NOTE: For those of you who aren't aware, the flamer isn't actually Goldy
(she's a good pal of mine). And no, they're not actually reading the story
or anything, they're doing it to a lot of people under poor Goldy's name.
Haha, just thought I'd clear up any confusion. If we have any Buffy fans
here, you should def check out Goldy!
So I had lots of issues with this chapter. It was WAY too fluffy for me at first, so I tried to revise it. Now it's just way too fluffy, much too long, and disgustingly random. So, let it be warned that I really don't like this chapter. All the same I was feeling way to lazy to redo it all together, so you're stuck with it =P.
As always, thank you SO MUCH to all my reviewers. You have my love and appreciation forever! MUAH! You totally keep my going - keep the inspiration flowing!
************
At breakfast the next day, Q and Squid didn't speak directly to each other, but they did make a point of sitting next together at the table. Q began a habit of blushing whenever Squid caught her staring over at him, which was fairly often. Laney and KP, who had of course heard about the cheek kiss in excruciating detail the night before, kept looking over at the two and whispering.
Actually, Laney and KP hardly had the need to whisper, for most of they time they simply could use ESPN. Now, you may think I mean ESP, but ESPN is definitely the term. Though the two are quite similar, ESPN is special to just Laney and KP. ("But I have ESPN." Says Brock. "No you don't" - KP. *Brock looks confused*. Anyway...)
Breakfast was soon over, and they were off again, trudging out to the digging site. Though Mr.Sir indicated precisely where they should dig, Q and Squid worked their way around until their holes were next to one another.
KP had ended up next to Zigzag, and decided to start up a chat, "Aw, they're pretty cute, don't you think?" she said, nodding her head in Q and Squid's direction.
"Umm... cute like, a kitten? Or cute like... sexy? Or cute like... the way Mr. Sir looks after shooting the head off of a particularly nasty lizard? Or..."
KP cut him off with a confused expression, "Uhh... though Mr. Sir IS pretty cute, I was kinda thinking more along the lines of cute like a couple."
"Oh," Zigzag replied, looking curiously over at them, "They're not, are they? I mean, Squid's not really the lovey type, ya know?"
KP shook her head, "Oh goodness, boys are so oblivious sometimes," she said under her breath, but just loud enough so that Zigzag could inconspicuously hear. Then she continued in a normal volume, "I guess that's why he kissed her last night, huh?"
Zigzag's eyes opened wide, and his hair stuck wildly on end at this thought. But the conversation had to end there, for they could waste no more breath on talking when they needed all the energy they had for digging.
**********
When the puff of dust appeared in the distance to warn the diggers of the upcoming water break, they all jumped happily out of their holes. As KP and Magnet passed Laney's hole, they noticed that it stuck in oddly on one side. They cleared their throats to get her attention.
"Umm... nice technique, honey," KP mocked.
"Hey, I thought it would be fun to dig a tunnel! Wouldn't it be funny if just all of a sudden I popped out of the side of yours or something. If we connect all the tunnels it'll be like a big fun maze!" Laney explained.
Magnet raised his eyebrows, "I think it's against the rules to enjoy digging that much."
"Hey, as long as I dig the same amount of dirt it shouldn't hurt my character building, right?" she shrugged, "It's not as if they check at the end of the day."
KP and Magnet looked over at each other and exchanged glances that proclaimed, affectionately, that Laney had obviously gone mad.
They hoisted her up out of her hole, and listened with amusement as she told them about how cool she thought a whole underground system of holes would be, with rooms and hallways and passages. "Like a hotel!" she exclaimed.
*********
It was quite a bit later that day when they finally heard the inevitable *thump* of dirt on dirt. As each digger exited their hole and observed the scene, it became clear that Laney's tunneling idea hadn't been quite as brilliant as she had thought. The entire roof of her tunnel had caved in on top of her, leaving a scarring ditch across the ground.
No one was quite sure what to do, until they saw a lump of dirt that slowly lifted backward and revealed itself to be none other than Laney's head. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, and she spit out a few mouthfuls of dust before stating, "It caved in."
