Fireside Fracas
Adyson checked her wristwatch once again after looking up and down the street just outside her house. There was still no sign of either Isabella or Gretchen. She'd gotten a call from Isabella the previous day asking if she wanted to spend the day with them trolling the Googolplex Mall. Naturally she'd accepted, as any chance to reconnect with the two girls after not getting to see them much during the school year was very welcome. It was coming up on the time for them to be picking her up, though, and now Adyson's mind began playing tricks on her. Had they changed their minds? Had they gone there without her? Had it just been a trick all along to have a laugh at her expense? Just as she reached for her cell phone to call them and get the straight story, she spotted them coming down the street on their bicycles. She exhaled, letting her self-inflicted stress out, and recomposed herself as they pulled up.
"Hey there strangers," she said, standing up to greet them.
"Hey Adyson," Isabella replied cheerily. "We're not running late, are we?"
"Almost, but you made it just in time."
"You can thank Gretchen for that. I could barely drag her away from Ferb."
"I was ensuring he had received appropriate medical attention for an injury sustained while making preparations for the day's fantastical endeavor," Gretchen said indignantly.
"Wanna run that by me again in a language sane people understand," Adyson asked.
"Ferb got a papercut from the blueprints he was reading and Florence Nightingale here went all OCD on his treatment," Isabella told her.
"It could have gone gangrenous if it had gotten infected," Gretchen said defensively.
"Gangrenous," Adyson repeated flatly. "I was right. There is such a thing as being too smart for your own good."
"Maybe I should call and check up on him," Gretchen said to herself, looking at her cell phone.
"Do it and I'll take it and not give it back until we're done today," Isabella told her in a warning tone.
"So how come you two aren't helping the guys with their project today," Adyson asked as she walked to the garage to get her own bicycle. "Not that I'm complaining, I welcome the chance for a girls' day out. Just curious is all."
"Well, uh…we learned of circumstances that were going to make for an uncomfortable working atmosphere today," Isabella said carefully.
Adyson narrowed her eyes at Isabella and then looked at Gretchen for a proper explanation.
"Irving posted on Facebook yesterday that he was going to be there today," Gretchen told her.
"That's all you had to say," Adyson said, smirking at Isabella.
"I know I should be more tolerant of him," Isabella said, sounding disappointed in herself. "Especially since he indirectly helped Baljeet and Ginger get together, but-"
Isabella was cut off by one of her custom ringtones coming from her phone. It was a recording of the Fireside Girls Song, and she knew immediately when she heard that tone it was Mrs. Feyersied calling her. Adyson and Gretchen both also recognized the tone and immediately fell silent as Isabella answered her phone. Mrs. Feyersied didn't call them anymore unless it was something important.
"Hello? Mrs. Feyersied? It's good to hear you again too, ma'am. Is something wrong? What? You're kidding… No, I'll be right over. Gretchen and Adyson are with me, I'm sure they'll be willing to come with me. We'll be there shortly."
Isabella ended the call and looked at her friends, who both looked concerned.
"What's the issue, chief," Gretchen asked, immediately falling back into her old second-in-command role.
"Mrs. Feyersied needs us at the lodge immediately," Isabella told her. "Troop 46231 is facing a crisis of some sort and she needs outside help to resolve it."
"What're we hanging around here for then," Adyson said, mounting her bike. "Let's ride!"
The three former Fireside Girls took off racing from Adyson's home, heading downtown to the Fireside Lodge to find out what could possibly be causing such an uproar with their beloved former troop.
Immediately upon their arrival at the lodge, each of the three girls rushed up and hugged the elderly Mrs. Feyersied in turn. They all had many fond memories of their times with the troop, and they all had her to thank for establishing the organization decades ago. There had been no debate about answering her call for help; they felt they owed her as much if not more.
"You have my gratitude for coming so quickly, girls," Mrs. Feyersied told them. "Troop 46231 is facing a leadership crisis following the induction of a new member to the troop this morning."
"A leadership crisis," Gretchen repeated. "I thought the troop had a leader already?"
Mrs. Feyersied nodded to her. "It does. As soon as she was sworn in, however, the new girl demanded a challenge for troop leadership. The challenge was accepted, but it can't be resolved without an impartial committee of judges comprised of former Fireside Girls. That's why I called Isabella."
"We'd be happy to help however we can, ma'am," Isabella told her, with Gretchen and Adyson nodding ardently in agreement.
"I knew I could count on you, girls," Mrs. Feyersied said, smiling warmly at them. "I daresay you were the finest group of girls I've ever had the pleasure of training."
"So where are the troop leader and this new girl," Adyson asked.
