CHAPTER TWO
Skipper lay flat on his bed staring at the ceiling. It was a very comfortable bed, complete with sheets and pillows. He had more luxury in that little bed than he'd had in his whole life. He shook his head to keep it from going in that direction. He was through with his old life. It was dead to him now.
The young Apprentice began to concentrate more on his new life, and its myriad of possibilities. I've already made more friends than there were people in my whole village, and impressed all my Masters. Well, he corrected himself, almost all of them. He frowned at the thought of Mastersinger Jameth. What a stiff! Every other Master had praised him for his abilities, exclaiming over his skill and his training. He didn't intend to get a big head over this, but it was nice to get credit when credit was due. He was good, it was as simple as that.
After thinking about it for a minute, he began to laugh. Of course! Mastersinger Jameth had been just as impressed with my singing as the other Masters, I saw it! He didn't know that I'm not the type to become a conceited, pompous ass! He purposely didn't make a big deal over my skills so as not to make me think too highly of myself. That's it! I wouldn't be surprised if he kept from saying things so as not to lower the other students self esteem either; he seems to take those kinds of things into consideration.
He grinned up at the ceiling, and decided that he would go down to dinner after all. He didn't want to disappoint anyone. After all, there would be plenty of places waiting for him.
He wasn't wrong. When he entered the meal hall, at least three tables had people waving him over. He never got a chance to pick, though, because he was promptly swept away by a young woman he recognized as Rosa.
Rosa smiled up at him. "I thought I'd spare you the trouble of having to choose for yourself. I'm the best company you can get, anyway." She said with a laugh, and a theatrical flick of her hair.
"Considering I haven't even been here a day, I'll have to take your word for it." He said with a grin. She had an infectious attitude, totally at odds with her conceited demeanor. Rosa managed to make a joke out of her popularity in such a way that made her very likeable indeed.
She laughed. "You should, it's as good as gold." With a firm nod of her head, she shoved him down onto a bench, and began introducing him to her 'people', as she called them. They were a ragtag group of what seemed misfits; except they all fit together. A group of people that seemed to have nothing in common, and that seemed to ultimately tie them together.
Rosa pointed to a skinny blonde girl with lovely brown eyes. "That's Ellie. She grew up here at the hall. Her parents are both Journeymen, away on assignment right now." Ellie smiled at him, and then laughed at something one of the boys said. Skipper grinned when he heard her laugh; she, well, there was only one word for it, snorted when she laughed.
Rosa smacked the boy that had made the joke against the back of his head. He didn't even comment, which led Skipper to assume that this was a common occurrence. "This is Isaiah, but we just call him Issie." Issie had wavy blonde hair and bright green eyes, and a very unique sense of humor, which Skipper noticed immediately. Issie waved his hands while making some weird noises, and everyone laughed. He had to admit, it was a bit comical. "Issie's from a fishing village up north, near Benden." Skipper nodded, and Rosa turned to the next group member.
"That's Looey (short for Louise). She's our little princess." Rosa leaned over to whisper in Skipper's ear. "She's spoiled, and totally dependant on others, but, in the end, she has a heart of gold. And a good sense of humor! Don't let her superior attitude put you off. It's just . . . well, habit. You see, she's the eldest daughter of the Lord Holder of Fort." Skipper did see. You simply can't set aside such good breading. The fact that she was so easily accepting of this group spoke a great deal of her character, and Skipper decided that he could like her. The very tall, brown eyed, brown haired, tan skinned noble turned to him and grinned. Then began an animated conversation with Ellie about the latest fashions, something they both seemed very passionate about.
Rosa threw a bit of her bread at the boy across from her to get his attention. "This is my 'twin'," she put emphasis on the word twin, to show Skipper that she didn't mean it literally, "Koby. He's a Lord Holders get too. The youngest son, though, so he's not as spoiled as our Looey." That earned her a laughing punch from the young noblewoman. "He got here 'bout the same time I did. We rode in together, actually." Koby was an altogether striking young man. Stormy gray blue eyes, coupled with an outrageous hairstyle (a shaved head except for one strip of spiked hair going from his forehead to the back of his neck) made him a very unforgettable acquaintance. Koby smiled at him and then applied himself to his meal.
Rosa leaned in to whisper in Skipper's ear again. "That's Tally..."