Now that any worry was gone, the campers of D and G tents felt free to laugh at Laney, in all her glorious stupidity and dirt. Squid took off his hat and chucked it at her head playfully, with good aim. It took them a few minutes to calm down enough to listen to what she was saying.
"Umm... guys, I hate to interrupt, but I can't move. I'm totally stuck," she said simply. This of course brought another storm of laughter from the crowd.
Once they had dried the tears from their eyes, a few of them set to work digging her out, as the rest returned to their holes, giggling every time they looked back at the scene.
Once she had been freed, everyone looked over at her and tried to suppress their laughter. Her entire jumpsuit was, of course, covered in dirt. Her face too was stained with brown, that clung glompishly to her eyelashes, and eyebrows. Her hair was the best. It was drenched in dirt, like the rest of her, and the bandana she had borrowed from Magnet had slipped sideways. This caused the majority of her hair to be clumped over on the right side of her head, with a small flip above her forehead, much like a porn star.
"I LOOK LIKE HARRY POTTER!" she declared over the boys' laughter, "Well I think that's enough digging for today. Back to camp for me. If Mr. Sir asks, umm... tell him I was advocating the liberation of the poor overworked farm mules or something. That should confuse him well enough."
"Dude, here," X-Ray said, struggling to keep his composure. He held out his hand and produced a shower token, "You need this a bit more than I do today."
"Haha, yeah, take it," Magnet said, producing a shower token from his pocket and handing it to her too.
"You guys, I'm NOT taking your-" Laney started, but X-Ray cut her off.
"We're not doing it for you! I think I'd die laughing if I had to look at you looking like that all night."
"Ha Ha Ha," Laney mocked, but she was smiling when she grabbed the tokens out of their hands. She turned to leave and tried to readjust her hair, but only ended up making it worse, and the hoots of amusement followed her as she walked back to camp.
*********
Laney wandered into the Wreck Room after her nice long shower (meaning about twelve minutes - for Camp Green Lake, that was luxury). Only X-Ray and Magnet were there, as they had been the only two to not take showers that day. At the moment they were in a heated game of pool, and hadn't noticed her enter.
"Thanks Guys, that feels sooo much better!" she called out to them.
Magnet began to walk toward her, speaking slowly and enunciating every word, "You... are... an... IDIOT!" and as he reached her he smacked her playfully on the back of her wet head.
"Hey, admit it, it *would* have been cool if it had worked," she persisted.
"It would have been *lame*, had it not collapsed all over your head, but as it is... oh wait," Magnet corrected himself, "That was pretty lame too."
"pphhsssttt," Laney nudged him with her elbow, "You're just jealous that you didn't have such a fabulous idea."
"Mmm, it's always been my dream to have tons of dirt crashing in on top of me," he tried to muster as serious a tone as he could handle.
By this time they had made their way back to the pool table, and Laney directed her question at X-Ray, "Hey, you think it would have been pretty cool to have a whole tunnel system, right X?" she laughed at the bewildered expression on his face.
"Uhh..." he stumbled, "Errr... hey Hotness, you ever play pool before?" he skillfully changed the subject.
She let it go, "Yeah, once. At like, 4 a.m. at a party with an overly tired kid who was more interested in trying to draw a moustache on himself with the chalk than actually playing. He still kicked my ass though."
"Here, why don't ya try some real pool?" he handed her a stick. She looked at it uncertainly.
"Come 'ere. I'll show ya how to play." Magnet called her over to his side of the table. "You put one hand out here like this," he showed her how to place her hand, "which will be the guide for your stick, so you can aim. And the other goes here on the stick, which you'll push with."
She fumbled around with her fingers for a moment, until he finally came up behind her and placed an arm to each side of her. He placed his own limbs on top of hers and forced her into the right positions. He moved her arms along with his as he drew the stick back, and made the shot. Nothing went into a hole, but they did manage to hit a few of the surrounding balls.
"Not bad for a starter," X-Ray encouraged.
"Oooh yeah, I'm a real pro. Did it all myself too," Laney teased.
