Chapter Two
Reasons for Sunflowers
The sun seemed to scorch the countryside surrounding Camp Kidney that day. As time melted by, the logical thing to do would be to dive head first into Leaky Lake in hopes of preserving one last refreshing swim, or perhaps to stalk the mess hall for potential extra ice cream bars being thrown out as Chef McMueslie cleared his perishables.
But instead of being logical, Lazlo had other ideas.
It drove Edward crazy not knowing what was going on or where he was being heaved off to, and because Lazlo had always beenso unpredictable, Edward initially hated the monkey and everything that he stood for. But obviously, the platypus had learned to love this trait about his companion--though he would never admit it.
The duo continued to run at full speed up the trail through the woods. Edward had to try desperately not to trip over any tree roots or fly into a rock.
It was a hectic trip, but after awhile, he found a simple joy in running through the shady forest alongside the object of his affections.
Lazlo, who was vastly aware of the precious cargo trying hard to keep up with him from behind, slowed down to a steady walk to ease the excursion uphill through the thick brush.
As they walked, Lazlo's hand in a sturdy grip around Edward's wrist, the peace-filled atmosphere lifted weight off of the young platypus's soul.
Thoughts still raced through his mind endlessly though.
Where is he taking me?….. Ugh….all this walking! In this hot weather! It's killin' me!!
Lazlo glanced over his shoulder and saw Edward's expression twist with perplexity; the way it always did when he was in deep conversational thought with himself. The monkey released Edward's wrist slightly and let his hand slide down the platypus's arm and tighten up again around his open palm.
Edward looked up at Lazlo, who didn't turn around. He stared at the monkey's back for the longest time, then peered down at the orange-furred hand collecting his own. He smiled and grasped it securely in response.
For some strange reason Edward was no aware of, This was everything to him. That hand. The wordless emotions being expressed. It was so reassuring. He held that hand so tight that Lazlo felt the circulation in his fingertips reducing! But he said nothing of it.
The silent stroll seemed to take a lifetime. It could have gone on like that and Edward wouldn't have minded at all, but finally a clearing appeared ahead of them.
The sun poured through the tree branches as they pushed their way through the final patch of shrubbery. Edward could tell that this part of the trail hadn't been visited in years! Why was Lazlo taking him here of all places?
"Okay Edward! I'm guna haveta ask you to close your eyes now!" Lazlo beamed. He lived for moments like this, where he could throw someone into a surprise in the best way possible.
Edward scowled. "….Why? No! I didn't agree to even come with you, you just dragged me here! I ain't closing my eyes!"
Lazlo stuck out his bottom lip. "But you have to, Edward! It's apart of the plan!"
The platypus glared into Lazlo's face, trying hard to look as fierce as possible--but it was no use. He'd somehow lost his ability to hold an angry expression for any amount of time when Lazlo pouted like that.
"….Ugh, you are so manipulative, you know that?"
"Really? Aww, thank you!" Lazlo didn't catch on to things very well, Edward had come to the conclusion of. This went without saying.
Lazlo now made his way behind Edward's back and pulled his hands up over the platypus's eyes, nudging him forward gingerly. "….Don't peak, okay? You have to promise!"
Lazlo sounded like animmature little kid when he said stuff like that. Why couldn't Edward hate him for it?
The darkness behind Lazlo's hands was unsteady. Edward had nearly lost his balance at least 5 times by now, not that he was counting. The only thing he knew was that they were in the sun now, because he could feel the warm rays hit his skin. The other apparent thing was the strong scent descending on them. What was it? It wasn't a bad scent, necessarily. It was just overpowering.
Just then, Lazlo laid his chin down on Edward's left shoulder and leaned in towards his ear. "You can open your eyes now!"
The monkey's warm breath against Edward's skin gave him goose bumps. The platypus was now beet red.
Lazlo's hands were removed from his eyes, revealing the unexpected scene sprawled out in front of them.
Edward's mouth dropped. Lazlo reached over and propped it back into place. Smiling as he jumped forward, he outstretched his arms. "You like it??"
"……Well…." Edward couldn't believe the view that lay before him! Fields upon fields of endless sunflowers! Tall and beautiful. "…Uh….where the hell did all this come from???"
