AN: So for most of January I've been working on writing the chapters for Zombies 2, but thanks to some great advice I got last week, I realized I was working too hard on making it exactly like Z2, and that would not fit this story. So I'll probably post those as their own thing eventually because I think they're great, but don't belong here. For now I'm trying to remove most of it from my headspace to refocus on this story. There will probably be some excitement in these upcoming chapters but nowhere close to all the forced conflicts in Z2. Enjoy!
Out on the beach, people were having tons of fun. Enjoying the early spring sun that had chased away the last of winter's chill. They were swimming out in the ocean, sunbathing, playing volleyball, everyone enjoying their time. Especially the kids that were out of school on spring break. The beach was filled with laughter. Until a different sound started coming from beneath the ground.
A pale gray arm burst out of the sand. Followed by an emerald green head, that let out a terrifying "ROAR!"
Six kids that were standing nearby let out horrified screams as the monster continued to crawl out of the sand. Once he was free, they finally started running away as he quickly tagged them all.
"Come and get me!" Gram called out as he ran away. But Zed was able to tag him before he made it too far.
Zed was on Spring Break too, and he brought Zoey to the beach to have some fun. She quickly found her friends from school, and since they all knew Zed, he got roped into playing with them. And just like in PE they wanted to play tag. It was Zoey's idea to bury Zed in the sand first to give it an extra zombie twist.
Zed was always happy to play with kids, especially right now, with no school or sports to distract him, he was already missing Addison, even though it had only been three days since she left for cheer camp. Zed was just doing his best not to think about her, but mostly failing at it. She was always on his brain.
"OK, you guys." Zed asked, "Who's it next?"
"Oh, I want to!" Zoey and Kellan shouted out at the same time.
"Alright then, you both can."
Before they started, Zed could see Zoey whisper something in Kellan's ear and they both looked over at Zed conspiratorially, letting out small mischievous smiles.
"On your mark, get set, GO!" Zoey yelled as she and Kellan began chasing everyone.
Zed just tried to stay out the way, and soon it was only him left, Zoey ran straight at him so he started running, jumping from side to side, always keeping just out of reach.
"Come on Zoey, is that all you got?"
"Just you wait." Zoey smiled.
Zed just kept running circles around Zoey, but by doing so he forgot about Kellan.
"Ha! Tagged you!" Kellan tapped him on the leg from behind.
"Oh No! You got me!" Zed laughed, dramatically falling to the ground defeated.
Everyone gathered around Zed again. "Can we play again?" Gram asked.
" You know what? How about we have a sandcastle contest. You guys are tiring me out." Zed smiled, hands on his knees as he pretended to take in huge gulps of air.
"Yeah!" The kids all cheered.
Zed took the time to catch his breath and try to get some of the sand out of his hair and clothes as the kids all worked hard building up their castles. After a few minutes of basking in the sun, he was recruited by his sister and her friends to help carry buckets of water back and forth from the nearby ocean. Which he did, many, many times.
About half an hour later both teams were done. Zoey, Kinzley, and Gram's castle was built up in impressively sturdy layers so that the highest tower was almost as tall as they were. It was also artfully decorated with rocks, shells, and a few plants they found from around the beach.
Kellan, Hadley, and Amya's castle was an impressive fortress with strong walls, a water-filled moat, and a central keep with a drawbridge made from a piece of driftwood. And topped with a toy dragon guarding the treasure buried within.
"Wow you guys, both of these are sooo good. I can't just pick one. You know what? I say it's a draw."
"Boo!" Zoey and the others shouted at him.
"Come on Zed, you have to pick one. Please?" Zoey asked.
"Fine." Zed sighed. He put one of his hands over his eyes and pointed with the other. "Eeny meeny miny mo touch a zombie by the toe, if he roars let him go eeny meeny miny mo. And it is time to eat brainz.
Zed opened his eyes to see that he was pointing at his sister's castle.
"Yay! We won!" Zoey, Kinzley, and Gram all shared high fives, and then the rest of their friends were congratulating each other too.
