I don't own Lizzie McGuire, or any of it's characters, and am
making no profit from this story monetarily or otherwise. Yada,
yada, yada.
The bus pulled into the base camp at a little after noon, where they had lunch waiting for the girls. After lunch, they gathered their gear and headed off to the lodge. Their room was like a barracks, with rows of double bunk beds all along two walls. This was to be their room for only the first night, and for the rest of the week they would be camping and sleeping in tents.
The rest of the day was spent learning the basics about setting up camp, setting up tents, hiking, and canoeing from the head park ranger, Ranger Walker. He was in his late 40's, with tanned skin, an impressive build, and hair that was going grey at the temples. The girls thought he was pretty attractive, for an old guy.
At night after dinner they had a campfire, and all packs were checked to make sure they had all the essentials. They were also checked to make sure they had no food or gum with them. Ranger Walker explained that bears, raccoons, and other wild creatures can smell food and will do anything to get to it. When they finally climbed into their sleeping bags, they were all so exhausted that no one, not even Lizzie and Miranda, talked after lights out.
They woke the next morning to a bugle playing Reverie. Lizzie checked her watch and saw that it was 7am. Ugh! She climbed out of bed and rolled up her sleeping bag. She had to shake Miranda several times to get her to wake up, because she was a very sound sleeper. Just when Lizzie was about to pull Miranda and her mattress off onto the floor, she finally showed signs of life. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, as if she couldn't remember where she was.
"Wake up, Sleepy!" Lizzie grinned.
"You know, you're way too cheerful in the morning!" Miranda complained.
"Get used to it. You're going to have to look at my face every morning in the fall when we go to college." Miranda groaned and threw her pillow at Lizzie.
The goal that day was to make their way down river to their first campsite, set up camp, and cook their dinner. Easy enough. They had their lunch packed for them. Claire and crew picked at their breakfast, complaining about all the fat, and saying that they "didn't eat" bacon. Mrs. Mac told them that they'd better eat because it was all they were going to get except for water until lunch, and that was a long time away. They didn't listen, but everyone else did.
By the time they reached their campsite, it was late afternoon, and all they wanted to do was sprawl out on the banks of the river and die. They were wet and hungry, and every muscle in their bodies hurt: in short, they were exhausted. The Bimbo squad had realized the error of being picky about their breakfast by about 9:30 am, and whined until they finally stopped for lunch at noon. Luckily, lunch was already made for them. Dinner was not. And there was no barracks to sleep in.
They tied down their canoes, and started to unload. Claire seemed to think that she didn't have to pitch in and help with setting up camp and dinner prep. Ms. Mac just ignored her, and while no one thought it was fair that Claire should be able to lie around while they worked, they didn't have the energy to protest. Besides, they all new Ms. Mac, and they didn't think she would let the little prima donna get off so easily.
When dinner was finally served, Claire went to find her pack and get her mess kit. She found her pack outside the tent she was to share with Kate. She got her utensils and joined everyone in line, but Ms. Mac told her, "I'm sorry, Claire, but you didn't help to prepare the dinner or set up camp. If you don't work, you don't eat."
Claire whined, "But I'm hungry and tired."
"We all are Claire. Did you think you were the only one to paddle a canoe all day? Why don't you ask everyone else how they feel about you taking it easy while they worked?" Ms. Mac told her sternly.
"You can't do this! My father…"
"Your father isn't here, Claire. And my guess is that if he had seen you laying around while everyone else worked, he would back me up. You can tell him all about it when you get home, and you can send him to talk to me. Now, I suggest you go try and talk to Kate about letting you share the tent she put up without your help."
Claire stomped off. Miranda could barely contain her laughter while she watched the exchange. After Claire was gone, Lizzie asked, "Ms. Mac, are you really not going to let her eat?"
Ms. Mac smirked, "It won't kill her to miss a meal. She could do with a little humility. But I may let her have some leftovers if she agrees to clean all the cooking pots after dinner.
Everyone agreed that this was the best food they had ever tasted. At that point, they would have eaten the boxes the food came in. They didn't pay any more attention to Claire until Miranda elbowed Lizzie and pointed to the girl, carrying a pot of water over to heat on the stove. They giggled. "Guess she won't starve." Lizzie observed.
"Good. I didn't want to listen to her whine all night."
As it turned out, Kate did let her sleep in the tent, but only after everyone had told enough bear and "lunatic in the woods" stories to scare Claire half to death. She begged Kate, who finally said she could sleep in the tent only if she broke camp the next day by herself. Ms Mac couldn't resist adding, "See how much easier it is to work together, than to have to do it all by yourself?"
