Chapter Five

Good Morning, Valediction!

The room was submerged in sunlight. The warmth of the un-air-conditioned cabin was so hot that there was barley enough oxygen to breathe!

Night had ended too soon for Edward, who pried his eyes open slowly to attempt to greet the morning with a scowl. The first thing he laid sight on was a lightly colored tee-shirt pressed up against his nose. He had to close his eyes again, blinking a few times, trying to remember where he was and why he was there.

Finally, he recollected the events from the night before and then bit his lip with a little bit of astonishment. Had he really stayed with Lazlo in Jelly Cabin all night?

He peered upwards to see Lazlo's peaceful resting face decorated with shadows from the sun as he breathed gently and silently above him. The monkey's arms were loosely dangled around Edward's waist, a sign that they hadn't moved much during the night.

Edward trailed his eyes back down to the tee-shirt inches from his face. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against the sturdy chest hidden behind the tee, closing his eyes.

What day was it?

Someone yawned from across the room.

The platypus winced when he realized that the day he'd pretended wouldn't come had actually came. Today was the day he would go home. And today was the day he'd have to say goodbye.

He took a breath and held Lazlo's scent in for as long as possible, then let it out reluctantly. He again stared up into the monkey's sleeping face. His stomach twisted with crazy emotions he'd for so long tried to ignore. He moved up further onto the single pillow until their faces were close. He grinned slightly, "…Hey Laz--"

---"AHH!! What on earth??!!" A voice broke through the calm atmosphere, interrupting what Edward hoped would have been a tender moment.

Lazlo sighed a bit and opened his eyes, blinking a few times to bring his vision into focus. Above him, Raj, looking very domineering and angry, had his hands on his hips.

"..Good morning, Raj!" He paused to stretch innocently, "What's up?"

The elephant turned red. "I'll tell you what's up!! There is a BED BUG in your sheets!!"

Lazlo blinked and looked over at Edward, who had the blankets clutched over him now. He peered out over the top of the sheets half embarrassed and half pissed off.

Lazlo giggled. "That's not a bed bug, Raj! That's a platypus!"

Raj blew steam out of his ears. "I don't care what he is!! The point is, why is he here in our cabin this early in the morning??! In YOUR bed?!! Did he….stay here all night!!!!???"

Lazlo lifted a finger. "Well, he--"

Raj looked faint. "I don't want to hear it, Lazlo!! Arrggh….the horror of it all!"

Lazlo stuck out his bottom lip. "But Raj, we didn't do anything bad!"

The elephant ignored him.

Clam, at this point, peeked his eyes open having been stirred by all the commotion.

Lazlo was about to try explaining the situation when suddenly Edward jumped up out of the covers and threw his hands over the monkey's mouth to shut him up.

"What does it matter, elephant boy? Me being here didn't bother you!"

Raj grew stubborn. "Oh, but it did!!" He wagged his finger at the platypus. "You simply being in this cabin, in THAT bed, bothers me!! So if you don't mind…why don't you head back over to your own cabin and we'll just pretend like I didn't wake up to these festivities, yes?"

Clam was now sitting up in his bunk with crossed arms, exasperated with the elephant.

Lazlo just twiddled his thumbs in a panic.

Edward stood up on top of the bed now and held out a fist. "That's IT!!! You have been a JERK to me for the LAST TIME, pal!!!"

Raj held a fighting stance and hopped back and forth on both heels. "BRING IT ON, LITTLE MAN!!"

The final stream of sentences brought Clam to his feet and across the room. He proceeded to tackle Raj to the floor boards and pin him there.

The elephant jerked around, trying to escape. "CLAM!! RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT!!!"

"Nuh-uh!" Clam turned down the request.

"Alright! This is good! Hold him there while I pound him!!" Edward looked as though he were about the charge into battle.

"Stop!! Wait!! Can't we talk this over calmly and rationally?!" Lazlo jumped up and grabbed onto Edward's waist, trying to pull him back down onto the bed.

It seemed that a fight was about to commence until all of a sudden the uproar was bluntly interrupted by Lumpus's voice over the loud-speaker outside, sounding rather chipper. "Good merry wonderful gorgeous morning, Bean Scouts! Up and At-em'! Just a little reminder that parents and taxi's will be arriving shortly, and the bus will be leaving for the airport in 45 minutes! So…. GET YOUR BUTTS OUT OF BED AND GET OUT OF HERE!! …… And have a nice life!"

