Leo felt himself get nervous. This was the second time that he was in Balan's office, and this time, he had his entire staff with him. "Now Leo, We had a deal. You said that you would stay at the camp for a WEEK. Not for you to go galvanizing around in your town after being at camp for one night." Balan told him. Mason looked at Leo "So THAT'S why you were acting weird all day! You ran off from here!" He exclaimed. Leo rolled his eyes "Gee! What a amazing observation Caption Obvious." He said sarcastically.
Balan snapped his fingers to keep them on the task at hand. "As I was saying, Your little stunt that you pulled was incredibly dangerous Leo. What if it wasn't your home and you ran off? Then what? Me and the other staff only got lucky because we saw your trail. Now imagine if it was a different world. There would be no "Me" to the rescue, No Lance to the rescue, no ANYONE to the rescue. You would be lost and confused. " Balan emphasized as he walked over to Leo and lifted his chin up with a finger.
"As long as your in this camp, and as long as you are a camper here. You are under my supervision. And NOTHING gets past my supervision." He said as he walked back over to his desk. "Now then. I suppose that I should show you what happens to campers, should they try to evade the rules." Balan said as he pulled out a box that had the word "Squirmles" on it. "I was hoping to save these for Critter Care day...but consider this a sneak peek of what they are." He said, setting the box on the ground in front of the boys
Meanwhile, Outside of Balan's Office...
A small group of kids had tried to listen in on the conversation. Some were quite scared. While it was hard to tell under his perma-smile, Balan can express other emotions...and some could see through his joyful façade that he was FURIOUS. "I hope that Leo will be OK..." Molly said as she tried to see through the closed windows "Do ya think they'll throw him out?" Cuphead asked while he and Mugman played jacks. "Don't be insane, Balan wouldn't do that." He hasn't thrown anyone out of camp since the day the camp came into existence." Chalice said, her physical body returning into her spectral form.
"Yeah...but nobody tried to pull what Leo pulled." Wren said, as she put the finishing touches on her newest costume. Her twin Reynold floated beside her as he was wearing a ghost costume "Can't you just fly in and see what's going on?" Wren asked. Reynold shrunk back "I can't do that, Balan would sense me almost immediately." He said. "Well, We'll just have to wait and see what happens next. " Haoyu said, playing with a paper airplane.
Emma looked at where Balan's office sat, a worried expression on her face. She knew that some people had taken more time than others getting used to the camp, but nobody had actually tried to hide in their homes. She sighed, hoping that nothing bad would happen to the new camper...
Back in Balan's office...
Leo and Mason panted. "That. Was torture." Mason gasped. As it turns out, Balan's form of "Punishment" wasn't exactly what they expected. All he did was sic the Squirmles on them...but that's another story for another time.
Balan walked over to Leo "Now then Leo, since you did violate the conditions of our little bet, I'm making your stay here a bit longer. You can make your decision in two weeks." He said, much to Leo's horror. "I CAN'T STAY HERE FOR 2 WEEKS!!" He yelled. Balan just smirked "Maybe you should have thought about that before you ran off with Mason." He said before turning to the boy "And speaking of which, I have to erase his memory..."
Leo and Mason's eyes widened in horror "ERASE HIS/MY MEMORY?! YOU CAN'T ERASE HIS/MY MEMORY!" They shouted. Balan sadly shook his head "Oh but I'm afraid I'm going to have to, as Maosn here knowing about the camp becomes a threat to those outside of the camp." He explained. "SO!! LET HIM STAY IN MY PLACE!!" Leo yelled, squirming in the restraints. Balan sighed "Sundrop? Could you come and get Leo?" He asked left the two boys alone. Poor Leo sighed as a few tears fell...he felt ultimately hopeless...