"Soon you'll be undefeatable, man," Magnet said, while slowly pulling his arms away from hers. He reached around to her side, and moved his arm in for the tickle.
She squealed and jumped backwards, "You know, Magnet," she kidded, "You're looking a bit dirty today. Did you not take a shower or something?"
He scoffed at her, "Oh man, we got a funny one here."
She smiled at him innocently, and he held up his fist, as if warning her, were it not for the smile on his face.
But no threat was ever carried through, as a voice spoke from the doorway, "Don't you hurt my Sunflower!"
Laney looked up happily and shouted, "Frances!"
********
KP and Zigzag had not returned to camp after cleaning themselves up, but rather wandered to a deserted side building to continue with the guitar lessons.
"Is it like this?" KP asked, strumming her fingers across the strings which let out an uncoordinated crash of noise.
"Umm..." Zigzag had to keep himself from cringing, "Not exactly. You have to put your fingers right... here. Try that, hold your fingers in these places."
As Zigzag pulled away, and KP reached her hand forward, their fingers briefly brushed past one another. Zigzag blushed slightly, but KP didn't seem to notice. Or rather, she was looking so intently at the guitar it was impossible to see her face for any reaction.
She ran her fingers along the strings again, and this time a nice even sound was emitted.
"Oh!" she chirped delightedly, "That was pretty!"
"Yes it was - pretty," but he was absently looking more at the top of her head than at her fingers as he spoke. She looked up at him and broke him from his slight daze, "Yeah, yeah, that was much better. That was a uh... a C chord."
"Haha, I actually played a chord?" KP mused, "Must be cause I have such a good teacher." She nudged Zigzag, who was sitting across from her, lightly with her foot.
"Or cause I've got such a good student," he smiled.
**********
It was much later that night when the four girls were in their room, all sitting together in a circle. Frances had been happily welcomed into the crowd, though she did bring along a bit of worry for the other girls that the project was falling apart at the seams. After all, four of them had now been caught.
X-Ray, feeling a bit bored and rebellious, convinced Squid to go on an expedition with him to the forbidden girls tent. The two of them had sauntered casually out of D-Tent under the pretense of needing the bathroom.
But when they opened the tent flap, it was evident the girls were in the middle of some odd ritual. They had their eyes closed, and their hands resting folded in their laps.
They were singing what seemed to be the tune of "In the Jungle" but the words were changed. "In Vermont, little Essex, the half steps sing tonight! Joel and Billy, Sam and Drew, will never leave our sight! Weeeeeeee love them yes we do. Oh weeeeee will always be true."
In the middle of their circle was a sheet of paper. The boys had about half a minute to examine the scene before the girls noticed them. The paper had a picture at the top of four boys, and a smaller picture under it that looked like a whole group of people. There was red and black writing all over the page, and X-Ray was able to make out the words "The Half ..." in bright read writing across the top of the page before they were noticed, and the girls folded the paper up.
"They interrupted out bible session!" Q exclaimed.
"It's OK, guys, we'll finish it later. Our gods will forgive us," KP comforted.
"Uhh... sorry, didn't mean to interrupt anything," X-Ray spoke, still a bit confused. Squid didn't say anything, but just ground his teeth on the toothpick he was biting. He didn't think he particularly liked the idea of Sketch chanting another boys name. FOUR other boys names.
"No worries, nothing we can't tackle later. What's up?" Laney asked.
"Nothing at all, just wanted to go for a walk. We'll be headin' back to our tent now. Cattcha bright and early."
Squid tilted his head, "Night." And then the two boys walked out of the tent.
As soon as they had passed hearing distance of the girls, the two boys looked at each other.
"What the hell was that?" X-ray wondered.
"Think I know, man? I don't know about those girls," he shook his head.
"Do you think its what they were sent here for? Maybe it's a cult?"
"Maybe they made people drink cool-aid and die," Squid offered.
X-Ray shot him an amused look, "Dude, now you're starting to sound like Ziggy."