The auburn haired, hazel eyed girl at the end of the table looked up from her book at the sound of her name. "What? What's this about Tally?"
Rosa laughed. "Nothing, Tal, I'm just introducing you to the new Apprentice."
Tally peered at Skipper from above the rim of her glasses, shrugged, mumbled something about not making her sound bad, and turned back to her book.
"As you can see, Tally is quite the scholar. She could probably tell you the history of every harper ever to pass through this Hall. She's from a small hold in Ruatha. Don't let her bookish looks fool ya, though. I assure you that she could wipe the floor with you, and outride you on any runnerbeast." Rosa nodded firmly (something that seemed to be a bit of a habit) and turned to the last member of the group.
"And here is our jock." The handsome brown haired, bright blue eyed boy turned to Skipper and held out a hand.
"Hey, I'm Grant." Skipper shook the offered hand, instantly comfortable because of the lads confidence and easy-going manner. "And Rosa is stereotyping me." He mock-glared at Rosa, who simpered at him.
"Well, he is a jock. But that's not all he is. He's got quite a good head on those shoulders." Rosa grinned at him while patting his cheek. Grant caught the hand and kissed it in a gallant gesture, causing Rosa to blush.
Grant turned back to Skipper and grinned. "I'm from Benden Weyr. Yes, I'm a weryling," he said to Skippers look of astonishment, "but the dragon life just wasn't for me. I'm much more comfortable with a harp than a dragon any day." The weryling looked at Skippers plate with a look of horror. "You've got no food!" He began purposefully loading up Skippers plate, who was too busy absorbing all the details about his new group of friends to protest.
I rather think I'm going to like it here. He looked around the table, quizzing himself on names and faces in between bites. So, we've got two Lord Holders children, one minor, one peasant, one Hall raised student, and a weryling. It really was an altogether unorthodox group. Once he was satisfied that he had all the names and faces matched, he began launching himself into conversations, starting with Koby and his unusual hairstyle. He was accepted as part of the group without causing a ripple. Skipper felt perfectly comfortable laughing with everyone else when Looey had to ask Rosa to prepare her baked potato; apparently Looey's grandfather had always done it for her.
Skipper was introduced to his room mates when he returned to his dorm room. They were all a likeable lot, eager to introduce themselves and trade information with Skipper about their lives. He was pleased to see that Issie was a Third Year and shared the room with him.
"So, you like it here?" Issie asked as they settled down for bed.
"Yeah. I really do. I think things are really going to work out for me here." Skipper replied earnestly.
"That's good. You homesick yet?"
"No," Skipper whispered, "I won't be missing home."
"Huh. Lucky. I would love to have been as tough as you on my first day here. I was crying myself to sleep for days." Issie chuckled, "I was a lot younger though."
Skipper smiled up at the ceiling and rolled over onto his side, too exhausted to talk anymore.
Skipper woke up with a jolt. "What?" he mumbled. He was suddenly freezing. When he sat up, he realized it was because he was soaking wet. "What the..." he said in confusion. He shook his head a little to clear it. Realization blinded him when someone lit a candle and held it so close to his face that he couldn't see. Skipper sprang out of bed and bowed his head. "I'm awake, master," he managed to say through chattering teeth.
Someone chuckled and pulled the light back, revealing a circle of boys surrounding Skipper and his bed. "Nah, Skip, we're only Apprentices." The boys all laughed at the look of bewilderment on their new roommate's face. "We usually just do this for First Years, but seeing as how you got skipped up, we've decided to make an exception." Issie and another boy draped an arm across Skipper's shoulder and began directing him out of the dorm room. "You ready for your initiation?" Issie said with a grin.
"Do I really have a choice?" Skipper groaned.
"Nope." Issie said wickedly. "Thanks for cooperating."
"Yeah, don't mention it." Skipper growled. They began directing him down the halls, towards the other end of the building. Unable to wake himself up, Skipper stumbled numerous times on the cold stone, to the amusement of the other boys. Issie had to constantly shush the boys. They couldn't seem to stop snickering and whispering to each other.
They at last ended their trek in front of a closed door, which silenced the boys murmurings. "First stop, girls room" Skipper knew better than to ask why they were here, and so just went along with them in silence.