The boys glanced at one another, then sighed in unison, remembering the fate of the morning and losing interest in their war.

Clam released Raj with a displeased glare. The elephant just brushed his nightclothes off, unfazed.

"Next time, pink boy." Edward threatened.

Raj rolled his eyes. "Oh Twiddly Dee, Edward!"

Clam and Lazlo glanced at each other, then shrugged. They both knew deep down that all 4 of them would miss these energetic disputes.

The morning atmosphere couldn't have been more pleasant, but at the same time, unpleasant. It was a bright sunny day, but no one could enjoy it. Instead, scouts put on forced grins, left their cabins for the last time, and went to wait in the front of camp for departure.

Usually, parents would come to pick their kids up, but other scouts who lived further away had to wait for taxi's to drive them across county, or in Edward and Lazlo's case, take the bus to the airport to catch a plane pre-scheduled by their parents to take them home.

Edward had made his way back over to Pinto Cabin to grab the rest of his things and see if Chip and Skip were still around. As much as he hated the two dirt-infested twins, they were his cabin-mates and he would feel wrong leaving without saying goodbye.

When Edward opened the screen door, as expected the dung beetles were still inside. They looked as though they were undergoing a search for something throughout the entire cabin.

"What are you two losers looking for?" Edward headed across the room to his bed casually.

Chip and Skip both froze in their places for a moment, before rushing over to embrace the platypus with sappy tears in their eyes. "Oh Edward!!!! We thought you went away already!!" The two of them sobbed.

Edward twitched. "Obviously I'm still here, so you can stop with the waterworks!"

The dung's released their cabin-mate. "We're glad you're still here, because we have a present for you!"

Edward had already begun stuffing things into a carry-on backpack he pulled from behind his bed. "Well ain't that special….why on earth did you get me a pres--" Suddenly, Chip shoved a messy piece of paper into Edward's face. "Hey!! What the-!" He grabbed the paper and glanced over it. His expression softened.

Chip stood with a hopeful expression. "Do you like it?"

"It's a goodbye present!" Skip added.

The paper had a scribbled painting of three blobs on it, two being purple and one being much smaller and yellow. This had to have been the Dung's and Edward. Although the globs were….a bit far from artistic, Edward could tell that the twins had put a lot of effort into it.

He sighed. "You two idiots have too much time on your hands. …but thanks."

The twins once again grabbed Edward into a sad embrace. "WE'LL MISS YOU, EDWARD!!!"

The platypus rolled his eyes, but in a favorable way.

The tender moment with the Pinto Beans lasted a few more seconds, before Edward grew impatient and broke free from the hug.

Before he walked out the door, he took a long last look at the cabin he'd called home for the past 3 months. "What a dump. I can't believe I survived this all summer." As he opened the screen door, he stopped again and looked over his shoulder. Chip and Skip were still standing inside with sad faces. They waved at him. He smiled slightly and waved back. "See yah around."

It was bittersweet, walking out of Pinto Cabin. Not sentimental, but then again, what was?

The platypus walked over to Jelly Cabin and stood outside. He didn't feel like going in and having another aggravatingly heartfelt moment, so he leaned against a nearby tree and waited for the Jellies to emerge from inside.

Meanwhile, Raj, Clam, and Lazlo all stood inside by the door looking on at their home away from home.

Lazlo sniffed. "…You know, guys….I'm really gunna miss it."

Clam nodded. "Ehh…pine for."

The two friends glanced over at Raj, who had tears in his eyes.

"What about you, buddy? Are you sad to leave too?" Lazlo asked.

Raj held a sturdy look. "No! ….I do not feel sad. I just feel…." He paused for a moment before falling to his knees dramatically. "…MISERABLE!!"

The three friends sniffled together. The sun from outside beamed through the screen door and blazed at Lazlo's back, almost as if it were saying time to move on. The monkey understood this and stepped forward.

"Okay, guys… next summer! We'll be here next summer! And it'll be even better than before!" He stuck his hand out in front of him. "Jelly Buddies for life!"

Clam perked up and put his hand on top of Lazlo's. "Jellies!"

They both looked at Raj, who was still wiping away some tears. The elephant finally put on a grin and placed his hand over theirs, completing the trio. "Buddies for life!"