"Alright you guys, what do you want to do now?"
Zoey and her friends looked around the beach, searching for something to do.
"Oh, I know! Can we go get some froyo?" Zoey asked, pointing at a silver cart with a pink umbrella a hundred yards away.
"Sure you guys, my treat." Zed agreed.
"Yay!" The kids cheered, and they began to run towards the cart before they looked behind themselves and seeing Zed's leisurely pace, they ran back and started dragging him along to make him go faster.
Finally, they got within earshot of the cart and Zed was surprised to see who was pushing it along.
"Coach?" Zed was shocked to see him here on the beach, pushing a froyo cart, and wearing a bright pink apron and hat.
Coach just smiled at him and all his other eager customers. "I plan on making offseason good for me this year Zed. I invested in a froyo cart. Little side hustle, gonna go global. Buy a car, get some dress shirts, go on vacation without my Great Aunt Edna. Though she loves swimwear weather…you know I might just bring her along." Coach rambled on like usual.
"I've been trying all sorts of flavors, including quite a few to suit your appetite. I've got Cauliflower brains mocha crunch, peanut butter and bones, squirmy wormy…"
"Cauliflower brains mocha crunch please." Zoey asked politely. The other kids followed suit, they were excited but they were also part of Seabrook, Zed was surprised that all of them wanted to try the zombie flavors.
"You got it." Coach smiled down at them, and he started scooping out their orders.
"I'll take a vanilla, Coach."
"Really?" Zoey asked him.
"What? I like vanilla."
"Nothing wrong with that Zed. Here you go. Enjoy."
"How much Coach?"
"Come on Zed, for my star player? Your first ones are on me. Just tell your friends."
"Thanks, Coach its delicious." Zed said, taking a bite. "What do we say everyone?"
"Thank you!" All the kids chorused through their delicious treats.
"You know Coach, I think you can give Cheery on Top some serious competition."
"Thanks, Zed, I hope everyone else likes it just as much as your crowd here does. Have a good day everybody."
"See yah Coach!" Zed called out, as the kids were already running back to their castles to eat.
They finished playing at the beach when everyone's parents called them to go home, Zed and Zoey walked back to Zombietown under the new Unification Gate. In the last few months, Zombietown had really started to open up, and there was a massive crowd of both humans and zombies traveling in and out. A few kids were even throwing wishing coins into the newly built fountain. The only thing Zed wished was for Addison to come back soon.
The next day, Zed walked towards the old powerplant. Usually, it was either dark and abandoned, or filled with music and fun on the lower levels during zombie mashes, but today it was swarming with a horde of blue-suited workers scrambling all over. They were preparing for the demolition scheduled in a few days to begin building the new Cheer Pavilion.
"OK let's triple-check that." Zed could hear his dad talking to another worker as they set one of the demolition charges.
"Hey Pops." Zed called out.
"Hey Son." Zevon looked up from his clipboard. "First day as foreman of the demo crew. Big day for zombiekind."
"Yeah, you'll do great just don't make any lame zombie dad jokes." Zed tried to warn him. Zed would miss the powerplant, but a few weeks ago he and Bonzo had finished working hard to save the most important piece of it for him and Addison. The main thing he told himself was that this was huge for his dad. He finally had a job he was both proud of and deserved. Just as much as all the other new workers under his leadership.
"But the working stiffs love 'em." Zevon called out, laughing to himself. "By the way, I think there's something up on the third level you could try to take care of. I'd really appreciate it."
"Sure Pops. I'll go check it out." Zed promised, confused why his dad was asking him for help.
As Zed continued walking through the powerplant one last time for nostalgia, carefully staying out of the busy workers' way as they bustled to and fro. He began to hear a loud voice shouting from up above. It took him some time to find the stairs, and after walking through the old control room he finally found the source.
"Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! This demolition has got to go." Eliza was yelling into a megaphone.
"They can't tear it down Zed." Eliza turned around once she noticed him walking up behind her, thankfully without using the megaphone.
"Seabrook power hasn't worked for years."