The door opened to reveal a room brightly lit with candles, and a group of girls in their night clothes. Rosa pushed her way to the front and took Skipper's hand. "Thank you boys, we'll deliver him to you once we're finished." That earned a few good natured protests of "why can't we stay?" and a few pouting faces. Rosa laughed and ushered them out of the room. "No boys aloud, you know that!"
"Skipper's a boy!" Issie protested.
Rosa grinned at him. "He won't be when we're finished with him," she commented cryptically. Now Skipper was beginning to get worried.
"Rosa . . . what are you going to do to me?" He asked as he's eyes darted from one grinning face to another.
"Have a seat, and see," she said. He sat gingerly on the edge of a bed, and watched in horror as the girls began pulling things out of little boxes. Some of it he recognized as face makeup. He gulped when Tally walked towards him holding a tube of lipstick.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ladies," he said with his most disarming smile, "we all know that this really isn't necessary. Really, there are other ways to have fun. You wouldn't want to waste your expensive makeup on me."
Tally smiled down at him, and began applying the lipstick. "Thanks for your concern, love, but I assure you that we don't mind." She grinned. "Only the best would do for our Skip."
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, thanks. I really appreciate it." He smacked his lips together as he crossed his arms and glared. "I just hope you do it all evenly and don't smear anything," he said as he batted his lashes at them. The girls all giggled and began applying themselves with much more enthusiasm. Skipper sat, resigned to the situation, as the girls did what they would with him. The whole process was going along quite speedily until the girls began arguing about which eyeshadow they should use on him.
Getting exasperated with their bickering, Skipper got up and worked his way to the center of the girls, and the argument. "Lemme see what my options are." Tally handed him a powder blue shade and Rosa handed him a light brown color. "Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "The powder blue is quite pretty," he said as he held them both up to his eyes in the mirror, "but I think I'll have to go with the light brown. Seeing as how my eyes are violet, it'll bring out the color better." Rosa grinned triumphantly, while Tally shrugged and took the blue back.
Skipper returned to his seat, and closed his eyes when told, trying to keep them still while Rosa applied the powder. "There," she said with finality, "that ought to do it." The girls all crowded around him and agreed that they were satisfied.
At just that moment, Ellie and Looey slipped into the room. "We got it," they said with huge grins. "Where is he?" Rosa stepped aside to allow them a view of Skipper. They both stared at him a moment and then burst out laughing.
"Why, Skip," Looey said, "I hardly recognized you. You look so pretty." She giggled again when Skipper glared at her.
"I'm glad you think so. I guess I should be happy that I look good for my initiation."
Ellie grinned as she came up to him. "You're not finished yet." She held up a ruffled pink dress.
Skipper looked frantically for a way to escape. Finding none, he backed up on the bed until he hit the wall. "Now that is truly unnecessary. Really. I'm sure I will rip it. I'll step on the bottom of it. You don't want me ruining such a fine garment..."
With a flip of her hand Looey dismissed his protests. "I'll just buy a new one. No matter. Besides," she said with a wicked grin, "you won't step on its bottom, because you have these to boost you up!" She held up a pair of deformed shoes.
"What," Skipper said weakly, "are those?"
"Shoes, of course." Ellie rolled her eyes like it should have been obvious.
"I can't walk in those things! I don't even know how to put them on!" He eyed the 'shoes', a pair of things with far to many straps for their own good and abnormally large heals, with a rising sense of dread.
"We'll do it for you, silly. Now, go put on the dress." Ellie shoved the dress into Skippers arms and pointed to the door where the girls stored various bits of property. He sighed in resignation and took the dress and himself to the storage space. He undressed and pulled the frilly dress over his head, grumbling the whole time about the peculiarities of 'women'. Skipper was tall for his age, but Looey was no midget herself. The noblewoman was the tallest out of all the girls, so the dress was nearly a perfect fit.
When he emerged from the closest, he was greeted by a gaggle of girls and a roar of laughter. "Skip!" Ellie said breathlessly, "the boys are all gonna fall in love with you!" Her joke caused her to go into another bout of her snorting laughter. Skipper growled and plopped down onto the nearest bed, holding out his feet.
"Put the shoes on, now. The outfit isn't complete without them." Looey came over and strapped them on, giggling the whole time. He watched with perplexity as she wove the straps in and out of buckles, crossing them behind his heels, over his ankles, and across his toes. She pulled him to his feet when she was finished, and he immediately fell back to the bed. "Yup," he said, "I told you. I can't even stand in these ridiculous things, forget about walking!"