Lazlo opened Jelly Cabin's door for the last time and the three friends turned and walked out without another word.

When the screen door slammed behind him, Lazlo winced. Reality was finally setting in on him, which was unusual because he was ordinarily off in his own imagination oblivious to the harsh truths life can muster. But perhaps this meant that he was growing up a little bit.

Raj and Clam waited for him at the bottom of the steps. He smiled, trying not to show any negative emotion, and hopped down to join them.

Once both feet were planted firmly on the ground, he lifted his eyes and spotted Edward standing morose a few feet away.

Edward had been hesitant to approach them. After all, the Jellies all looked inexplicably depressed, which wasn't normal for them in the least. But it was that depressed expression on Lazlo's face that really tore at his chest and encouraged him to solemnly walk over.

Raj tried to avoid eye contact while Clam did the opposite and waved cheerfully.

Lazlo grinned. "….You ready?"

Edward rolled his eyes, trying to shun any sad talk. "Oh brother, you guys make me sick. Yes, I'm ready! You make it sound like we're headed to the morgue or somethin'!"

Lazlo looked over at both Raj and Clam with a puzzled look and they shrugged in reply.

Edward blinked in exasperation. They obviously didn't know what a morgue was. "Ugh, let's just go!"

The front of camp was littered with bean scouts all over the place. Parents were already pulling up in their cars and rushing to embrace their boys and welcome them back into their lives.

Touching, really. But not to Edward, who, as hard as he tried, couldn't help but look even more bothered and irritated than usual.

The four of them stood aloof on the sidelines while they watched the parade of adults flood Camp Kidney's gates.

Scoutmaster Lumpus, astonishingly, was at the head of the crowd shaking parents' hands and patting scouts' heads. He was the most cheerful he'd been all summer! Slinkman on the other hand stood at Lumpus's side waving goodbye to scouts with a tearful expression. At least one of them was sad to see the Beans go!

Raj, Clam, Lazlo, and Edward all knew that they wouldn't find their parents in the noisy swarm. Raj would be expecting a limo though, being from a well off family. He would be driven to the airport in style. Clam had managed to work out a negotiation with Raj, so he too would be taking the limo to the airport.

Lazlo would have been able to ride in style along with them, had it not been for Raj declaring earlier that he would have no platypus named Edward board his sacred vessel.

Because Lazlo wanted to see Edward off, he decided he would just take the bus with him. It wasn't all that bad.

Edward glared at the unfriendly yellow automobile with deep hatred. It was parked across camp looking ominous and appalling at him.

Before Edward could burn a hole through the side of the vehicle with his sinful glare, Slinkman bobbed over to the boys, still wiping away some tender-loving tears. "The bus is going to leave in about 10 minutes boys, so anyone who's due for a ride to the airport needs to be outside the door when the time comes. Just letting you know."

"Thanks Mr. Slinkman." Lazlo spoke with a low tone.

The slug smiled sympathetically, patting Lazlo's shoulder. "It's been a fun summer. You're a great camper, Jelly Bean."

Lazlo's bottom lip quivered. The sentence touched his heart.

Edward felt like throwing up.

Slinkman nodded to all of them and then returned to the crowd of parents.

They all sighed.

What a horrible day.

Raj tapped his foot on the ground anxiously, then grabbed Clam's wristwatch to check the time.

Lazlo leaned over to the elephant. "Are you okay, buddy? You look sorta antsy."

Raj twiddled his thumbs. "Antsy? I am not antsy….what ever do you mean by tha--"

Just then, a honking was heard from the front gate and a fancy pink bus with the words "Acorn Flats" written on the side rolled in through the crowd with Ms. Mucus at the wheel.

Raj yelped.

The pink bus doors opened and a troop of lovely young Squirrel Scouts marched out. Among them were Nina, Gretchen, and as expected, their ring-leader Patsy. Following them was a peppy-looking Mrs. Jane Doe, batting her eyelashes at the sunny sky obliviously.

Scoutmaster Lumpus could be heard making a ruckus across camp. "Slinkman, why are the Squirrel Scouts here??? I didn't dress properly for this!!"

Slinkman wore a dull expression. "Sir, I'm sure the girls aren't going to care."

Lumpus was crying now. "Not for the girls, Slinkman!! For Ms. Doe!! Ms. Doooeee, Slinkman!!!!"