"It's an important part of Zombie heritage, and our Mash Pit is down there. Bonzo and I had to move all our stuff out of here for no reason, and we haven't had a Mash since Valentine's Day. You two even moved the light garden for your girlfriends."
"This is progress Eliza. And now we can even go to Prawn. This is the first year Zombies can attend. Its gonna be epic. We'll find a new place to have mashes, and in the meantime, we can party with everyone else." Zed handed her a folded-up poster that he had had in his pocket for the last week.
"Making progress, that sounds great but what's the price we have to pay? There is no way Seabrook knows how to throw a good party. Even though I'm DJing, I'm pretty sure Principal Lee won't want me to turn Prawn into a Zombie Mash." Eliza informed him.
"Well, I'm ready for a new day, ready for a change. I plan on having the most beautiful date at the dance. Speaking of I need your help. I have an idea of what I want to do for Addison's Prawnposal but I need your help to make it work."
"Ugh." Eliza groaned. "This isn't helping you come up with the mushiest thing possible, is it? Just ask her. You know as well as I do she'll say yes. No drama."
"No, don't worry, Zoey and I have the mushy area covered, I just need your expert tech wizardry to make sure it can work how I want it to."
"Fine, but only if you help me fight this. I'm loud and proud to be a zombie!" Eliza shouted into the microphone.
"Sometimes too loud. Eliza, I thought we already decided there's nothing we really can do. And yeah, they're tearing the powerplant down, but it's for a good cause, so many of our neighbors have a great job that they love, and the pavilion will help bring more people into Zombietown. "
"I dream of a day we ditch our Z-bands and let our inner monsters roar. AAGGHH!" She shouted into the speaker. "Just say something in the loudspeaker, or I'm not helping you."
"Fine." Zed took the mike and then shouted out. "I'm loud and proud to be a zombie!"
"Thanks for your support. I'll come over later to help you out." Eliza grumbled.
"Gar Gar Gaza Eliza."
"Yeah, yeah. Save it for Addison." Eliza waved him off before once again starting her protest.
"Sorry Dad, I gave it my best shot but you should know by now Eliza doesn't listen to me unless she wants to." Zed smiled when he made it back down from the upper levels. Eliza's voice still echoing from above.
"I've tried everything else except calling Dale and the Z-Patrol, which I won't do. Yet. How long is your guys' Spring Break again?" Zevon asked nervously.
"Two weeks."
Zevon sighed. "Hopefully she'll get tired eventually. Zed do you think we're doing the right thing?"
"Of course you are Dad, you're building history, helping make Zombietown and Seabrook more united. I'm so happy for you I really am." Zed placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks, Zed, see you tonight when I get off."
"Bye Pops!" Zed waved as he walked out.
Later that night, Zed, Zoey, and Eliza were holed up in his room and Zed was explaining everything he was planning. He was very thorough in what he wanted, but he didn't really know how to make most of it work.
"You really want to do all this?" Eliza asked him.
"Yeah it will be a total surprise, she won't be expecting it at all." Zed said excitedly.
"I get that, but you really want to make it this hard on yourself?" Eliza rolled her eyes at him. "You know you can just walk up and ask her. Hey, Addison want to go to Prawn with me? She says yes, obviously, and then you two have a wonderful night making googly eyes at each other. Problem solved."
"I have to do it like this. Seabrook puts flashy into everything they do. Zoey, don't you agree that this is a good idea?"
"Yeah, I love it. And Addison will love it too."
Zed started singing and dancing around his bedroom pulling Zoey along with him. "We're finally allowed to go to Prawn. Gonna get our ziggy ziggy zombie on. Counting down the days I've been keeping track. Just imagine me taking her to the dance."
"A human and a zombie hand in hand." Zoey joined in.
"Ready for a new day, ready for a change."
"OK that's enough Z." Eliza interrupted him.
"It's fine, anyway back to my plan, do you think I can do it?"
"Yeah, I'll look for all the stuff you'll need. Hopefully, I'll have everything in a few days and also have a blueprint of how you can set it up."