"Nonsense," Looey said, "you'll get the hang of it. Now get up." Muttering curses under his breath, he once again rose to his feet, more carefully this time. The girls pronounced that they were pleased with his appearance, and ushered him out into the hall.
"Back to the boys," Rosa said ominously, "for phase two."
When they arrived at the boys dorm room, Rosa insisted on going in first, so that she could 'properly present' him. The door opened almost immediately after she knocked. She was greeted by the same group of boys that had delivered Skipper to her, plus Grant and Koby. "Gentlemen," she said in a mockingly formal tone, "may I present to you the Lady Skip?" Rosa and the other girls stepped aside to revel Skipper, standing behind them in complete mortification. The boys erupted into a cacophony of laughter, causing Skipper's face to turn a deep red.
With a growl and a glare, he decided that he wouldn't let them get the best of him. It was his embarrassment that was fueling their laughter, why not beat them at their own game? He held up his chin and strutted into the room, the boys parting to make an aisle for him to walk down. His walk was completed with a little hip shaking and a dramatic twirl at the end that flared out his skirts. Skipper wiped imaginary dust off his shoulders as everyone stared at him. "The girls did do quite a lovely job, didn't they?" he said. It was just the thing to break the stunned silence.
"Well!" Grant said with a huge grin, "I've never seen one of the boys take it so well! You're a real sport Skip!" The boys all agreed, grinning and laughing all around the room.
"I think he's beat us at our own game!" Rosa exclaimed from the doorway.
Skipper rolled his eyes. "No, I just know how to make the best out of any situation. I wouldn't have won if I fought back, would I?" Everyone shook their heads. Skipper shrugged. "See? It's just a matter of knowing when fighting back is a lost cause." He grinned at them all, and raised his eyebrows. "Now, shall we get back to my night of torture?"
"Yes! Of course. Ladies, you ought go take your seats, he'll be ready shortly." Grant said as he began ushering the girls out of the room. Grinning and giggling, the girls began heading back down the hall, leaving Skipper with a room full of boys that suddenly looked very menacing.
With a wicked gleam in his eye Grant pushed Skipper onto one of the beds. Koby and Issie came to stand on either side of him, effectively flanking Skipper and blocking any way of escape. The three of them standing above him caused the phrase 'resistance is futile' to pop into his head. He couldn't agree more. When Koby extracted a razor from his pocket Skipper knew that he was in trouble. With his eyes nearly popping out of his head, Skipper began using his most effective weapon. His tongue. "Did you know that in my home girls go crazy for keils?" The three boys stopped their advance towards him. Why they all three were needed for this, he didn't know. Probably to hold me down, he thought wryly.
"What?" Koby snapped in frustration.
Skipper nodded eagerly. "Keils, I'm telling you, the girls go ga-ga for them."
Grant cocked his head to one side, asking him in perplexity, "what are keils?"
"Yeah," Issie put in, "what the flip are you talking about?"
"Well," Skipper said, hiding the gleeful tone in his words, "keils are hair ornaments." All three wrinkled their brows.
"Would you care to elaborate?" Grant asked with a wave of his hands.
"Certainly. You see, I thought everyone knew what keils were." The boys shook their heads, and Skipper nodded. "Apparently not." He grinned, "Believe me, you will be thanking me for this bit of information."
"Considering that you've failed to enlighten us on what you are talking about, I doubt it." Grant said with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course, of course. Excuse me. Now, where was I? Right. Keils are hair ornaments." The boys all nodded, beginning to get annoyed with Skipper's repetitive explanation. "But I already said that, didn't I?"
"Yes," Koby growled.
Skipper put his hands out, as if to placate them. "Forgive me, I tend to get a little side tracked." That, of course, was a total lie. Anyone who really knew Skipper knew that he did everything for a reason. Fortunately, he'd hit on these boys (any boys, really) weak spot. Girls, and their constant desperation to please and impress them. "Keils are strings that the girls weave through their hair." He bit his lip with a frown. "There a bit hard to explain." He rubbed the back of his neck, and, after the appropriate amount of time to look perplexed, brightened with a grin. "I know! Do any of you have any string? Colorful string, preferably."
