Spring Break

By Magewriter

Chapter 1: It'll Be Fun

I guess it's kind of a sequel to Rescue, but you don't have to know the first story to understand this. I just got back from camping with my dad, and except for the fact that this has three people instead of two, this is what happened.

Honestly, though, if you were going to get a maximum of seven days, and you would have to pay for airfare, would you go back to a gypsy caravan to see your family if you'd already seen them at Winter Break? I wouldn't, especially if my boyfriend (or in Raz's case, girlfriend) asked me to go camping.

From the point of view of Lili, if it wasn't weird enough already.

Sorry I didn't have a disclaimer for awhile. I don't own Psychonauts. That's all I think I need for this chapter.

Spring break. Raz had no plans. It was almost impossible to locate the caravan in enough time to be back by the end of break.

Lili, however, had plans that she was willing to share with Raz.

She'd even asked her dad.

So, one day after classes were over, she went to his room. He was a Psychonaut, so he had a whole room to himself. She was a Psycadet, so she had a roommate.

"Oh! Hi, Lili! I wasn't expecting you." Duh. They hadn't had a conversation before she'd knocked.

"I knew that. Do you have any plans for spring break?" Why would she have to knock if he'd been expecting her?

"No. I'm just gonna stay here and… you know… hang out. I don't have anything better to do." Wow. That sounded boring.

"Do you usually celebrate Easter, Raz?" That was the important question.

"Not usually. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go camping with me and my dad over break."

"Uh… what does Easter have to do with that?"

"Well, it's Christian, see, and my mom's Jewish, and my dad's an atheist, and I kind of am, too, so we don't celebrate Easter. Did you know that it's the only religious holiday where the schools put up little signs for it in the cafeteria? It's annoying."

"Well, I don't think it's really that religious anymore. Usually it's just people dying eggs and looking for them in the morning. And with all the bunny-related events I've been through recently, I don't want anything to do with the Easter Bunny. We just didn't celebrate it because… well… where would my parents hide the eggs?"

"Oh yeah, huh? Well, do you want to go camping with me and my dad over break?"

"I don't have any other plans. What kind of camping?"

"We're going up on a mountain in my dad's car, pitching a tent in an area where many, many people have pitched theirs before, and stashing our stuff in the car. We might even go back home to get supplies if we forget too much stuff." She knew she wasn't making it sound exciting.

"Oh. You don't sound too excited."

"I never am before we get there. Then we get there, pitch the tent, set up, do some camp cooking, go hiking, rock climbing, and I'm hyped up." She smiled.

"So, what's the catch?" He knew her too well.

"We aren't using any psychic abilities. If you see something cool, you can't even use the little bouncy-ball thingy you used at camp. It'll be three days without any psychic powers. And, we're going to hike up from Juniper camp to the Summit." She smiled even wider.

"Sure! I think I've been using my mental powers too much here."

"Yeah. They should tell you how addictive levitation is when they teach it to you."

"And other stuff. Like telekinesis. I think it'll be good for me to stop with my psychic abilities for a couple days." He smiled. He was so cute when he smiled… Boy-type-cute, of course. Not young-animal-type-cute.

"Okay. I'll tell my dad. You'll have to bring some of your own stuff, but we've got most of the things you'll need. Like, we have mats to help stay warm, and those "mummy" sleeping bags, and paper plates and stuff. But if you've ever tried to make hot coco with a plastic spoon… you should bring your own silverware, meaning one fork, one spoon, and one knife, like a blunt knife, and your own plastic cup. Do you have any food allergies?"

"Uh, no."

"Good. And on the second day, because we're going up there in the afternoon and setting up and eating dinner, then we're staying there for a day, and then the next morning we're packing up and driving home, so on the second day, we're hiking up to the summit, so you should pack a sandwich. We'll be keeping it in the cooler."

"You've been planning this for a long time, haven't you?"

"No. I just talked with dad last night."

"Oh."

"It only takes a couple hours to figure out what you're gonna be doing for camping. Then it takes a couple minutes to pack, unless you're snow camping, which we aren't, then you have to check that you packed everything, but if you use detangler on your hair, even though you probably don't, I'm bringing that, and… oh, yeah, you should probably bring two pairs of shoes. Or rain boots. Or snow boots. Waterproof stuff. Like, a rain jacket, rain pants… I'll give you a list later. So… you wanna talk for awhile?" Wow. It took a long time to explain camping.

"Sure. And I know how to pack for snow."

"Yeah, but it might not snow. That's the point. It's just past the snowy season. We aren't even going to be anywhere near the summit." Dumb boys… why was it always boys that were so dumb. Sports are nice, but what was up with cars? Who's going to look at your car and say, "That's a cool person because they drive a nice car"? Same with painting your nails. Hair can go too far, too. She noticed that Raz was talking.

"And I think I can – Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be, dorkface?"

"You looked kind of… zoned out."

"Whatever. Say… what do you think of Linda and Sam, like, dating?"

"Which Linda and which Sam?"

"Linda the Giant Hulking Lungfish of Lake Oblongata and Sam Pokeylope. Who else do you know named Linda who might get with a Sam?"

"I didn't know his name was Sam." Ignorant, too. Oh, well. He was her crush, not to mention he was one heck of a kisser. "I guess they'd be… okay, together."

"Newest news from Milla is, she was talking to Linda, and she had a date with Sam."

"Who, Milla!"

"No, dorkface! Eww! It was Linda!" Baaaaad images…

"Oh. Wait, why was Milla talking to Linda? I'd think they wouldn't like each other after… It's kind of hard to be friends with someone once they've regurgitated you."

"You managed it."

"Yeah, but I was also dealing with the minds of crazy people. It's completely different."

"Yeah, I guess. But girls are different than guys. Guys are weird."

"Hey! That –"

She chose that exact moment to teleport back to her room. Her roommate, who was also good at teleportation, was already gone. Or invisible. Whatever. She started packing.

Besides the fact that this actually happened (except that my boyfriend didn't come with me and my dad and nothing like the first chapter ever occurred) my mom's copy of Pride and Prejudice was left on the floor of the tent. It should be dry by tomorrow.

Sorry for the generalizations about guys. Girl stuff is dumb, too, but you have to admit that guys are also violent. Or, fake-violent. In everyday situations, girls are actually tougher, which makes sense. If women weren't tough, there would be a lot less humans alive today.

Oh, and if you read some ancient chapter of one of my old stories, you'll see that I put down that I called all of my documents "qwerty." Notice that "called" is a past-tense verb. Now, they're all called "qwertyuiop." It's even easier than "qwerty."