"Thanks, Eliza, you're the best."
"I know I am. See you later Zoey. Looks like I have homework to do now, and on vacation too."
"Bye Eliza!" Zoey shouted out.
"So what can we do now?" Zoey asked Zed after Eliza went back home.
"We can start painting the signs. It will probably take us a few days to finish everything before Eliza brings her stuff. Do you think we can handle it?"
"We got this."
A few days later Zed was walking through the school hallways. With permission from Mr. Nielson, Bonzo's art teacher, he was borrowing some last-minute art supplies that he needed for his big plan. With his backpack full he gazed from the balcony over at the windows. Most of them were covered by previous Prawn Kings and Queens on the Prawn Wall of Fame. He stopped at the nearest empty window. He could see it now. Here in this hall, up on these walls, picturing Addison beside him. He could imagine the picture that would go up there for the rest of time. Himself standing tall in an impeccable pink suit with the happiest smile on his face. Because standing in front of him with his hands around her waist was Addison. Her amazingly beautiful unique hair, perfectly styled. In a beautiful pink dress that perfectly matched his suit. And her hands placed lovingly over his. Perfect.
"Then they can see the life inside me." Zed promised to himself. He would do everything possible to give Addison the perfect Prawn Night. He missed her so much. Even Zoey was complaining that he was too mopey, Eliza too whenever he hung out with her, but not in quite the same words.
They had been sending each other letters every day. It sounded like she was having tons of fun
He just wanted to see her face and hear her voice more than anything. So the only thing he was able to really focus on was making sure his plan went absolutely perfect. He checked his phone, he may have put a timer counting down the minutes until he would see Addison again, seeing the numbers fall closer and closer was the main thing keeping him going if he wasn't distracted by Zoey.
He pulled her most recent letter out of his pocket.
Dear Zed,
Always Know this
Even when we're apart…
WE BELONG TOGETHER
Cheer Camp is so much fun
But I miss you so much
Only three more days!
Addison
P.S. You won't believe what I caught Bree and Bonzo doing last night…
Gar Gar Gaza
But after the longest two weeks of his life, Zed finally had everything ready to go. He had packed it all up on a dolly and he and Zoey started walking towards the woods that morning. He planned to spring his trap a couple of miles into the woods away from Seabrook so that hopefully no one else would be driving by except the cheer bus. He had asked Bree before they all left, and she told him they were planning to be back in Seabrook by 5:30 pm. So, Zed should have plenty of time to prepare everything with Zoey's help, but he was also in a bit of a hurry, he didn't want to accidentally be too late and have Addison miss it.
A few miles away, nestled within the forest and hills that surround Seabrook, was the place that built champions. The Mighty Shrimp Cheer Camp. It was their first full day of camp after last night was mostly spent on the bus ride and getting everyone settled. Everyone was fired up to be there. The very first thing everyone did that morning was burst through a giant poster and run down to the main clubhouse. The cheerleaders were all screaming in excitement. Many doing flips and cartwheels down the grass. Everyone dressed in pink Seabrook Cheer t-shirts.
"Cheer camp," Bree said excitedly to Addison, "it's even more sparkly than I dreamed."
"I know this is going to be so much fun." Addison agreed. Before they both continued to follow the rest of the cheerleaders.
Down at the clubhouse, Addison was welcoming everyone to the start of camp. "This is cheer camp, a place where everyone belongs we're a unified squad and-"
"Split Up! Bucky shouted and blew his whistle. The crowd parted to allow him to backflip down the middle up front with Addison and Bree.
"Usually unified," Addison muttered to herself. "OK everyone, now since this is Bree and I's first time at cheer camp just like many of you, we've decided to let Bucky and the Aceys lead us these two weeks. But you can still come to us if you have any problems."
"Thank you, Addison, that's right you all heard it here first, I'm running this show again. So this will once again be the best cheer camp ever!" Bucky gave a sparkly presentation of his amazing jazz hands.
Most of the cheerleaders gave him a round of applause before he motioned for quiet.