Reluctantly, Issie said that he did. The other boys all stared at him with raised eyebrows and a few snickers. "Yeah, so?" he said with a shrug. "My sisters and mother made me learn how to sow. They got tired of always patching up my things. Growing up with a house full of women will do that to you." He went to the trunk at the end of his bed and opened up a little box. In it were needle and spools of thread. He picked up a red and gold one, tossing each to Skipper.
"Thanks," Skipper said as he caught them. "I didn't see any of these when I went through the market on my way in, so I'll just show you." He cut of two strings of the red and one of the gold, and began weaving them together. He worked in silence for the first few minutes, his nimble fingers quickly weaving the thread into a tight braid. "Now," he said, "these are the most simple kind. The more fashionable ones have crystal beads or seashells woven in with the string." He finished it off with a knot and held it up for the boys to see. They eyed it suspiciously.
"The girls really like those things?" Grant said skeptically. Skipper nodded enthusiastically. Koby took it out of his hand and eyed it with intense scrutiny.
"How do they get it in their hair?" Issie asked curiously.
Skipper took the keil back, and held it up again. "See here?" he pointed to the end with the knot, where two threads of the red were hanging down. "I left just enough of the thread hanging that they can tie it onto a lock of their hair."
"Oh! I suppose they would be...fun." Koby said thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Grant agreed, "I can think of quite a few girls right now that would love these things."
"Grab some more string and I'll show ya'll how to make 'em." Issie went back to his trunk and began handing out the spools of thread. Skipper arranged them in a circle around him, and began explaining what to do.
Nearly an hour later, with a few successful and partially made keils in the middle, and plenty more on the way, Rosa came stomping into the room. Hands on her hips, scowl on her face, and standing just inside the doorway, she began yelling. "What, may I ask, is taking so long!" She clenched her teeth together, and, in a mocking tone, imitated Grant's voice. "'You ladies ought to go find your seats, Skipper will be along shortly.' Ha! You know how long I've been sitting out there? Give me one reason why I shouldn't just..." she glared furiously at Koby when he cut her off.
"Rosa, settle down..." his mouth snapped shut when her glare turned murderous.
"I hate it when people tell me to settle down. I am not some five year old child." She crossed her arms over her chest and began tapping her foot. It was clear that she was going to wait for them to come forward with an excuse.
"Um, we didn't exactly get around to our part of it." Issie said meekly. He closed his eyes and covered his face, in a mock attempt to ward off a blow from Rosa, who merely raised an eyebrow.
"Fine. Tough. It's time for the show." She held out a hand to Skipper. Koby jumped up before Skipper could grab it.
"Wait a minute! We still have time."
"No, you don't"
"Yes, we do. Rosa, come on."
"It's your own fault for not being on top of things." She was going to be stubborn.
"Oh, like you've never been distracted before."
She shrugged. "Sure I have, I just allow it to happen at more appropriate times."
"Oh, please. As if you can control it."
"Obviously I can, considering it's never interfered with my activities."
"Um..." Skipper attempted to interject. Unfortunately, their voices began to rise, and he was drowned out.
"Geez, Rosa! You're acting like Jameth!" Grant said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She exploded.
"It means," Issie said, "that you're acting like a stiff."
Skipper couldn't help but think that girls were lucky to have such high voices. Rosa was greatly outnumbered, yet somehow her suddenly shrill voice seemed a formidable foe. "A stiff! I'll have you know that neither of us are stiffs! You don't know what you're talking about!"
"Hey, guys..." Skipper was once again cut off. He was gonna have to do something, soon, because this was turning into a real problem, and their fighting was not helping.
"It doesn't matter if you are or not," Koby growled, "you're acting like one."
"You've provoked me into it."
"What, it's our fault that you overreact over everything?"
"So, I'm overreacting, huh?" her voice suddenly became very calm, and she smiled sweetly at them. "May I please have Skipper?"
"No," three voices said at once.
She narrowed her eyes, clenched her fists, and visibly gritted her teeth. "Yes," she hissed.
"Not until we get to do our part." Grant was quite firm.
"Hmm, lemme think about that." Rosa cocked her head to the side, and a few seconds later revealed her musings. "Thought about it," and with that, began wading through the crowd towards Skipper. She grabbed his arm and yanked him to his feet.
"I don't think so!" Issie yelled, grabbing Skipper's other arm. This was not good, Skipper thought helplessly.
