Once the girls had been settled down, they were all sent to their tents to change for the campfire. The girls stumbled out of their tents 10 minutes later, one crying out when her hair got stuck in the zipper. Jack winced, knowing just how much it hurt from experience. After sorting out that little problem, Jack stared out across the lake. It was late autumn, and the leaves were changing colors. The moon was full this weekend. It had a nice effect on the surrounding beach. Sam walked up behind him, silently.
"Beautiful, isn't it sir?" Sam asked in almost a whisper.
Jack looked at her. "It is Carter it is. One problem. There's too many trees."
Sam laughed and looked around, acquiring a sneaky look on her face. "You know Colonel, the girls certainly seem to like you."
Jack thought he knew what she was talking about. "All kids seem to like me," he responded in his smug voice. "I don't scare them off with technobabble."
"Actually sir, they think you're cute. Daniel too."
Jack looked at her in surprise. That certainly didn't sound like his Carter. Fine. If she was going to say stuff like that to get a reaction, he'd fight tight back.
"Are you sure the kiddies that are thinking that, or did you come up with that on your own?"
Sam blushed. "The girls were talking about it close the campfire. Daniel was off staring at the totem pole. Just thought that you'd like a warning sir..."
Jack smiled. "Warning taken. I think it's about time that we rounded up the girls. We have 15 minutes until it starts, and it will take us around 10 to walk it. It'll take the girls at least the full 15 minutes."
"Sir, you do realize that at camp, stuff hardly ever starts on time right? That they're expecting us to be late?"
"So we make sure that were not late."
Jack was right in the since that it took them the full time to get there. It was getting dark, and the girls started comparing flash lights as they walked. The campfire circle had some wooden bleachers set up.
He immediately claimed the one farthest from the opening to the trail. As he sat down, there was a rush of girls trying to sit next to him. Cassie ended up winning one side, and Sam had been walking right beside him, so she claimed the other side. There were a group of girls around them, and a good sized crowd around Daniel.
Mandy joined the campfire circle with the crew members right behind her. They claimed the bleachers on the other side. Mandy started by establishing some ground rules for the campfire.
"First, no flashlights will be turned on around the campfire. You are not to leave the circle without telling one of your leaders where you're going. The most important rule though: if you know the story, you must not share the ending with anyone else. You are welcome to discuss the story later."
3 of the crew members performed a skit that set the girls off into laughter. It was along the lines of a story told again and again, but every time it had a different style. For example, it could be done using Starwars quotes and sounds to tell the story, or gangsta style, or even opera, all to tell the same story. Next there was some singing of multiple repeat after me songs.
Mandy told the next story. It was a legend about the camp itself, that someday, outsiders would arrive and find an ancient treasure, that would take them far away, but they would be happy were they moved to.
Once they returned to the camp, Jack went to lie down on the beach, and was joined by Sam and Daniel. Together they watched the moon go lower and lower, until it couldn't be seen, then headed off to bed. Sam couldn't wait. She managed to get sand down her pants, and was very...Itchy...