"You better believe we're gonna break you down and build you back up into peppy little cheer machines. Like my assistants, Lacey…Stacey…and Tracey!
The crowd gave another round of applause.
Addison turned to her unified "Let's show them that we got this."
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered back.
"We're back here on the scene and everyone's together with zombies on this team we'll be better than ever." Addison gave her team a quick pep talk to get them started.
They started with a review of absolutely every cheer they had done so far this year as a final test to make sure they were up to date. Then did a plethora of drills and new routines until everyone was in perfect sync. But they had plenty of breaks for team bonding activities like canoe races, arts and crafts projects with plenty of glitter, a carpet ball tournament, and even roasting smores over the campfire every night.
Some of the zombies were nervous about the fire at first, but everyone quickly relaxed, especially once the marshmallows and chocolate were broken out. Even Bonzo was completely fine with the fire as long as Bree was holding his hand beside him.
Bucky started telling a scary story, "You've all heard the stories of bloodthirsty monsters that roam these woods. Feasting on innocent cheerleaders."
Bucky continued, "Legend has it that when the first settlers came to Seabrook one hundred years ago…they found wild beasts with sharp claws lurking in the forest. Which sparked an epic battle. Seabrook's settlers bravely fought off the monstrous attack. And they discovered a powerful energy source. Realizing they discovered a precious resource, they safeguarded it from the beasts. They weren't going to let anyone steal their treasure, so they hid it. And no one has seen any of the monsters ever since."
Bucky slowly let his gaze rest on each terrified face. "But they're still out there, watching us right now, seeking their revenge and searching for their lost treasure. And feeling hungry for a midnight snack."
"Boo!" The Aceys jumped out to scare everyone.
"Aaagh!" Bree and Bonzo both screamed in fright, automatically hugging each other close. Before quickly separating with a hint of embarrassment, but still holding hands.
"Alright, that's enough scary stories for one night. Everyone get a good night's sleep for tomorrow." Addison announced.
That night, as everyone was asleep Bree was quietly sneaking out of the girls' room to meet a certain someone. It felt like a blessing to have Bonzo here with her, but they wanted to take advantage of some extra alone time, without the excitement from everyone else.
"There you are Bonzo." Bree smiled into their hug as they met in the darkness of the hallway, Bonzo was little more than a tall dark shadow but she knew it could only be him.
"Grallo Breezka. Zleep rell?"
"No, I've been too excited since we decided to try this. Let's go outside."
They quietly left the building to sit on a bench and enjoy each other's company under the stars.
"Harv gru harvingg divarrtiza?" Bree asked.
"Gra Greer Gamp ez arezome."
"I'm happy for you. I'm glad you're here. I think I'd be just as homesick for you as Addison is for Zed right now."
"I'm glard I;m zot gome. Zedski owwnly hablarr Addiska."
"You're probably right, you think Eliza's killed him yet for being too annoying and mopey?"
"Gra Ha Ha." Bonzo laughed.
"But anyway I'm glad you're here with me." Bree placed a loving kiss on his cheek.
Just then they heard someone's shoes scuff the ground behind them, and a flashlight was shining in their faces.
"Oh, it's just you two." Addison pointed the flashlight to the ground so they could see her without being blinded.
"Oh, hi Addison, we were just…um." Bree started to try to embarrassingly explain.
"Don't worry Bree, you're my best friend and co-captain I won't report you for sneaking out with your boyfriend. I was never here and neither were you two. Don't take too long though, or I will come back." She jokingly smiled at them.
"Thanks Addison." Bree stuttered out. If there was daylight her cheeks would be cherry red.
"Ez OKZ." Bonzo rubbed her back in comfort.
"I know I trust Addison, but we should probably get back inside soon. Gar Gar Gaza Bonzo."
"Waz. Breezka rill gru go arg Prrawnz?" Bonzo asked.
"Of course I will Bonzo, I would love to go to Prawn with you!"
"Gar Gar Gaza Breezka." Bonzo lifted her up in a hug and spun her around under the stars.