Lazlo overheard this but let it fly over his head. "Why are the girls here?"

Clam looked up at Raj, who was shaking nervously. "….P-P-Patsy….said she…they….were…..and then….she…her..."

Edward clutched his fists. "AHHH! I can't take much more of this!!….He's saying that Patsy told him that the Squirrel's arranged for their parents to pick them up here because it's closer to the main road, and since Patsy has to wait for her dad Hoo-Ha to pick her up at Camp Kidney, she'll be waiting with Raj!"

Clam and Lazlo blinked. "Wow! I didn't know you understood gibberish, Edward!"

The platypus sneered at them and then turned to walk away. "I'm outta here. Squirrel Scouts make me sick. I'll be over there popping the tires on that damn bus if you need me."

"Hey, wait! Edward!" Lazlo chased after him and grabbed his wrist. "At least stay and say goodbye to them with us! It would be rude to just walk off and ignore them!"

Edward peered around Lazlo and saw the monkey's friends begin to scatter in different directions. "Why don't you tell that to them?"

They watched as Clam booked it into the crowd to escape. Just as Raj was about to do the same, a voice stopped him.

"Hey Raj."

The elephant trembled and looked over his shoulder to see Patsy standing there in front of him with a spirited innocence about her.

"O-Oh! Hey Patsy!"

The fluffy-haired mongoose looked down at her feet. "Thanks for not leaving without saying goodbye."

Raj nearly fainted. "O-Of course not! I mean--I wouldn't do that!"

She smiled at his tension.

"Hey Patsy, good to see you!" Lazlo trotted over to greet the girl who had for so long admired him from afar, but had never admitted it.

She blushed slightly. "Hey Lazlo! You're still here! I'm glad!" Just as she said this, a short 'humph' was heard. She looked behind Lazlo to see Edward standing a few feet away with his arms crossed. "Oh…I see Edward's still here too."

Lazlo smiled. "Yep! He wanted to say goodbye also!" Lazlo outstretched his arm and dragged the platypus over.

Edward stared into Patsy's expression. She was very pretty for a girl, he had to admit. But the fact that she had at one time harbored feelings for Lazlo created an undying loathe for the mongoose.

He gritted his teeth. "Yeah, have a nice life, chica."

Patsy glared without responding and turned back to Raj and Lazlo. "Summer's been awesome this year, huh guys? It's sad that it's already over."

Lazlo nodded in agreement, teary eyed. Raj just stood there timidly.

Patsy leaned forward towards the elephant. She wore a look on her face that frightened him, but at the same time reassured him. "Want to go wait together? My dad won't be here for awhile…"

Raj sweated. "Um…sure! Yes! …Ok!"

They both took a step closer to each other.

Lazlo gazed at them and grinned. He adored their young romance, it reminded him of those chick-flick movies Edward always had to watch when they would show them on movie nights earlier that summer. It warmed his soul to know that they were both happy. "I guess I'll see you next summer, Patsy?"

The mongoose turned to the monkey and smiled. "You bet, Laz! Take care of yourself." Without warning she jumped up and hugged the monkey tightly.

It was a form of farewell, but Edward didn't care and his face burned red with anger. "OK, THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The platypus yanked Lazlo back towards him. Patsy blinked in confusion for a moment, then giggled. She still hadn't let the idea sink in that Lazlo and Edward had been significantly closer than usual the past few months.

Raj cleared his throat.

Patsy smiled up at Lazlo again before hopping over to the elephant's side. She reached for his hand and took it confidently. Raj's palm was clammy, but she didn't mind.

Lazlo and a pissed off Edward watched them walk off towards a tree stump away from the crowd. Raj looked back over his shoulder once or twice, seemingly telling them that he would be back later. Whether he would be or not, none of them were sure.

Laz turned to his companion and beamed.

Edward reached over and grabbed the monkey's hand and jerked him closer. The protective side of him was rarely seen, and Lazlo enjoyed it.

Meanwhile, Clam had been pushing his way through the hundreds of fussing mothers flocked together in mobs.

When he finally managed to bound out of the herd, he bumped face first into a green-skinned girl with blonde hair, and it wasn't long before his cheeks were burning red. "Gretchen!"

"Ouch! ….What the heck, Clam! Watch where you're going!" The crocodile rubbed her forehead where she'd collided with the much smaller boy.