Lazlo shrugged. "Dunno. It was just here! Raj, Clam, and I found it the other day! I thought it was so incredibly awesome that I wanted to bring you here and show you! Flower power!"
Edward blinked a few times, a blank expression on his face. "…It's insane, Lazlo, I'll give it that. But kinda cool I guess."
Lazlo's eyes glittered. "Really???!"
The platypus rolled his eyes. "…Settle down, Mr. Sparkles."
Lazlo reached forward and grabbed Edward's hand again. "Let's go play!"
Edward had hoped to spend their final afternoon together in a lazy state, maybe doing something more romantic than simple child's play. But what more could be expected from Lazlo?
Suddenly he found himself being pulled off into the forest of 9 foot flower stalks towering over their heads.
Traumatizing as this was, it wasn't nearly as traumatizing to Edward as realizing that he was actually enjoying it!
Sometimes he forgot that they were still just kids. It had always been hard for Edward to just ease up and have a fun time doing kid things. His childhood had been devoured by maturity at a young age….possibly because of all his older brother's dominance over him, and the lack of parental care over the years.
But with Lazlo, and only Lazlo, he could find that inner-kid again.
They both ran fast through the flowers, dodging stems and leaves along the way.
"I bet I can beat you to the other side of the field!!" Lazlo taunted playfully.
Edward, now feeling more confident, wore a competitive smirk. "Oh is that so? Let's just see about that then…"
They released each other's hands and sped off in different directions through the sunflowers.
Edward encouraged his legs to move as fast as they could as he plowed forward. Darting under the big yellow flowers, knocking down petals into his face, he finally spotted the edge of the enormous field up ahead.
"I'm gunna win, Lazlo!!" He called out menacingly.
At long last, he jumped forward through the final row of stalks. Victoriously wielding his arms over his head like an Olympic champion, Edward leapt out into the sunny grassland beyond the sunflowers.
After catching his breath for a moment, he looked back over his shoulder at the field, waiting to show off to monkey boy his triumph. "…Hey Lazlo! Come out here and bask in my glory, cause I think I just beat you to a pulp at your own game!" Obviously, Edward was proud of his success.
After a moment of waiting patiently however, the monkey was no where to be seen!
Edward grew confused. "Uh…. Lazlo?" He timidly walked towards the wall of flowers and peeked in a bit to try and get a glimpse of orange fur amongst all that vegetation. Inside, the forest of stems appeared dark and ominous now. The platypus suddenly felt like he was alone. "……..Lazlo…..--?"
--- "YES, EDWARD!?!" Without warning, the monkey pounced from behind and tackled him to the ground. The screech which emerged from Edward's throat echoed through the valley like a blow-horn.
He immediately shoved the monkey off. " Where the hell were you?!! You scared the crap out of me!"
Lazlo's excited expression recoiled a bit. "I did?"
"Of course you did, stupid!! What would I do if something bad happened to you?!!?--- I mean-…." Before Edward could correct his sudden selfless outburst, Lazlo was already teary-eyed.
"You were worried about me?"
Edward turned red and crossed his arms, looking the other direction. "No! That's not what I said!"
"Oh Edward, you DO care!!" Lazlo sprung forward and glomped onto the platypus, knocking them both down to the ground again.
Edward groaned. "Ouch.."
The monkey's arms had collected themselves around Edward's neck.
Both of them were now sprawled out in the grass, Edward felt apprehensive and unsure of the situation. He had never been able to deal with close contact, it was something he just hadn't grown up with. But, as he came to realize, the more he encountered intimate association, the more he wanted it, and this frightened him.
"LAZLO….." He said the monkey's name as if to sound like he were giving an aggressive warning.
Lazlo stayed latched onto him without budging, content in their current position. His cheek lay in the cool grass. The scent of summer was still very much alive in the soil, and he found peace in the feel of their body's so close together, and the hot breeze wafting over them.
Edward wore a sour expression for a moment as he stared up at the sky, watching the clouds and the occasional bird flitter by. The two boys weren't facing each other and he was thankful for this, because that would have been too much for him to handle.
After awhile of complete silence, the platypus could feel his cheeks ready to burn off. "…Are you gunna let me go now?"