"I had them wait in the next room until you girls arrived," Mrs. Feyersied said as she began moving slowly across the room. "We can go see them now and begin preparing for the challenge."
Adyson gave Mrs. Feyersied a hand coming into the room with Isabella and Gretchen following them into the room. Two young, blonde girls sat on either side of the room glaring daggers at each other. The one closest to the door had her hair in twin, wavy pigtails held up with orange hair bands that sat just under a brown beret, and her uniform sported a sash with a couple dozen achievement patched, a red belt, pleated skirt, and black shoes. She shifted her blue eyes to look over at the doorway as she heard the group enter and gasped upon seeing Isabella, who likewise gasped in surprise.
"Melissa," Isabella said, recognizing the girl from when she was a Lil' Spark. "Is that you?"
"Oh my gosh, Isabella," Melissa said, jumping up and hugging her former mentor tightly. "I've missed you sooooo much!"
Isabella let go of the girl and stepped back to look her over. "You sure have grown a lot! And look at you, a full-fledged Fireside Girl now!"
"Not only that, she's the current Troop Leader, Isabella," Mrs. Feyersied told her with a smile.
"A situation soon to be rectified," the other girl said bitterly. Unlike Melissa's more wavy hair, this girl's blonde hair was both massive and curly. It was tied into two large puffy pigtails held in place with orange bows. She sported an orange beret, an orange shirt buttoned only at the top with a white shirt underneath, a short brown skirt flared out wide at the sides, and white socks with black flat shoes. Her brand new sash was slung around her, but was currently patch-less.
"Girls, this is the newest recruit to Troop 46231," Mrs. Feyersied told them. "Meet…"
"Suzy Johnson," Isabella said in surprise, stepping away from Melissa momentarily. "I don't remember you ever being a Lil' Spark though…"
"Why would I have wasted my time with the bush league when this is where the real action happens," Suzy replied arrogantly. "What I want to know is how is this challenge supposed to be fair when she's clearly got one of the judges in her pocket?"
"Excuse me," Isabella said in indignation. "I am perfectly capable of being impartial on this matter."
"Right," Suzy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Impartial judges always go around hugging the competitors they're going to be judging."
Gretchen stopped Isabella from going over to berate Suzy and addressed the girl herself.
"Even if Isabella weren't impartial, which I know she will be, Adyson and I aren't so familiar with Melissa," she told Suzy. "A two-to-one vote in your favor would still be a win."
"I suppose that'll do," Suzy said, conceding the point as she hopped to her feet. "So when do we get this show on the road?"
"Hang on, there's still something I don't get," Adyson said, looking at Mrs. Feyersied. "How can she challenge for leadership if she just joined? Isn't there some kind of seniority rule or something?"
"Article twelve, Section Baker, Footnote thirteen," Suzy said as she recalled the passage from the handbook. "Any active Fireside Girl may challenge for leadership of a troop once every six months."
"She's right," Melissa said despondently, folding her arms. "I even double-checked it in the book to make sure she wasn't just making it up."
"You would've liked it if I had, wouldn't you," Suzy said tauntingly.
Melissa glared back at her again. "You're still never gonna win!"
"Never say never!"
"Enough, both of you," Isabella said commandingly, stepping between the two. "The challenge will begin at eleven hundred hours sharp in Danville Public Park. You both have one hour to prepare, so make the most of it. Dismissed."
"You're not the boss of me," Suzy muttered.
"I said dismissed," Isabella repeated authoritatively as she bent over to look Suzy in the eyes. "You're being addressed by a former Troop Leader and you will do as I say or this challenge won't happen today. Do you understand me?"
Suzy swallowed audibly as she wavered under Isabella's intense glare. "Y-yes ma'am…"
Melissa and Suzy both saluted Isabella and left the room to make their preparations for the coming challenge while Isabella rejoined the girls and Mrs. Feyersied.
"You know, I was about to wonder why no one had ever bothered to challenge you when we were active, Isabella," Adyson said to her upon her return. "But I just now remembered why."
"Yeah, we were a pretty close bunch," Isabella said nostalgically.
"I more meant the fact that you can be one scary mamma jamma at times. But yeah, we were all tight too."
Gretchen and Mrs. Feyersied both chuckled as Isabella grumbled at Adyson.
"All jokes aside, something doesn't sit right with me here," Isabella said after the laughter at her expense had died down. "Even though we know Suzy's challenge is legitimate, it doesn't explain why she's doing this. I didn't even think she was interested in scouting."
"It's a valid question," Adyson noted. "But not one I think we have the time or luxury to try and answer. This challenge is going down an hour from now. We don't have time to investigate it properly."
