.
"Oh, shut up." Calvin grumbled. "Mom's sending me off to summer school for a week. Now get off your furry behind and help me pack."
Hobbes raised an eyebrow as Calvin took out a little blue-and-green backpack and started cramming all sorts of assorted objects into it.
"What's in it for me?" he asked. "Oh, and it's a summer camp, not a summer school. Make sure to remember this stuff next time."
Calvin glared at him as he continued to shove what was effectively his entire room into the backpack. "If I'm going to suffer, you're suffering with me. We're all in this together."
Hobbes grumbled. "Wow, great incentive. I can't wait to go."
"Oh, and one more thing." Calvin said. "I packed all the tuna in the house."
"YOU WHAT?" Hobbes demanded.
"I said, 'I packed all the tuna in the house.'"
"But how?" asked Hobbes. "We just restocked yesterday!"
"I've been working on creating a little pocket dimension where I can store all my stuff." Calvin explained, beaming with pride. He gestured to the backpack. "You know, in case we have to go somewhere and we need to bring the essentials. So far, I've managed to get an entire hotel's worth of space in here. Eventually I'll get an infinite storage dimension working, but this'll do for now."
Hobbes groaned. "Great, either I suffer with Calvin or no more tuna for a week."
"Take your pick, Hobbes." Calvin said smugly.
Hobbes considered his options for a moment. "Well, I think we still have some salmon left..."
"Also packed." Calvin said.
"What about the swordfish?"
"Packed that one too."
"The mahi-mahi?"
"Yep."
"Even the sardines?"
"Even the sardines." Calvin said. "I've got every fish in the house in here." He patted the backpack, grinning smugly. "I even packed the anchovies."
"I don't even like anchovies!"
"I know. I just did it because I could."
Hobbes groaned. "I don't have a choice, do I?"
"Nope!"
Hobbes sighed. Reluctantly, he went to help Calvin pack for summer camp.
Later that day...
Calvin's neighbor Susie was having a tea party with her toys in her yard. Susie had brown, neatly combed hair, and was wearing overalls over her shirt, both of which were purple. Susie was smart, polite, orderly, and took school seriously-In other words, the polar opposite of Calvin. Naturally, she and Calvin were at each other's throats most of the time. Still, there some were times when they got along together. Now very often, mind you, but they still happened.
The moment Susie saw Calvin trudging down the sidewalk with a sour expression on his face, she realized that this wouldn't be one of those times.
"Hi, Calvin." she said. "Is there something wrong?"
"Why, yes, Susie." Calvin responded. "There is something wrong. I'M GOING TO SUMMER SCHOOL!"
Susie blinked. "Oh."
"OF ALL THE INJUSTICES MY MOTHER HAD TO FORCE UPON ME, IT WAS SENDING ME TO SUMMER CAMP!" Calvin continued to rant. "IT'S AN OUTRAGE! A VIOLATION OF MY RIGHTS! WHY, I'VE GOT HALF A MIND TO-"
"I thought you were going to summer school?" asked Susie, interrupting Calvin's loud rant.
Calvin blinked. "Pardon?" he asked.
"You said you were going to summer school, but then you said summer camp." Susie explained.
"No, I'm pretty sure I said I was going to summer camp the whole time." Calvin told her.
Susie sighed. Getting Calvin to concede was a losing battle. "Anyways, which camp are you going to?"
"Oh," said Calvin. "I don't know. Mom gave me a pamphlet, but I think I dropped it in my panic..."
Susie tried her best not to roll her eyes. Of course he hadn't even read the pamphlet yet.
"Oh, you got the pamphlet for me?" Calvin said to his stuffed tiger doll. "Thanks, Hobbes! You're a real pal!"
Susie blinked. Had Hobbes been there before?
Calvin opened the pamphlet and read it. "It says here that the place is called 'Camp Scientist.'"
"Camp Scientist?" Susie asked. "That's the same summer camp I'm going to."
"WHAT!?" Calvin shouted.
Susie nodded. "A lot of people at our school go there, actually. There's me, Candace, Ronald, Jessica..."
Suddenly, a new, yet familiar voice reached their ears. "Hey, Twinky!"
Calvin's face immediately blanched. He recognized that voice, and it never meant anything good. His fears were confirmed as Moe, the local school bully, trudged up the sidewalk towards him.
Moe was big, buff, and, quite frankly, not too smart. Still, he was big and buff, and his favorite pastime was pounding smaller kids into the closest wall. That was usually enough of an incentive for everyone to steer clear of him. He wore a black T-shirt with a skull on it, and his hair covered his eyes. No, I don't know how he sees through that haircut. Don't ask.
Moe walked up to Calvin, a grin on his face. "I heard we're going to the same summer camp."
"Is the camp you go to, by any chance, called 'Camp Scientist?'" asked Calvin nervously. "Because if you are, then I suppose that yes, we are indeed going to the same summer camp. Eheheheh..." He gulped loudly.
"Yup!" said Moe. "Have fun getting pounded into bean paste for a week! Hahaha!"
As Moe walked away, Calvin sank to his knees. "Pain."
"Hey, it's not going to be that bad." Susie reassured him. "We've got some really nice counselors at the camp. I'm sure they'll stop any bullying, just so long as you tell them."
Calvin, now lying facedown on the cement, repeated a muffled "Pain and suffering."
It was bedtime. Calvin was laying in his bed, wide awake.
"I can't sleep, Hobbes." Calvin said. "I can't stop thinking of the summer camp. Who knows what they're going to do to me there."
"And guess who's the lucky one who's getting dragged along with you?" Hobbes grumbled. "Me. Now I have to go there with you, and I can't sleep thinking either."
"Well, at least were all in this together." Calvin sighed.
Without much left to say, the two settled for staring up at the ceiling together.
Author's Note: Yeah, the rewrite was shorter than the original chapter. I blame the vastly shorted Author's Note at the beginning. Not much to say here, but I hope you stick around and keep reading for the rest of the updated chapters. Until then, SharkLord out. Peace!