"I can't wait Bonzo, but I think we should go inside before Addison has to come check on us again."
"OKZ. Grood Nochez"
"Good night Bonzo." Bree smiled as they walked back into the clubhouse together hand in hand.
A few days later during their afternoon break, Addison did what she had done every day she'd been at Camp. She wished she could call but hoped Zed was getting all her letters. Even though she knew all her focus should be on cheer right now, Zed was the only thing she thought about whenever she had downtime. She hoped she'd get asked to Prawn, but surprisingly Zed hadn't mentioned anything about it to her before she left. She told herself, and Bree had to remind her a few times that her worries were completely unfounded because Zed was crazy over her. She finished writing her letter for the day, including accidently interrupting Bree and Bonzo's late night chat last night. She sealed up the envelope and put it into the outgoing mail slot before once again checking her mailbox to find another letter from Zed. Her bunk in the clubhouse was filled with them and she absolutely loved every single one.
She carefully opened it up to read.
Oh Addison my love,
Zoey, Puppy, and I miss you!
But we had fun playing at the beach today.
Did you know that Coach has a Froyo cart? Because I sure didn't.
In my totally expert, non-biased opinion, his is way better than Cherry On Top
Don't worry though, he does have vanilla and a bunch of new flavors
I'm counting down the days, I've been keeping track.
Can't wait until you come back
Gar Gar Gaza Forever.
Zed.
Addison's heart warmed up a little bit more every day, when she read his letters and wrote back to him. She treasured every single one, Zoey had even sent a few as well, asking for every detail about cheer camp. Addison wrote as much as she could, and also promised to answer all her questions when she got back.
A few long, fun, hardworking days later, Bucky gestured to the large pink and green obstacle course. "The last day of cheer camp and our…Final Challenge!" That naturally was emblazoned with Bucky's award-winning smile and jazz hands.
Addison and Bree had been shocked when they first saw that most of the camp was decorated just like the high school had been at the beginning of the year. But they knew they had twenty more important things to worry about than how much Bucky's ego was showing.
"OK everyone, you've all proven you have what it takes to be Mighty Shrimp on this camp, but our last activity is for all the marbles. You all will be dividing into two teams and competing against each other for the Cheer Camp Cup!" Bucky revealed a giant silver trophy that he set on a pedestal.
"OK, our two teams will be led by Addison and Bree, and the Aceys. Wait for me to call your name." Bucky started dividing the squad into two teams, and both had a mix of zombies and humans.
"Aceys, What's your team name?"
"The A-Team!" The newly christened A-Team cheered in sync.
"Addison?"
"We'll be the Z-team, cause we're stronger together!"
"Way stronger!" The rest of the team cheered.
"Don't worry Addison, I know we've got this. We'll show them just how amazing our squad is. Right Bonzo?" Bree asked.
"Gra!" Bonzo called out.
"Alright, Let's go! Remember, the Mighty Shrimp don't think small, cheer until it hurts. And win that trophy!" Bucky blew his whistle to send them off.
The first step was that each team had to perform a routine to perfection before moving on. Bucky flipped a coin and the A-team got start first. They performed very well and Bucky waved them through after their first try. The Aceys chose to take the low road for the second part of the challenge.
"Come on Z-Team here we go!" Addison called out as they ran onto the first stage.
The routine the Z-team chose to perform went off without any problems, and even included a few zombie-inspired moves. Bucky waved them through, but Addison and Bree knew they would have to hurry or they would be left behind.
"OK we got this." Addison called out
"Let's Go!" Everyone else cheered.
For their second challenge they had to climb up the wall, Addison couldn't help but think of Zed's stories of first grade when she started climbing.
"We got this!" The Z-team called out.
"We got this!" The A-team returned from further on in the course. The mud pit was really slowing them down. No one on the A-team wanted to risk falling in the mud, and most of them didn't have much experience walking on a tight rope either.
Back on the wall. The cheerleaders that made it up first were cheering on their teammates, "Climb, Climb, Climb!" When Bree finally made it, Bonzo reached down to pull her up the last few feet.