"Unfortunately, Adyson's right," Gretchen added. "We need to plan the tasks for the challenge and judge the girls' performances. We've got work to do."
Isabella nodded in agreement as the three, along with Mrs. Feyersied, began planning the tasks for the challenge. She silently wished Melissa all the luck in the world as she did her best to force her mind into a more impartial state for the job that lie ahead.
A small crowd had gathered in the park as word of the challenge spread around town. As spectators gathered and got comfortable, Melissa and Suzy stretched and limbered up. Both had brought a duffel bag with various items each thought they might need for the tasks, and both of them were eager to begin. As they eyed each other while loosening up, Mrs. Feyersied and the girls approached with uncharacteristically serious looks on their faces.
"Hey Isabella," a familiar voice called out as they approached. Isabella looked over and saw Candace waving to her. She unfolded a lawn chair and taking a seat to watch the challenge as well.
"Candace, what're you doing here," she asked, quickly approaching the eldest Flynn sibling. "I was of the impression Suzy still basically hates you."
"Oh she does," Candace said with a slightly nervous laugh. "But Jeremy can't get away from work today. He asked me to come watch and cheer for her on his behalf."
"That's pretty big of you all things considering."
Candace shrugged at her. "Whether she or I like it or not, we're going to be sisters-in-law in a couple of months. Someone has to offer up an olive branch and it sure as heck isn't gonna be her. I just wish she'd swallow a little of her pride and agree to be in the wedding. Jeremy's kind of upset that she's still refusing."
Just then, Suzy stormed up to the two and glared at Candace, who simply met her gaze as calmly and evenly as possible.
"Where's Jeremy," she asked demandingly.
"At work," Candace told her. "I'm your cheering section today. So good luck out-"
"I'm not doing this for you," Suzy told her, cutting her off. "Just sit, be quiet, and watch while I do this. And you'd better tell Jeremy all about how easily I beat this girl today."
Suzy took another look at Isabella and, without another word, returned to her duffel bag to continue preparing. Isabella shook her head in disbelief at the scene she'd just witnessed.
"I have to hand it to you, Candace," she said, looking back at the redhead. "I don't think I'd be able to stand being treated like that by someone so much younger than me."
"I'm not exactly happy about it either," Candace replied. "But what're you gonna do? Yelling right back at her isn't going to help, and I'm not her mother so I don't have any authority over her. It's just another punch I have to roll with."
"I hope she calms down someday for you."
"I try to look at the bright side. At least when you join the family I'll have a sister-in-law who won't bite my head off and gnaw on it for hours on end."
Candace couldn't help but laugh as she watched Isabella's face turn bright red as she became utterly flustered at what she had just implied.
"Anyway, you'd better get going. I've got some phone calls to make to check on wedding preparations."
"Right," Isabella said, shaking herself out of her embarrassment. "Sit back and try to enjoy the challenge, though honestly I'm hoping Melissa wins this."
"Between you and me, so am I."
Isabella left Candace to get comfortable and re-joined the girls and Mrs. Feyersied who were standing in the middle of the gathered spectators. Melissa and Suzy stood on either side of them, both waiting to hear the nature of the challenge.
"This is an official troop leadership challenge for leadership of Fireside Girls Troop 46231," Mrs. Feyersied announced. "The challenge will be comprised of three tasks that will be judged by the three former Fireside Girls accompanying me. Whichever participant wins two of the three events will be recognized as Troop Leader. We will begin with the first task, which will be presented by former Fireside Girl Adyson Sweetwater."
Mrs. Feyersied stepped back as Adyson stepped up and looked at both girls. "Your first task is a race of sorts. You'll both race from here to the fountain in the middle of the park and back. At the fountain you'll each encounter two people in need of help. You can only help one of them, so you'll have to choose who needs your help the most, help them, and then finish the race. Choose carefully and finish both your task and the race quickly. Your time is important but so is the decision you make."
With the task fully explained, Suzy and Melissa took their places on the starting line. Mrs. Feyersied fired off a starting pistol and both girls took off running through the park. Melissa turned out to be the clearly faster runner, pulling ahead of Suzy quickly and easily. She reached the fountain first and encountered her two people: a large woman who looked to be suffering from stomach pains, and a little boy crying because he'd tripped and skinned his knees (though he had only been made up to look like he had done so.) As Melissa pondered who to help, Suzy made it to the fountain and encountered her two people: a middle-aged man who seemed to have misplaced something, and a little girl crying hysterically.
