Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing or The Parent Trap.

~*~

The Maxwell Trap

by Dorothy Winner

~*~

After signing up for their cabins, all the girls assembled in the main lodge.

"Hello, and welcome to Camp Walden!" the red-haired girl said cheerfully into her megaphone. "My name is Mariemaia Khushrenada, and I'm your head camp counselor."

"You're kidding," said Heidi.

"Isn't she your cousin?" Liane asked Megan.

"Somehow or other," said Megan.

"Didn't she try and take over the world?" asked Heidi.

"Megalomania runs on my mom's side of the family," said Megan.

"Now that you all have signed up for your cabins," Mariemaia went on, "I'll call out your cabin assignments and give you your maps so you know where everything is. Once you find your cabins you can get settled in. Please get into your uniforms once you are done unpacking. Lunch will be here in the main lodge at 1300 hours." She flipped through several pages on her clipboard. "Okay. Wing Zero cabin: Barton, Gabrielle; Maxwell, Sydney; Yuy, Alexandra." She looked at the sheet oddly and looked at the back side. "That's weird… there's supposed to be eight girls in each cabin…"

"Saying 'Omae o korosu' comes in very useful at times," Alexandra whispered to Sydney and Gabrielle. The three of them giggled.

"Oh well," said Mariemaia, "looks like you girls are very lucky. Here are your maps. Take the path to your right once you exit the main lodge."

Liane watched the three girls leave. "That girl looks familiar…"

"Which one?" asked Megan.

"The one with the black hair…"

"Deathscythe cabin: Carpenter, Gretchen; Chang, Liane; Hanley, Victoria; King, Ashley; Paul, Julia; Schbeiker, Heidi; Silverman, Nicole; Winner, Megan," announced Mariemaia.

"That's us," said Heidi, getting up.

"You signed us up for the Deathscythe cabin?" asked Liane.

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Heidi.

"But I wanted the Shenlong or Altron cabin…"

The three of them met up with the five other girls in their cabin. "Maps for everybody…" said Mariemaia. "Follow the path on the right; your cabin should be just across from the Wing Zero cabin."

"Everybody together? Okay, let's go," said Heidi.

"Next cabin, Heavyarms: Bergeren, Missy…"

~*~

"This is way too cool," said Sydney, flopping down onto a bed. "Eight beds and just the three of us. You are so awesome, Alexandra."

"Don't tell my mom; she'll be extremely upset. She's trying to teach me pacifism, but it's not working," said Alexandra with a mischievous smile.

"I was wondering why that one girl ran away from you with looking terrified," said Gabrielle.

"It's quite simple. Patented Yuy Glare O'Death," said Alexandra. "Works like a charm. I had my dad teach me, when I was seven. My mom was so mad…" She unzipped her duffel bag and shook out its contents onto the floor. "There. All unpacked."

Sydney and Gabrielle did the same. "Okay, just so we're all clear," said Sydney, "this is my pile, that's Gabrielle's, and that's yours, Alexandra."

"Sounds good to me," said Alexandra. "Here, put our prank arsenal under your bed; we can't have the counselors finding it."

"Right," said Sydney, shoving the bag under her bed. "The cabin across from us looks like a good target, don't you think?" she said, peering out the window at the Deathscythe cabin.

Alexandra's Prussian blue eyes had a strange gleam in them. "Unsuspecting target, close proximity, element of surprise… yes, that cabin will make an excellent target. Good choice, Sydney."

"I say we wait," said Gabrielle, "see what the enemy is like, their habits and stuff, figure out the best time to strike. After all, we're going to be here for two months. Let them think they're safe, then hit them hard with all we've got."

Sydney put her arms around her two best friends. "Excellent plan, girls. They'll never know what hit 'em."

~*~

"Ugh, how ugly are these?" said Heidi, holding up a short-sleeved khaki shirt that had a little red-on-black W on the sleeve. "Did Mariemaia design them?"

"Look, if you turn the W upside-down it looks like the Mariemaia insignia," said Liane. "Now all you need are the tie and the horrible knee-high socks."

"And look at these shorts, they aren't much better," said Heidi, holding up the matching pair of dark blue shorts. "Look, they go down to your knees."

"You got shorts? I got a skirt," said Megan, holding up her pleated blue skirt.

"Sorry, I wouldn't be caught dead in a skirt," said Heidi. "Ugh, this place is like a girl scout camp or something. Why don't they just let us wear what we want?"

"They want all the girls to look unified, I guess," said Liane.

"But this? You expect me to go hiking through the woods in this?" said Heidi, waving the hated shorts in the air.

"I suppose they'll give us something else to wear for those kinds of activities," said Liane.

"Great." Heidi looked out the window. "Hey, isn't that the cabin with just the three girls in it?"

"Yeah," said the girl named Julia. "I was gonna sign up for that cabin, but the one girl with the brown hair glared at me in this really scary way and said 'Oh-mah-ee oh koh-rohs,' or something like that. I don't even know what it means, but I thought, 'I definitely don't want to be in a cabin with that girl for the next two months,' so I just went to the next sheet and put my name down for this one."

"'Omae o korosu?'" said Heidi. "That's Japanese for 'I'll kill you!'"

"You should report her to the counselors!" exclaimed Megan.

"It's only the first day; I don't want any trouble," said Julia. "Besides, she's not really going to kill me."

"That girl is just bullying you to get what she wants," said Liane. "Bullies are weak. They prey on others because it makes them think they're strong. They have no sense of integrity or honor."

"Um… okay," said Julia, looking at Liane strangely. "What are all your names, by the way? I'm Julia, who are you?"

"Heidi Schbeiker," said Heidi, shaking her hand.

"Chang Liane."

"Megan Winner."

"Oh, are you really?" said Julia. "I heard your name being called but I thought I was hearing things… are you related at all to the guy who owns Winner Enterprises?"

"I suppose you're talking about Quatre Winner? I'm his daughter," said Megan.

"Oh my gosh. You're the richest family in the colonies and the Earth Sphere, aren't you? You must be like his heir or something."

"I don't know. I think my siblings and I get to split it or something when the time comes," said Megan. "Besides, my dad always says it's not about being rich; it's how you make a name for yourself on your own. I'm just an ordinary kid like you, really."

"Hate to break up the love fest, girls," said Heidi, "but it's almost time for lunch and I'm starving. Let's go!"

"The thing about Heidi," said Megan as Heidi dragged her, Julia, and Liane off to the mess hall, "is she's always thinking about food. You'd think she was facing a famine or something…"

"Well then, she doesn't have much to look forward to," said Julia. "I was here last year and the food isn't all that great…"

"Oh, you don't know Heidi. She'll eat anything…"

~*~

TBC…