"Never." Was Lazlo's quiet response.
Edward tried to hold his breath. Lazlo's response meant more than the monkey realized he had let out.
Although he wanted to get up and run far away, completely afraid of what could spawn from all this, Edward's mind pressed him to stay still.
Just don't get up. Just stay here like this for as long as you can. Cause tomorrow, you won't be able to ever do this again.
Lazlo's embrace only grew tighter as the minutes dwelled on.
Edward, at long last, relaxed. He continued to watch the sky above them, letting Lazlo have his way with the silent, never-ending hug. After awhile, he came to realize that this was all the monkey had in store in the sense of intimacy for the day. But if this was as romantic as Lazlo could get for their last afternoon together, it was more than enough.
The summer heat was slowly forgotten in the shade provided by the tall sunflower stems close by. It was replaced with an even warmer sentiment.
Edward smiled, having given up. "Ok, don't let me go."
He returned the embrace without another word.
Back at camp, heat was far more noticeable.
Raj and Clam heaved the last of their luggage atop other scouts' belongings surrounding the limp-looking flagpole.
Slinkman glanced their baggage over and then checked off both their names from a clipboard. "Alright, boys. Everything looks ready to go for Jelly Cabin…I'm glad to see this-- wait-" He peered in closer to his clipboard. "…Oh! Except for Lazlo's luggage! Is he still packing after all this time?"
The two friends exchanged glances before Raj stepped forward to respond. "….Um, well…. Mr. Slinkman…… yes! As a matter of fact, he's still packing his stuff back at the cabin! He's very slow, you know!"
Slinkman peered down at his wrist-watch and then wiped off some sweat from his brow. "You have a point there, Raj…..Well, okay, please tell him that Scoutmaster Lumpus wants all the luggage out here by 5 o'clock sharp! That's in two hours… I'm afraid Lumpus will be pretty angry if that doesn't happen!"
Raj chuckled a bit. "No worries, Mr. Slinkman! We'll make sure Lazlo gets his stuff together, pronto!"
Slinkman nodded and headed back to the mountain of suitcases and backpacks.
Raj heaved an enormous sigh and turned to head back to Jelly Cabin, Clam following closely behind.
After a moment, he began venting. "I can not believe how many times I've covered for Lazlo while he's off canoodling with that fiendish platypus! I can't take it anymore! He owes me big time!"
"A large amount!" Clam emphasized.
Raj spun around to face Clam, exerting more anger. "You know what, it's driving me insane!! What if Lazlo doesn't come back to camp by 5 o'clock?! Do you realize that we will be the ones Scoutmaster Lumpus comes after!?! WE WILL!!"
Clam could only back away from Raj, having no comment for his outburst.
Raj clutched his fists together and wailed loudly before continuing their march back to the cabin.
Clam sighed. All the other campers seemed to have learned to ignore Raj's eruptions of rage by now. Everyone already knew about Lazlo and Edward's current relationship and was considerably calm about it, despite the now and then clamor Raj seemed to cause. It had occurred to Clam after all this time that Raj rather disliked Lazlo and Edward's bond a great deal. Heck, that went without saying!
But Clam himself was indecisive on which one of his friend's was the good guy and the bad guy. He understood, in a way, how the both of them felt. He understood that Lazlo simply loved Edward…. just because! There needn't be a reason, really, except that Edward was Edward, callous or not, and Lazlo was Lazlo! Two people. Two living things that loved one another! It wasn't too hard to comprehend!
But Raj just didn't get that. His values were too basic to accept anything even slightly indifferent. This made Clam a little dejected, because he couldn't choose which one of his friend's viewpoints was the accurate one! He spoke nothing of it though. He cared about both Lazlo and Raj too much to question either of their beliefs.
The two friend's both made it to Jelly Cabin and Clam joined Raj in sitting side by side on the entrance steps, both resting their chins in their palms.
"Oh Clam, I feel so very low."
"Down and out?" Clam questioned, a bit taken back with Raj's sudden comment.
" I guess I don't mean to be rude about Lazlo's excursions with Edward. I've already seen how happy he is when they're together! It's just so aggravating that here it is the last day of camp and he's no where to be seen! Shouldn't he be with us today? We won't see him for a long time after tomorrow!" Raj wore a glum expression.