While Melissa debated, Suzy acted. She checked with the little girl and discovered she had gotten separated from her mother. Suzy took her by the hand and spent the next few minutes helping her track down her mother, successfully doing so while Melissa was still administering basic first aid to the little boy. She took off running back to the finish line, hoping to put enough distance between her and Melissa before Melissa finished her first aid. Melissa finished her task moments later and darted off after Suzy, but even with her speed still came in a few seconds behind her.
As the two girls caught their breath, the judges received word from the people at the fountain about how the girls had performed. They conferred briefly and then Adyson stepped up for the announcement.
"Both girls performed this task very well," she said. "However, Melissa, as good as your first aid was on the boy you chose to help, the woman was actually more in need of attention."
"But...all she had…was a stomach ache…" Melissa said between breaths.
"If you'd taken the time to check on her more, you would've discovered she was actually pregnant and those were labor pains. She was in need of transport to the hospital, something far more urgent than skinned knees. Suzy, on the other hand, made the correct choice to help the lost girl instead of the man who was looking for his sunglasses that were actually on top of his head. That, combined with the fact that she returned first, makes Suzy the winner of the first task."
Suzy raised her hands victoriously as the crowd cheered for her. Melissa cursed her lapse in judgment, but she refused to lose hope. Two tasks remained, and the challenge was far from over.
After a short break so both girls could fully catch their breath, Mrs. Feyersied addressed them and the crowd again.
"The second task will be presented by former Fireside Girl Gretchen Adler," she said, introducing Gretchen who stepped up and adjusted her glasses as she looked at both girls.
"Your second task will be to analyze a situation in depth and make a proper decision," she told them. "Once I present the situation to both of you, you will have ten minutes to consider it and make your choice. Here is your situation:
"Your troop members are looking to you for guidance about what achievement patch to attempt to acquire next. Some of them have far more patches than others, and they clearly do not want to get multiples of any existing patches. However, there are other girls who don't have patches that they do and who want to get those patches as well. You are tasked with deciding what patch to have the troop attempt to acquire next. You must provide acceptable reasoning for your decision as well. You have half an hour starting now."
Suzy rolled her eyes and scoffed at what she figured was a simple enough scenario and decided to just sit and wait for time to expire. She knew her answer already. Melissa, however, clearly had more on her mind regarding the matter. She quickly went to the duffel bag she'd prepared for the challenge and produced her copy of the catalog of achievement patches. As time ticked away, she looked through it feverishly until she found what she was looking for. She quickly bookmarked the page and closed the book just as time expired.
"Time's up," Gretchen announced. "Suzy, since you won the last task you'll present your solution first."
"It's simple, really," Suzy said, standing up and stepping up to Gretchen. "You have to keep everyone happy, so you just pick a patch no one has yet. The girls who want patches that the other girls have will just have to go after them on their own time. The needs of the whole team outweigh the needs of just a few members."
"That's not really solving the problem, though," Melissa countered, quickly joining the two. "Being a Fireside Girl isn't just about being a team; it's also about being there to help each other. Besides, there's another answer that will make sure everyone gets what they want."
Melissa quickly opened the book she had been looking through to the bookmarked page. Inside were multiple versions of the same patch: the 'Help Thy Neighbor' patch.
"After Troop 46231 accumulated more 'Help Thy Neighbor' patches than any troop in the history of the Fireside Girls six years ago, a new system was developed for that particular achievement patch. For every ten times a girl qualifies for it after their first time getting it, they'll qualify to get an upgraded version of it instead of just another copy. The more sophisticated versions of the patch are more prestigious and mark the bearer as a Fireside Girl who'll do whatever it takes to help her fellow girls out, even if it means repeating achievements they've already accomplished. So by agreeing to help others get their patches, the more experienced girls will still qualify for something they don't have yet."
"Is that retroactive," Adyson whispered to Isabella. "I've still got, like, ninety of those things in a shoebox in my closet."
Isabella giggled quietly and hushed Adyson as Gretchen came back to confer with them on the presented solutions. Moments later, Gretchen stepped back over to Suzy and Melissa.
"Both solutions are sound," she said. "However, Suzy, yours neglects the needs and wishes of a significant portion of the troop. Melissa put much more thought and effort into finding an answer that would satisfy both the team's need for overall achievement and the individual girls' desires for personal achievement. Melissa is the winner of the second task."
Cheers rose up from the crowd again as Melissa thanked Gretchen. Suzy folded her arms and grumbled to herself. She resolved that she would simply have to crush Melissa on the final task in order to achieve her goal; a goal she was bent on reaching no matter what.
For the final task, everyone had relocated to the Danville Public Pool. Suzy and Melissa had changed into simple one-piece swimsuits and stood looking over the water as Mrs. Feyersied addressed them.
"The final task will be presented by former Fireside Girl and former Troop Leader of 46231, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro," she announced before stepping aside as Isabella stepped up.
