Be My Fool

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Alex.

xxxx

It wasn't long before Acantha and Andrew were given kitchen duty and were told to sit on the floor and shut up. They finished five minutes after everybody else.

'Right, brats,' Bison announced, a twisted sort of smile on his face, 'We're going to put you all through an... endurance task.'

That smile really did look quite painful at the moment.

He continued, 'Quite simple. Take a partner and do the course in the lowest time. Questions?'

We stared blankly at him and the 'smile' grew... Okay, now it really looked painful.

'Isn't that painful?' I blurted before biting down on my tongue. Smart, good going Jen.

Snorting, he gave me a disdainful look before biting out, 'Of course it is, it's for endurance.'

I gave him a weird look, 'Uh... right.'

I didn't blame him for giving me a strange look back, 'That's what it's called, isn't it? Doesn't the name say anything?'

Smile... SM-I-ILE... Sm-i-le...

'No, not particularly,' I replied after a second of thinking, wondering what on ear- OH!, 'Uh, never mind.'

Rolling his eyes, his smile dropped and said, deadpan, 'Since you're so eager to have a go then, get up here and take your pick of partner.'

Jumping up, I looked over my friends and smirked at my target. I announced, 'Tulip, get up 'ere!'

She glared at me before getting to her feet gracefully and wandering over to where I was standing. She flipped her silvery hair before grabbing a bobble out of her pocket and tying it up. Tulip could be such a drama queen at times, it was amusing.

Meerkat waved us over to an exit in the clearing, and we trotted behind him.

'You weren't talking about the endurance course, were you?' She asked, a smile playing around her lips.

Giving her a look, I grinned, 'Actually, I was talking about his smile.'

She froze for a second before she burst out laughing and choked out, 'Just be glad he didn't know what you were going on about – you would have been dead five times over by now! You really need to learn how to control that mouth of yours.'

I opened my mouth, eyebrows furrowed, before freezing and shutting it again as she sauntered ahead of me. The cheek! I'm not saying I'm not grateful for that, goodness knows what would've happened if he actually knew what I was going on about... Thinking about it, she is sort of right. What if he did find out?

Insert shudder here.

'C'm'ere girlies!' He, Meerkat, called from up ahead and I looked up to our task. Tulip blanched.

The first part looked... a bit more than challenging. It was Joseph's Ladder, about thirty foot or twenty foot high. For any of you who don't know what a Joseph's Ladder is, it's a collection of large logs which start out close together at the bottom and get more spread apart as you reach to the top – they were connected by large wires drilled through at each ends of them, they were nailed into the floor and hanging from a metal bar at the top.

If that doesn't make sense... look it up! Google wasn't made for nothing!

Squinting, I could see a rickety bridge near the top log which led us away over a wooden wall.

I gulped.

Oh, and better yet, the safety mechanisms! Instead of a proper, full-body harness we were meant to have... okay, I hate them, but it's the law! Well, instead of them, it was one strap that wrapped around our stomachs tightly which was attached to another piece of wire, which led to the top metal bar and back down to Meerkat.

Tulip looked like she was going to pass out, but was stretching. I copied her – her family usually done this sort of thing at Oasis. No, CenterParcs. Yeah, that's the place. Anyway, as I was saying, she was pretty darn good at this. I just hoped that I didn't drag her down... much.

My dad may have been in the army, but he hadn't exactly been shoving me onto Joseph Ladder's every day.

'Get ready!' Meerkat called to us and we stood in position. Tulip was on the left, I was on the right.

'GO!' He yelled, I could practically hear him grinning, and I flung myself at the second log, climbing up on top of it easily. Tulip was already jumping for her third one.

I flung my arms up around the third log, wrapped my legs around it, and then spun myself on top before jumping up and repeating the whole process again. It wasn't long before we were three from the top and struggling to clamber onto the wooden logs.

Slipping slightly, I jumped and flung my arms and then swung my legs up on top. Then I fell.

Letting out a small yelp, Tulip looked down from the top of the ladder and grinned at me swinging upside down from the log – my legs wrapped around it stopped me from dropping to my death.

This was the second time this day that I was upside down!

Glaring at her, I ignored the erratic beating of my heart and swung myself back on top. Tulip had swung upside down to offer her hands as help to get up and I accepted it gratefully.

'Okay, we're up,' Tulip said cheerfully, 'Now, onto the swinging bridges!'

It was basically, for both of the bridges, two pieces of rope parallel to each other to the other side and, from them, two pieces of rope connected to each step. They rattled in the small breeze and I stood up on the log shakily, grabbing the metal above me for support before I jumped onto the first step.

Tulip was doing the same, and fiddling with the safety rings to switch. Cursing, I turned to my right and attached myself to the bridge rope that was high above us and disconnected myself from the ladder. It swung back down to the base of Joseph's Ladder without a glance back.

Thanks, rope, for all your help!

Grimacing, I turned and jumped from each one to the next – near the end; I stumbled and flung myself to the finish. I was surprised to see solid ground rather than a platform and looked back. We'd crossed a gorge.

'Snap out of it, woman!' Tulip flung a lump of mud in my direction whilst fiddling with the piece of rope around of herself, 'Untie yourself!'

Fumbling with the lock around my waist, I wondered how long we'd spent already and sped up.

'You better not ditch me!' Tulip yelled as we sprinted our way to the edge of our vision, it had dipped.

It was a mud slide. I smirked at Tulip before grabbing her arm and jumping over the edge.

My dad really had made me some sort of fearless beast... okay, maybe not totally fearless but I wasn't whimpering. Okay, but not much!

Tulip squealed as the wind whipped against our faces, blurring our vision so that when the ground evened out we stumbled off the edge. I laughed, giddy from the rush of adrenaline.

