Chapter 3
Cameron had hoped that House would just listen to his Ipod on the ride, but she supposed she should have known better. Almost immediately after getting onto the highway, House began fiddling with the radio. At first Cameron ignored him, and so did the occupants of the backseat. But, after a few minutes of changing the stations, House wasn't satisfied he'd annoyed everyone completely yet. He turned the volume up as loud as it would go.
Cameron, in the driver's seat, gritted her teeth, determined not to let him annoy her or ruin her day. She'd been looking forward to this all week, and House wasn't going to screw it up. Foreman, Wilson and Chase, on the other hand, whose heads were all mere inches from the back speakers protested vehemently. Finally, Foreman grabbed House's cane, which was propped between House's seat and the floor console and threatened to throw it out the window. House relented and turned the radio down to a comfortable volume. House smiled patronizingly at Cameron before turning his head to watch the passing scenery.
Thankfully, the ride was short and they'd soon arrived. Wilson, Foreman and Chase all climbed out of the backseat, and House and Cameron both grinned, simultaneously thinking how much like a group of clowns they looked. Cameron caught House grinning and he limped quickly toward the ticket booth.
The rest of the group followed him, Cameron, Chase and Wilson chatting animatedly about much fun this was. Foreman kept quiet; he supposed this could be fun, if House could manage not to be an ass.
When the group caught up with House, he was already holding a map of the maze. Naturally, he hadn't paid for any tickets though. The others stood in line and bought their tickets. Since it had been Cameron's idea, she offered to pay for House's ticket but Wilson just shook his head. It would only annoy House if he found out, which he was certain to, and why give him any more ammunition. Cameron insisted, so Wilson compromised by allowing Cameron to pay for his ticket.
"So, how do we do this?" Chase asked. House rolled his eyes in disbelief. It was a maze; you went through it. This required explanation? It was in that moment that The Great Corn Maze Caper was born.
"Let's see who can get out the fastest. We'll split into teams. I'll go get another map," House said, and limped back to the ticket counter. The rest of the group looked at each other, Wilson and Foreman shrugged. House came back and handed the second map to Chase.
"How do we choose teams?" Wilson asked.
"You're with me, obviously," House said. "Cripples gotta have their buddy's. And since Cameron paid for your ticket, that makes her your date. Would be a shame to split you two lovebirds up. So that leaves Chase and Foreman."
"Wait, why does House get a team of three? He lives for solving puzzles, he doesn't need two team-mates," Chase protested. This whining only confirmed for House that this might be the best plan he'd ever come up with.
"Hey, wombat, quit whining. I'm crippled. Exactly how fast do you think my cane and I are going to be slopping through the mud?" House snarked.
"Fine," Chase grumbled. Cameron had given him a look. It wasn't exactly an angry look, but he could tell she was annoyed that he'd suggested House would try to take an unfair advantage. He just couldn't win with her.
"There are two entrances," Wilson said, peering at the map in House's hands. "Why don't we enter on either side and see who can find their way out first?"
All agreed, and Chase and Foreman immediately entered on the right side. Wilson and Cameron took the map from House and walked toward the left entrance, discussing a strategy to avoid getting too lost. They were nearly through the entrance when they realized House wasn't with them.
"What now?" Wilson asked.
"That map I gave Chase? It was left over from last year's corn maze. The Great Corn Maze Caper has begun," he said, an evil gleam in his eyes and he limped past the now gawking Cameron and Wilson.