The bus pulled into the base camp at a little after noon, where they had lunch waiting for the girls. After lunch, they gathered their gear and headed off to the lodge. Their room was like a barracks, with rows of double bunk beds all along two walls. This was to be their room for only the first night, and for the rest of the week they would be camping and sleeping in tents.
The rest of the day was spent learning the basics about setting up camp, setting up tents, hiking, and canoeing from the head park ranger, Ranger Walker. He was in his late 40's, with tanned skin, an impressive build, and hair that was going grey at the temples. The girls thought he was pretty attractive, for an old guy.
At night after dinner they had a campfire, and all packs were checked to make sure they had all the essentials. They were also checked to make sure they had no food or gum with them. Ranger Walker explained that bears, raccoons, and other wild creatures can smell food and will do anything to get to it. When they finally climbed into their sleeping bags, they were all so exhausted that no one, not even Lizzie and Miranda, talked after lights out.
They woke the next morning to a bugle playing Reverie. Lizzie checked her watch and saw that it was 7am. Ugh! She climbed out of bed and rolled up her sleeping bag. She had to shake Miranda several times to get her to wake up, because she was a very sound sleeper. Just when Lizzie was about to pull Miranda and her mattress off onto the floor, she finally showed signs of life. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, as if she couldn't remember where she was.
"Wake up, Sleepy!" Lizzie grinned.
"You know, you're way too cheerful in the morning!" Miranda complained.
"Get used to it. You're going to have to look at my face every morning in the fall when we go to college." Miranda groaned and threw her pillow at Lizzie.
The goal that day was to make their way down river to their first campsite, set up camp, and cook their dinner. Easy enough. They had their lunch packed for them. Claire and crew picked at their breakfast, complaining about all the fat, and saying that they "didn't eat" bacon. Mrs. Mac told them that they'd better eat because it was all they were going to get except for water until lunch, and that was a long time away. They didn't listen, but everyone else did.
By the time they reached their campsite, it was late afternoon, and all they wanted to do was sprawl out on the banks of the river and die. They were wet and hungry, and every muscle in their bodies hurt: in short, they were exhausted. The Bimbo squad had realized the error of being picky about their breakfast by about 9:30 am, and whined until they finally stopped for lunch at noon. Luckily, lunch was already made for them. Dinner was not. And there was no barracks to sleep in.
They tied down their canoes, and started to unload. Claire seemed to think that she didn't have to pitch in and help with setting up camp and dinner prep. Ms. Mac just ignored her, and while no one thought it was fair that Claire should be able to lie around while they worked, they didn't have the energy to protest. Besides, they all new Ms. Mac, and they didn't think she would let the little prima donna get off so easily.
When dinner was finally served, Claire went to find her pack and get her mess kit. She found her pack outside the tent she was to share with Kate. She got her utensils and joined everyone in line, but Ms. Mac told her, "I'm sorry, Claire, but you didn't help to prepare the dinner or set up camp. If you don't work, you don't eat."
Claire whined, "But I'm hungry and tired."
"We all are Claire. Did you think you were the only one to paddle a canoe all day? Why don't you ask everyone else how they feel about you taking it easy while they worked?" Ms. Mac told her sternly.
"You can't do this! My father…"
"Your father isn't here, Claire. And my guess is that if he had seen you laying around while everyone else worked, he would back me up. You can tell him all about it when you get home, and you can send him to talk to me. Now, I suggest you go try and talk to Kate about letting you share the tent she put up without your help."
Claire stomped off. Miranda could barely contain her laughter while she watched the exchange. After Claire was gone, Lizzie asked, "Ms. Mac, are you really not going to let her eat?"
Ms. Mac smirked, "It won't kill her to miss a meal. She could do with a little humility. But I may let her have some leftovers if she agrees to clean all the cooking pots after dinner.
Everyone agreed that this was the best food they had ever tasted. At that point, they would have eaten the boxes the food came in. They didn't pay any more attention to Claire until Miranda elbowed Lizzie and pointed to the girl, carrying a pot of water over to heat on the stove. They giggled. "Guess she won't starve." Lizzie observed.
"Good. I didn't want to listen to her whine all night."
As it turned out, Kate did let her sleep in the tent, but only after everyone had told enough bear and "lunatic in the woods" stories to scare Claire half to death. She begged Kate, who finally said she could sleep in the tent only if she broke camp the next day by herself. Ms Mac couldn't resist adding, "See how much easier it is to work together, than to have to do it all by yourself?"