'I'm going to kill you!' She screamed, face slightly flushed and hand over where her heart is.

Shrugging, I rushed forward to the zip wire and quickly fastened myself to it before setting off. Tulip was next to me, having tied herself to it quicker than I had. It wasn't long before we sped off the ground and over another gorge – but this one wasn't as deep and had a river flowing through it.

'Look!' She pointed at a small post that was struggling to stand up in the water. It had a small platform with a few pieces of coloured rope sitting on top, 'Try and grab one!'

'Are we meant to?' I yelled back at her, looking back at her.

She looked unsure but hollered back, 'This is the course, aint it?'

Taking what she said into mind, I swung myself back so that my legs were pointing upward and my head was flung down to face the water. Swiping blindly at the incoming post, I grabbed one before straightening up and stumbling onto the cliff edge.

Disorientated, my head spun slightly while I fiddled with the safety knot.

Tulip grabbed my arm as soon as I was unhooked and pulled me along to the 'last task'... well, that's what it said on the sign. Gaining my balance, I stumbled to a stop when she froze in front of me. Looking at the last hurdle, I groaned at the machine they had put in place before the large 'Finish!' banner.

There was one centre piece, made out of several parts. Turning clockwise was the set of stairs, which had gaps in the middle of them for the oncoming pieces of wood spinning anti-clockwise. Then, once at the top of the stairs, you had to clamber onto one of the spinning pieces of wood to get to the end of it and jump out onto a landing pad on the other side.

'Fucking retards!' She stamped her foot, glaring.

She stamped her foot.

Any other time, I would have laughed at her until dawn broke but I probably would have done that if she hadn't. Or if I had picked Leah instead.

I chose to take a shot at it – later on, I would probably regret my impulsiveness.

Diving onto the second step, I rolled upwards to avoid the oncoming wood. I waited for a second before getting to my feet, still crouching, and pegged it up a couple of steps. Ducking as I stumbled, the next log swung right above my head. It didn't take me long to figure out that I had to run to the top, which I did – but I had earned myself a few bruises and a clobbered ankle.

Getting on my knees, I shuffled along as fast as I could on a swinging wooden pole and got to the end before looking up to see the incoming landing pad. I swear that they sped it up just for me!

I braced myself, already wincing, before jumping off and rolling onto the dirty blue landing pad. My foot was numb, I must have landed on it funny.

A set of hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me off the mat before I was squished by a flying Tulip. Who lay still and groaned into the mat.

Laughing, and disorientated, I yelled, 'Face-plant!'

xxxx

So, five minutes later, we had been looked over by Snake, the medic in K Unit, and announced that we were fine. Just a tad disorientated – thank you Kathryn obvious! Tulip told me it was Captain Obvious. I pushed her off the log.

Wolf snapped at us our time, 7 minutes and 32 seconds, to which we cheered half heartedly while we attacked each other with sticks, holding them like swords.

Nate and Peter stumbled through next, both having gained bloody noses somehow throughout the course. Their times was 5 minutes 58 seconds. Damn.

Tulip raised an eyebrow at me, 'They're lads, Jen, what d'ya expect?'

'Did I say that out loud?' I groaned, falling back onto the floor with my eyes closed, 'Shnufflepuffle.'

'Shnufflepuffle?' A warm, amused voice said above us, but I couldn't be bothered to open my eyes so I stayed still, 'Nice to be ignored.'

I groaned, 'Who is it?'

They, the person who interrupted my throbbing limbs and before-lunch snooze, chuckled, 'Your conscience. It's Nate.'

Creaking my eyes open, I groaned as Tulip replied, 'Well, Nate, you're blocking our sun. We're getting a tan before we go back home, y'know.'

He shuffled beside me, dark brown hair lightly ruffled and hazel eyes sparkling with amusement. He lay back and announced, 'I'm not getting much sun.'

'Then take your shirt off.'

Shit. Did I just say that?

Tulip snorted, 'And that will do what, pray tell?'

I shrugged, eyes now open and staring at the trees above us, 'Entertain us while he freezes on the floor?'

She snickered, 'It'll entertain you alright.'

I thumped her, blushing slightly, 'Sick minded person.'

'Don't worry,' Nate chuckled, I'd forgotten he was there, 'All girls want to see me shirtless.'

Sitting up, I wacked him over the head, 'PEDOPHILE!'

He grinned up at me and Tulip snorted again, I glared at them both before muttering something about paedophiliac minded children and perverted boys before lying back down. What can I say... he's cute!

We lay in silence for a few seconds before he chuckled slightly, muttering, 'I'd prefer sexy but whatever swings your way.'

That is how I was now chasing after him with a stick, to the amusement of the soldiers and Tulip. Apparently Peter didn't think so as he was too absorbed cheering on Claudia and Acantha to cross the final challenge.

Pansies.

'Get your arse back here!' I hollered after him, 'Nate!'

What can I say? I have a temper when I'm tired!

'STOP! NOW!' Wolf roared at us, face livid. I dropped the stick and we froze, turning to him as he continued to yell, 'GO PICK UP STICKS! JUMP INTO A LAKE! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!'

Oo-o-oh, Mr-Sir-Wolfey swore!

I am so glad I didn't say that out loud, I thought to myself as we hurried back to Tulip – she was watching us in amusement, grinning like a cat that had caught a mouse. Well... I wasn't going to say I looked forward to tonight.

Stupid teasing. Stupid knowing. Stupid friends. Gah.

This camp was going to kill me!

xxxx

Third chapter re-done! Whoopee doo!

Review, my lovlies!

LoveYou

InsignificantBlimp

**[[24thJune2011]]**