**********
NOTE: OK, so I know the last section of this was probably wicked confusing for those of you not in on the little inside joke, but it should be cleared up in the next chapter. Albeit, you probably won't really understand it even then, but you can just laugh at the weirdness, right? Heh. And thankfully that chapter is OVER! Huzzah!
So I had lots of issues with this chapter. It was WAY too fluffy for me at first, so I tried to revise it. Now it's just way too fluffy, much too long, and disgustingly random. So, let it be warned that I really don't like this chapter. All the same I was feeling way to lazy to redo it all together, so you're stuck with it =P.
As always, thank you SO MUCH to all my reviewers. You have my love and appreciation forever! MUAH! You totally keep my going - keep the inspiration flowing!
************
At breakfast the next day, Q and Squid didn't speak directly to each other, but they did make a point of sitting next together at the table. Q began a habit of blushing whenever Squid caught her staring over at him, which was fairly often. Laney and KP, who had of course heard about the cheek kiss in excruciating detail the night before, kept looking over at the two and whispering.
Actually, Laney and KP hardly had the need to whisper, for most of they time they simply could use ESPN. Now, you may think I mean ESP, but ESPN is definitely the term. Though the two are quite similar, ESPN is special to just Laney and KP. ("But I have ESPN." Says Brock. "No you don't" - KP. *Brock looks confused*. Anyway...)
Breakfast was soon over, and they were off again, trudging out to the digging site. Though Mr.Sir indicated precisely where they should dig, Q and Squid worked their way around until their holes were next to one another.
KP had ended up next to Zigzag, and decided to start up a chat, "Aw, they're pretty cute, don't you think?" she said, nodding her head in Q and Squid's direction.
"Umm... cute like, a kitten? Or cute like... sexy? Or cute like... the way Mr. Sir looks after shooting the head off of a particularly nasty lizard? Or..."
KP cut him off with a confused expression, "Uhh... though Mr. Sir IS pretty cute, I was kinda thinking more along the lines of cute like a couple."
"Oh," Zigzag replied, looking curiously over at them, "They're not, are they? I mean, Squid's not really the lovey type, ya know?"
KP shook her head, "Oh goodness, boys are so oblivious sometimes," she said under her breath, but just loud enough so that Zigzag could inconspicuously hear. Then she continued in a normal volume, "I guess that's why he kissed her last night, huh?"
Zigzag's eyes opened wide, and his hair stuck wildly on end at this thought. But the conversation had to end there, for they could waste no more breath on talking when they needed all the energy they had for digging.
**********
When the puff of dust appeared in the distance to warn the diggers of the upcoming water break, they all jumped happily out of their holes. As KP and Magnet passed Laney's hole, they noticed that it stuck in oddly on one side. They cleared their throats to get her attention.
"Umm... nice technique, honey," KP mocked.
"Hey, I thought it would be fun to dig a tunnel! Wouldn't it be funny if just all of a sudden I popped out of the side of yours or something. If we connect all the tunnels it'll be like a big fun maze!" Laney explained.
Magnet raised his eyebrows, "I think it's against the rules to enjoy digging that much."
"Hey, as long as I dig the same amount of dirt it shouldn't hurt my character building, right?" she shrugged, "It's not as if they check at the end of the day."
KP and Magnet looked over at each other and exchanged glances that proclaimed, affectionately, that Laney had obviously gone mad.
They hoisted her up out of her hole, and listened with amusement as she told them about how cool she thought a whole underground system of holes would be, with rooms and hallways and passages. "Like a hotel!" she exclaimed.
*********
It was quite a bit later that day when they finally heard the inevitable *thump* of dirt on dirt. As each digger exited their hole and observed the scene, it became clear that Laney's tunneling idea hadn't been quite as brilliant as she had thought. The entire roof of her tunnel had caved in on top of her, leaving a scarring ditch across the ground.
No one was quite sure what to do, until they saw a lump of dirt that slowly lifted backward and revealed itself to be none other than Laney's head. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, and she spit out a few mouthfuls of dust before stating, "It caved in."
Now that any worry was gone, the campers of D and G tents felt free to laugh at Laney, in all her glorious stupidity and dirt. Squid took off his hat and chucked it at her head playfully, with good aim. It took them a few minutes to calm down enough to listen to what she was saying.