Clam grinned, then stood up and offered a hand to help her to her feet. "Uh…sorry."

"You should be! You almost gave me a concussion!" She barked, then looked around her. "Have you seen Patsy? Nina made me come find her…not that I care if I even see her again. She's been driving me crazy all summer!"

Clam knew exactly where Patsy was, but didn't want to blurt it out or else have Gretchen leave so soon. He stood there pretending to ponder for a good 5 minutes, until he finally shrugged. "Dunno."

Gretchen growled. "Well that's just great. Where's Lazlo and that elephant kid? Why aren't you with them? You usually are, aren't you?"

The rhino looked around him, then shrugged again. "Dunno."

Gretchen rolled her eyes. "Then what do you know?"

Clam had to think about this. He actually knew quite a lot for being such a short-worded boy! He was once dubbed a genius! But that was all better kept unsaid.

After a moment, the crocodile sighed. "I guess I'll just go look for everyone myself."

"Uh, wait!" Clam suddenly reached forward and grabbed Gretchen's hand. It was on accident, of course, but it didn't feel like it.

Gretchen blushed faintly. "What?"

Clam was beet red now. "…Look for them together!"

The crowd seemed to lessen a bit as they stood there facing each other.

"….I guess." Gretchen finally gave in.

As Raj and Clam spent their final moments of Camp together with two Squirrel scouts, Lazlo and Edward strode along through the trees towards the retched bus that would take them off into real life again.

Slinkman was already preparing for departure. The luggage was loaded into the storage compartments below, and already a couple random Bean and Squirrel scouts waited outside the door.

Edward chewed at his lower lip as they approached. Was he aggravated or just sick at his stomach? It was difficult to tell. His hand was still clutched in Lazlo's and he squeezed it tightly, cutting off the circulation.

Lazlo noticed his tension, but wasn't sure what to say or do to fix it. He usually figured out a way, but Edward made everything a challenge. Challenging as he was though, the monkey still liked solving the problem.

When other scouts close by began to stare, Edward let go of the monkey's palm and crossed his arms in front of him, trying not to look too loving towards the other boy. He peeked up from his revulsion at Lazlo, who looked puzzled. Obviously. He couldn't except the monkey to understand what feeling like a wimp was like. He needed to get a grip on himself if he was going to make it to the airport and onto the plane in one piece.

The minutes dribbled by like molasses. Slinkman was doing something with the engine. Roaring and exhaust filled the late-summer air.

Lazlo scanned the premises around them for signs of his fellow Jellies to return to bid him farewell, but so far, they hadn't shown.

Edward stood leaned up against the vehicle with arms crossed and head down.

Lazlo had to take a minute to catch his breath, rocking on his heels apprehensively.

Edward didn't look at the monkey. "Would you settle down already? They ain't coming."

Lazlo slumped over. It was difficult to just separate with his best friends without properly saying goodbye! It just couldn't be done that way!

Just then, Slinkman opened the doors to the bus. "Ok, scouts. All aboard the home-bound express." He said this with less enthusiasm than intended.

Lazlo jumped. "No! Wait! They'll be here! Just a little longer!"

Edward grabbed hold of Lazlo's shirt and began dragging him into the bus. "Give it a rest, would yah! You're making a scene!"

Lazlo felt tears burn his brown eyes. "But…Raj!…Clam!…! Edward, I can't leave without saying goodbye, I just can't!"

The platypus stopped and turned around. Lazlo's pleading eyes pulverized his heart like a raw piece of meat. "Must you be so manipulative?"

"Mani-who?" The monkey blinked through his tears.

Edward grabbed hold of his shirt again and pulled him up to the front door of the bus. "Hey Slinkman! Lazlo here's got to take a leak. Will you hold the bus for him?"

The slug looked at his wristwatch. "Well…if he makes it quick! None of you can be late to catch your planes!"

Edward released the monkey. "Run, be free. But make it snappy, Laz."

Lazlo squealed. "Oh Edward….thank you so much!! I can't tell you enough how--"

"JUST GO ALREADY!"

Edward watched as the monkey disappeared through the bushes, still beaming back at him from over his shoulder.

He blushed. "Since when have I become so giving and kind?" He looked at the nameless pig scout who had been standing next to him the entire time. Without another thought he pushed the pig down into the dirt abruptly.

Satisfied, Edward grinned. "That's more like it."

[TBC