By now, most of the A-team had fallen into the mud in one way or another, but it was still slow going with how slippery the mud was, and the fact that many of them were freaking out over being dirty. The zombie cheerleaders on the A-team though, weren't as bad and were still trying to pull their compatriots along.
With everyone on the Z-team up top, they all took turns on the ziplines, and they quickly surpassed the A-team still floundering below in the mud.
"Hey, we got this teaming up to make progress. Change the rules can't stop this. Together we rise you know we got this." Addison called out to both her team and the A-team as she passed over the mud pit.
With everyone on the Z-team now over, it was time for the final part of the cheer course. Everyone had to perform the newest routine that ended in a pyramid formation to ring the bell twenty feet in the air. Bree and Addison's team once again performed to perfection and with Addison at the top of their pyramid, "Together we rise you know we got this!" Addison called out one last time before she proudly rang the bell loud enough for everyone to hear, and let out an excited laugh as she did.
"Z-Team wins." Bucky announced from the sidelines.
Everyone dismounted from their positions safely before joining back up with the dejected-looking A-team still covered head to toe in mud.
"Aceys. Disappointing. You can't be scared to get those jazz hands dirty." Bucky chastised them.
"What? Agh." Lacey stuttered out, looking down at her mud-drenched clothes.
"Here, the Cheer Camp Cup is yours." Bucky said handing the large silver trophy over to Addison.
"Woah." Addison groaned as she took hold of the heavy silver trophy. Everyone else on the team clapped and cheered excitedly.
Bucky let them celebrate for a total of five seconds. "Glad you enjoyed it. Now let's make this victory about me." Bucky said, taking the silver trophy back.
"I've decided to be Prawn King this year. Now technically there's an election but come on. Also, I'm sure I and my wonderful Aceys have impressed all of you these past two weeks and I will happily return to my post as the best captain of the best cheer squad on the planet!"
"Hold on Bucky, before anything like that happens, we need to talk." Bree interrupted him.
Addison joined in. "Yeah, alright everyone this has been a great cheer camp and I know we've all had fun and worked hard. Who's with me?"
"Yeah!" Most of the squad cheered happily.
"How about everyone go hit the showers and get cleaned up for the bus ride home. Bucky, Aceys, you can come with us." Bree dismissed everyone.
"Sorry Cuz, Bree, I understand, I shouldn't have assumed. It's only right that you officially grant me my title back before I announced it. I understand, you're welcome."
"Look Bucky, Tracey, Lacey, Stacey, you all proved yourselves this week, and we know you are great cheerleaders. And we've decided you are great leaders too."
"And that means…?"
"We've decided that you four can be assistant captains again." Bree told them.
"Yes!" The Aceys all cheered and hugged each other, then tried to hug Bucky but he quickly jumped away from their excited embrace.
"Woah! Just because you got your jazz hands dirty doesn't mean I should get mine dirty. Cause, Eww! But thanks Cuz for making me captain again."
"Assistant captain, Bucky."
"Alright, assistant…Not even co-captain?"
"Nope, we already have the best co-captains any team could ever wish for." Addison proudly declared.
"OK, Bree, Addison, thank you, I won't let you down. Just give me your orders. Captains." Bucky saluted and smiled.
"You guys can all hit the showers too and pack up for the bus. You guys really did a great job leading camp, but we will all be in charge next year." Addison informed them.
"Well, Addison I don't think this could have gone any better." Bree smiled as Bucky and the Aceys headed off.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Bucky has really changed, he feels more like my cousin again, sure he's a little full of himself still-"
"A little?" Bree asked with a laugh.
"OK a lot, but he's accepted Bonzo and the other zombie cheerleaders, way more than I ever thought he would, and he never complained when we added zombie moves to the cheers."
"I think we should have just led it this year, but I think everyone still had fun."
"Well Cheer Camp's over and we can finally be headed home, I'm so excited to see, well you know." Addison said with a smile and an excited giggle as she and Bree headed to their room to pack up.