"Umm... guys, I hate to interrupt, but I can't move. I'm totally stuck," she said simply. This of course brought another storm of laughter from the crowd.
Once they had dried the tears from their eyes, a few of them set to work digging her out, as the rest returned to their holes, giggling every time they looked back at the scene.
Once she had been freed, everyone looked over at her and tried to suppress their laughter. Her entire jumpsuit was, of course, covered in dirt. Her face too was stained with brown, that clung glompishly to her eyelashes, and eyebrows. Her hair was the best. It was drenched in dirt, like the rest of her, and the bandana she had borrowed from Magnet had slipped sideways. This caused the majority of her hair to be clumped over on the right side of her head, with a small flip above her forehead, much like a porn star.
"I LOOK LIKE HARRY POTTER!" she declared over the boys' laughter, "Well I think that's enough digging for today. Back to camp for me. If Mr. Sir asks, umm... tell him I was advocating the liberation of the poor overworked farm mules or something. That should confuse him well enough."
"Dude, here," X-Ray said, struggling to keep his composure. He held out his hand and produced a shower token, "You need this a bit more than I do today."
"Haha, yeah, take it," Magnet said, producing a shower token from his pocket and handing it to her too.
"You guys, I'm NOT taking your-" Laney started, but X-Ray cut her off.
"We're not doing it for you! I think I'd die laughing if I had to look at you looking like that all night."
"Ha Ha Ha," Laney mocked, but she was smiling when she grabbed the tokens out of their hands. She turned to leave and tried to readjust her hair, but only ended up making it worse, and the hoots of amusement followed her as she walked back to camp.
*********
Laney wandered into the Wreck Room after her nice long shower (meaning about twelve minutes - for Camp Green Lake, that was luxury). Only X-Ray and Magnet were there, as they had been the only two to not take showers that day. At the moment they were in a heated game of pool, and hadn't noticed her enter.
"Thanks Guys, that feels sooo much better!" she called out to them.
Magnet began to walk toward her, speaking slowly and enunciating every word, "You... are... an... IDIOT!" and as he reached her he smacked her playfully on the back of her wet head.
"Hey, admit it, it *would* have been cool if it had worked," she persisted.
"It would have been *lame*, had it not collapsed all over your head, but as it is... oh wait," Magnet corrected himself, "That was pretty lame too."
"pphhsssttt," Laney nudged him with her elbow, "You're just jealous that you didn't have such a fabulous idea."
"Mmm, it's always been my dream to have tons of dirt crashing in on top of me," he tried to muster as serious a tone as he could handle.
By this time they had made their way back to the pool table, and Laney directed her question at X-Ray, "Hey, you think it would have been pretty cool to have a whole tunnel system, right X?" she laughed at the bewildered expression on his face.
"Uhh..." he stumbled, "Errr... hey Hotness, you ever play pool before?" he skillfully changed the subject.
She let it go, "Yeah, once. At like, 4 a.m. at a party with an overly tired kid who was more interested in trying to draw a moustache on himself with the chalk than actually playing. He still kicked my ass though."
"Here, why don't ya try some real pool?" he handed her a stick. She looked at it uncertainly.
"Come 'ere. I'll show ya how to play." Magnet called her over to his side of the table. "You put one hand out here like this," he showed her how to place her hand, "which will be the guide for your stick, so you can aim. And the other goes here on the stick, which you'll push with."
She fumbled around with her fingers for a moment, until he finally came up behind her and placed an arm to each side of her. He placed his own limbs on top of hers and forced her into the right positions. He moved her arms along with his as he drew the stick back, and made the shot. Nothing went into a hole, but they did manage to hit a few of the surrounding balls.
"Not bad for a starter," X-Ray encouraged.
"Oooh yeah, I'm a real pro. Did it all myself too," Laney teased.
"Soon you'll be undefeatable, man," Magnet said, while slowly pulling his arms away from hers. He reached around to her side, and moved his arm in for the tickle.
