Disclaimer: I don't own anything, blah, blah, blah.
"What do you mean we aren't on your list?" Cody asked the concierge at the Hotel.
"Exactly what I said, you do not have a room booked at this hotel."
" But we called a week ago and booked a room. Are you sure you checked under Bates? How about Myers? Or Gunnerson?" Cody pleaded.
"I checked under all of those names Miss, there is no one booked under any of them. I wish I could offer you something else, but every room in the hotel is booked. There's a business conference going on this week," the girl looked at her very sympathetically.
"Do you know of any other hotels in this area?"
"There is one about an hour and a half from here."
"Okay," Cody sighed.
"Thanks for your help."
She turned to her group of friends who were sprawled out on the lobby couches.
"So what luxurious suite did Bates book for us?" Adena asked, not moving from where she lay.
"He didn't apparently," Cody frowned. Adena's face fell.
"You mean he didn't book anything, like, at all?"
"Nothing."
"Well, is there another room we can get?" Cameron asked. Cody rubbed her forehead; this whole situation was giving her a headache.
"There's a big conference going on so they don't have anything available and the next hotel is an hour and a half from here."
"Oh, this is bad," Adena sounded like she was going to cry. They sat in silence, trying to think of what to do next.
"We can just drive the hour and a half," Cody suggested.
"It's totally out of our way and that means an extra hour and a half back here tomorrow," Tanis pointed out.
"Does anyone have a better idea?"
Surprisingly, it was Squib who piped up.
"Actually, I do."
"You cannot be serious?" Tanis sounded less than impressed.
"As a heart attack, so how about taking one for the team and helping us gather some fire wood," Squib smirked. He had remembered passing a campground about fifteen minutes before the hotel. They had pulled in and explained their situation. The guy there had been nice enough to give them one lot for a small price, some matches and a few pieces of firewood. But that wasn't going to be enough to last them the whole night.
"Guys, this is going to be so fun!" Adena chirped.
"It'll be just like Girl Scouts! We can roast marshmallows and sleep under the stars-"
"On the hard ground, with no water to take a shower or brush our teeth!" Tanis interrupted. She was not happy with this arrangement at all.
"Hey," Cameron said in a soothing tone.
"It's warm outside, there's no rain and Cody and Squib are going to go and get us some provisions. I'm sure they can get you some water so that you can brush you teeth," he rubbed Tanis' shoulders in an attempt to calm her down.
"I guess," Tanis mumbled.
"Yeah, we can definitely get you some water," Cody agreed.
"It won't be so bad, I promise," she smiled at Tanis, who gave a weak smile back. Cody knew for a fact that Tanis was deathly afraid of snakes, and she had a feeling that was the reason for her anxiety.
"Are there any other requests?" Squib asked, jingling the car keys.
"Marshmallows!" Adena shouted from the back of the site.
"Okay," Squib sighed.
"But under one condition. There will be no campfire sing alongs." Adena stuck out her tongue at him, sending the others into fits of laughter. When it subsided, they all got back to preparing the fire.
"Try and get some real food too, I'm pretty hungry," Cameron suggested.
"We'll finish building the fire while you're gone."
"Don't forget my water!" Tanis called to them as they drove away.
Cody and Squib finally pulled into the campsite an hour later. Adena, Cameron and Tanis were already sitting around a fire.
"What took so long? Were you growing the food?" Tanis quipped.
"Oh, use your witty remarks now, but wait until you see what we got," Squib retorted.
"Yeah, we told the guy who owned the grocery store our whole story and he felt so bad that he loaned us these!" Cody threw four sleeping bags, all bundled up, onto the grass.
"Alright!" Cameron said, clearly happy that he was not going to have to sleep on the grass.
"What else? Did you get the marshmallows?" Adena asked excitedly.
"Two bags," Squib tossed them at her.
"And for Tanis," Cody disappeared inside the van for a moment and came out with a large package.
"An entire case of water for you to brush your teeth with and some shampoo so you can wash you hair in the lake or the campground showers tomorrow morning."
"Thanks," for the first time all night, Tanis showed a genuine smile.
"Oh but just wait my friends, that's not all," Squib sounded like the announcer on 'The Price Is Right'.
"We also got chips, cookies, bread, pop tarts, peanut butter, apples, Gatorade, cereal, batteries, two flashlights, pickles, and some toilet paper for the ladies." Both Cody and Squib looked very impressed with themselves.
"Wait, pickles?" Adena asked.
"Oh," Squib gave a knowing smirk.
"Those are for later, something special."
"Great," Adena muttered.
Author's Note:
Okay, so it's a little drawn out, but don't you want to know what the pickles are for! To the reviewer who said that Cody was 15, I think she is 16 on the show. If I am wrong, which is very possible, this story is supposed to take place when they are around 16 or 17, so it would be further than the show. I really appreciate people's reviews! It is always good to get feedback. Well, enjoy! And let me know if you have any ideas, questions, concerns, etc! You guys are awesome!