Clam understood Raj's point, but wanted to try to make his own opinion clear. "Just hung out with Lazlo!"
"All day yesterday. I know." Raj added to Clam's reasoning, sighing. "But he should be here with us today too! Am I so selfish for wanting to spend time with our best friend before we all go home?"
Clam wanted to explain things better, but being a short-spoken boy, he kept things simple, even in complicated situations such as this.
Suddenly an unmentioned topic occurred to the rhino.
"Raj spend time with Patsy too!"
Raj blushed. "Excuse me, but that is different! She is my girlfriend, Clam!"
Clam's face slumped into a glare.
Raj hesitated before lowering his head. "….Alright alright, I suppose it isn't that different."
Clam crossed his arms with impatience.
"OKAY! It isn't different at all!" Raj exclaimed, crossing his own arms and turning his back towards his buddy.
Clam released his annoyance and collected a sympathy again for the circumstances. He knew Raj cared a great deal for Lazlo and just wanted to spend time with him before they all left camp! Clam wanted that too! But Clam, unlike Raj, understood another element to their dilemma.
"Lazlo love Edward. A lot."
"--And that's why I made sure that that meany went to go see him today! That was gracious enough, wasn't it? I didn't expect them to spend the whole DAY together!!"
"A lot." Clam repeated himself, adding more emphasis to his last comment.
After a moment, Raj's angry expression altered into an empathetic frown. He didn't let Clam see it though.
Clam continued explaining. "Maybe Lazlo never see Edward again! But probably see us again! Lazlo and Edward been like glue!"
The elephant understood this. He too had had some wonderful times with Patsy over the summer, indicating he had experience with the "glue" factor. Unseparateable.
When he had confided his true feelings for her, he had been totally shocked and relieved to gather that she too felt the same way about him! It was the most superb feeling he'd ever felt! To love someone and be loved back just as equally in return; that was what true happiness was!
Now that both Camp Kidney and Acorn Flats were closing for the year, he had often pondered what he would do without being able to see Patsy on a daily basis! Who would he talk to about his frustrations? Or tell his secrets to? And most importantly, who would continue to care for him despite all of his flaws? Could he really bare to say goodbye to her?
Thinking about this made the elephant's eyes water, so he pushed the thought away.
But he couldn't help but continue wondering, was this the way Lazlo felt about Edward? Could it all possibly be the same?
Lazlo and Edward, with all honesty, had been glued by the hip for weeks. True, Lazlo had hung out with him and Clam for a large portion of the summer, but everything outside of the trio's activities was spent with Edward! Lazlo made sure to be there by the platypus's side, whether Edward liked it or not. Lazlo loved him from the bottom of his heart, and that fact shown more clear by the day!
Even though he still couldn't understand it, Raj somehow felt like he finally grasped a little bit more about what love truly meant, in Lazlo's case, or even his own.
Finally, he stood up from the steps and turned to face Clam, smiling sincerely. "Clam, you're right."
Clam was rather shocked to hear this! He leaned forward a bit as if wanting to hear more about this "you're right" scenario.
Raj only nodded in satisfaction with his heartfelt conclusion.
Maybe I don't always understand certain things about this world, but I guess I can understand love a little bit. Lazlo loves Edward. ……Maybe that's reason enough to let him have his time with him for today?
The elephant drifted through his own thoughts, trying to piece together the puzzle he'd been refusing to put together for months now; the puzzle that made up Lazlo and Edward.
Though a bit left in the dark, Clam felt like he had made some sort of miraculous breakthrough with Raj! This cheered him up immensely!
No sooner had his hopes rose for Raj however when suddenly:
"AHH!! But they are both BOYS! THAT STILL DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO ME!!!!"
Clam's momentary pleasure in helping Raj feel enlightened seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon.
Nevertheless, he continued to smile and commenced resting his chin in his palms again, staring out across camp towards Leaky Lake and reminiscing about his own affections for a certain female alligator dwelling in Acorn Flats.
Love was a strange thing, he decided. It wasn't meant to be understood. At least not entirely.
[TBC