"Rosa..." Skipper was stopped short when everyone began yelling at once.
"Hey..." a rough jerk to his right ended that one. Something bad was about to happen. He knew he had to get their attention, now. "HEY!" he yelled. Everyone stopped dead and looked at him. They seemed to have forgotten that he was the one they were fighting over. They dismissed him easily, and began to start up the fight again. "Shut up!" he yelled, "I have got to go to the bathroom." The group of teens all stared at him, uncomprehending. "Now," he said, pointedly looking at the two holding his arms. They dropped them as if they'd become hot coals.
Skipper held his hands to his stomach and began jumping from foot to foot, which was not easy in heels, in an attempt to hold it in. "Come on," he whined pitifully, "I don't remember where it's at!" Everyone visibly relaxed, and a few chuckled.
"Fine," Grant said, "I'll show him where it's at, and then I'll take him to you, Rosa. Happy?"
"Quite," she said pleasantly.
Skipper and Grant trudged their way down the hall in silence. Grant was sullen and angry, about not being able to commence with 'phase two', Skipper assumed. Skipper wasn't even going to attempt conversation with the older boy. After all, it was his fault that they didn't get to do their part of the initiation. So, Skipper kept a safe distance from Grant, kicking a small rock that somehow got into the hall. It was not an easy thing to do in heels. On the third kick, he hit more floor than rock, causing himself to trip and almost fall flat on face. He gave up the rock with a sigh.
After a very long ten minutes of silence, Grant finally threw his hands in the air with a growl. "This is so stupid," he mumbled, "she always gets her way." Skipper wasn't exactly sure if he was supposed to respond to that. Choosing to be prudent, he kept silent. It proved wise because Grant continued on as if he forgot Skipper was there. "I mean, we're friends and all, but that doesn't mean that I'm gonna give her everything she wants." What was Skipper supposed to say to that? This was beginning to sound suspiciously like a lover's quarrel, and he wasn't about to get caught up in one of those. "If I give her what she wants, then she'll be happy. Of course, then she'll become bossy and demanding..."he said thoughtfully, "but if I don't, then she's going to get mad at me. What should I do?"
This was a direct question, Skipper thought in annoyance. He was forced to formulate some kind of answer. "Uh..." it was an impossible task. He was only thirteen! He had no experience with women. Sure, he grew up around them, but that didn't make him some sort of love doctor. "Well..."
"Oh, never mind," Grant snapped with a roll of his eyes, "you're just a dumb kid."
This, naturally, caused Skipper to scowl and become more than a little indignant. "I am not! I am..."
"Just shut up." Grant snapped. "You know what I meant." Skipper didn't know what he meant, but didn't think it wise to say that. He decided not to say anything for the rest of their walk, and gladly kept the scowl on his face.
"We're almost there." Grant said. He had seemingly begun to think the silence had become oppressive. He glanced at Skipper, when the younger boy gave an angry shrug of his shoulders. He was still scowling. With a sigh, Grant apologized. "Look, I didn't mean to be, well, mean. It's just that Rosa drives me crazy sometimes. You were just the closest person to take it out on, ya know? I didn't mean anything by it..." His apology fell flat when he realized Skipper wasn't listening to him. "Well, fine. You can stay mad at me if you want. I guess that I deserve it. Whatever. I'm not gonna fight with you. So good luck winning a one-sided argument."
Skipper glanced at him in annoyance. He felt a smile tugging at his lips. After thinking about it for a minute, he conceded that it was pretty stupid to hold a grudge over nothing. "Yeah, whatever," he agreed with a sigh, "I get it."
Grant broke out into a grin and gave him a comradely slap to the back. "Thanks man. So, are there any girls that have caught your eye?" With that, they began a slightly awkward, but still pleasant enough, discussion on the girls Skipper had met so far. After some debating, they agreed on what each girl's best physical features were. Rosa had the best hair and breasts, Skipper agreed to with some blushing; Tally had the prettiest eyes, Looey the best legs, and Ellie had the best body all around, due to her hourglass shape.
Talking about girls is the best way for any group of men to break tension, and by the end of their trek they were the best of friends again. Somehow when guys blow up at each other, the next minute they are patting each other's backs. Some girls would argue that it's because their brains are too small to be able to hold on to one thought for any period of time, and are simply incapable of formulating acts of revenge.