She squealed and jumped backwards, "You know, Magnet," she kidded, "You're looking a bit dirty today. Did you not take a shower or something?"
He scoffed at her, "Oh man, we got a funny one here."
She smiled at him innocently, and he held up his fist, as if warning her, were it not for the smile on his face.
But no threat was ever carried through, as a voice spoke from the doorway, "Don't you hurt my Sunflower!"
Laney looked up happily and shouted, "Frances!"
********
KP and Zigzag had not returned to camp after cleaning themselves up, but rather wandered to a deserted side building to continue with the guitar lessons.
"Is it like this?" KP asked, strumming her fingers across the strings which let out an uncoordinated crash of noise.
"Umm..." Zigzag had to keep himself from cringing, "Not exactly. You have to put your fingers right... here. Try that, hold your fingers in these places."
As Zigzag pulled away, and KP reached her hand forward, their fingers briefly brushed past one another. Zigzag blushed slightly, but KP didn't seem to notice. Or rather, she was looking so intently at the guitar it was impossible to see her face for any reaction.
She ran her fingers along the strings again, and this time a nice even sound was emitted.
"Oh!" she chirped delightedly, "That was pretty!"
"Yes it was - pretty," but he was absently looking more at the top of her head than at her fingers as he spoke. She looked up at him and broke him from his slight daze, "Yeah, yeah, that was much better. That was a uh... a C chord."
"Haha, I actually played a chord?" KP mused, "Must be cause I have such a good teacher." She nudged Zigzag, who was sitting across from her, lightly with her foot.
"Or cause I've got such a good student," he smiled.
**********
It was much later that night when the four girls were in their room, all sitting together in a circle. Frances had been happily welcomed into the crowd, though she did bring along a bit of worry for the other girls that the project was falling apart at the seams. After all, four of them had now been caught.
X-Ray, feeling a bit bored and rebellious, convinced Squid to go on an expedition with him to the forbidden girls tent. The two of them had sauntered casually out of D-Tent under the pretense of needing the bathroom.
But when they opened the tent flap, it was evident the girls were in the middle of some odd ritual. They had their eyes closed, and their hands resting folded in their laps.
They were singing what seemed to be the tune of "In the Jungle" but the words were changed. "In Vermont, little Essex, the half steps sing tonight! Joel and Billy, Sam and Drew, will never leave our sight! Weeeeeeee love them yes we do. Oh weeeeee will always be true."
In the middle of their circle was a sheet of paper. The boys had about half a minute to examine the scene before the girls noticed them. The paper had a picture at the top of four boys, and a smaller picture under it that looked like a whole group of people. There was red and black writing all over the page, and X-Ray was able to make out the words "The Half ..." in bright read writing across the top of the page before they were noticed, and the girls folded the paper up.
"They interrupted out bible session!" Q exclaimed.
"It's OK, guys, we'll finish it later. Our gods will forgive us," KP comforted.
"Uhh... sorry, didn't mean to interrupt anything," X-Ray spoke, still a bit confused. Squid didn't say anything, but just ground his teeth on the toothpick he was biting. He didn't think he particularly liked the idea of Sketch chanting another boys name. FOUR other boys names.
"No worries, nothing we can't tackle later. What's up?" Laney asked.
"Nothing at all, just wanted to go for a walk. We'll be headin' back to our tent now. Cattcha bright and early."
Squid tilted his head, "Night." And then the two boys walked out of the tent.
As soon as they had passed hearing distance of the girls, the two boys looked at each other.
"What the hell was that?" X-ray wondered.
"Think I know, man? I don't know about those girls," he shook his head.
"Do you think its what they were sent here for? Maybe it's a cult?"
"Maybe they made people drink cool-aid and die," Squid offered.
X-Ray shot him an amused look, "Dude, now you're starting to sound like Ziggy."
**********
NOTE: OK, so I know the last section of this was probably wicked confusing for those of you not in on the little inside joke, but it should be cleared up in the next chapter. Albeit, you probably won't really understand it even then, but you can just laugh at the weirdness, right? Heh. And thankfully that chapter is OVER! Huzzah!