"This last task is a simulated rescue operation," she said. "At the other end of the pool are two specially rigged training dummies. These dummies will continually collect water, making them heavier and harder to swim with as time goes on. On my mark, you'll each swim from one end of the pool to the other, collect the training dummy, and then bring it safely back. The first one to get their rescued dummy back to shore safely will win and will be recognized as troop leader. Swimmers, take your marks!"
Melissa and Suzy both prepared to dive into the water on Isabella's command. As they waited, Melissa looked over at her opponent.
"Hey, good luck Suzy," she said. "May the best girl win. I mean that."
"Don't worry," Suzy replied without looking at her. "I intend to."
Isabella held a starter pistol above her head as she stood by the edge of the pool. "On your marks…get set…"
Immediately as the pistol fired, both girls dove headfirst into the pool and began swimming for the other side. Despite being slower on foot, Suzy proved to be a far more powerful swimmer than Melissa and quickly left her behind. She reached her dummy first and took a quick look over it. Sure enough, there were holes in it that were letting water flow in and make it heavier. She quickly hooked one of her thumbs into one of the holes as she grabbed it and began swimming back just as Melissa was reaching her own dummy.
As Suzy began swimming back, Suzy noticed that despite plugging one of the holes her dummy was quickly beginning to weigh her down. As she treid to shift her hold of it, she realized that her thumb had become stuck in the hole in the dummy. What was worse, it was beginning to drag her down. She found herself flailing just to stay afloat.
Melissa caught up to Suzy just in time to see her head begin bobbing in and out of the water. Her own dummy was starting to weigh her down, but Suzy was clearly in serious trouble. She abandoned her lane - keeping her dummy with her - and attempted to at least get Suzy's head above water so she could breathe. The combined weight of two dummies and Suzy, however, quickly overpowered her and they both found themselves being pulled underwater.
Isabella reacted immediately. She removed her shoes, dove in, and swam hard to reach the struggling girls. She quickly reached them, grabbed Melissa, and swam back up with her. As she hefted her up out of the pool, she heard another splash behind her. Moments later, Candace's head burst forth from underwater as she brought Suzy up. She quickly got Suzy onto dry land and checked on her as soon as she was out as well. Suzy was coughing and hacking, so Candace turned her head so she could cough up the water in her lungs.
"Are they alright,' Mrs. Feyersied said, sounding truly concerned for the girls.
"They're fine, Mrs. Feyersied," Isabella told her, catching her breath. "Scared out of their wits, but otherwise fine."
Suzy finally stopped coughing and looked up, seeing a soaked and bedraggled Candace looking worriedly at her. She panicked and looked around quickly, finally spotting Melissa not far away looking a bit shaken up but alright. She looked back at the water and grabbed for her dummy, intent on finishing the race while Melissa was recovering, but was stopped by Candace's hand on her arm.
"Enough, Suzy," Candace told her. "You're not going back in there."
"Let go of me," Suzy shouted. "I'm gonna win this! I have to!"
"Suzy," Candace said, shouting to get the girl's attention. Suzy stopped and looked at Candace, a somewhat wild look in her eyes. "I understand why you're doing this…but do you really think Jeremy would approve of you winning under these circumstances?"
"Shut up," Suzy shot back. She was completely unaware of the tears now welling up in her eyes as she glared angrily at Candace. "Of course you'd say something like that! You're the one who's taking him away from me. He's my brother! Mine! All I have to do is do something really special like this and he'll love me again! Not you!"
"That's what this is about," Isabella said in realization as she stood next to Candace. Candace simply nodded without looking at Isabella as she scooted closer to Suzy.
"I don't want to take him away from you, Suzy," Candace told her. "That's never been my intent. But I do love him. I love him just as much as you do…more than anyone I've ever known. When he asked me to marry him back last Christmas, it made me the happiest woman in town. But you know what he told me that night after I accepted?"
Suzy didn't speak, but simply looked questioningly at Candace as she continued.
"He said he was looking forward to all of us being a family together. Jeremy will always love you, Suzy. You're his irreplaceable little sister, and you'll always be his number one girl. I know because he's told me time after time exactly that. But he also loves me and wants to be my husband…and I want to be his wife. So please, Suzy…put an end to this."
Suzy huffed and puffed a few more times as Candace extended a hand to her. Finally, she dropped the dummy and collapsed into Candace's arms, bawling her eyes out. Adyson quickly put a couple of large towels around them to provide some warmth as neither of them had been able to dry off yet. After several minutes of comforting her, Candace stood up and helped Suzy to her feet. Suzy continued to sniffle, but seemed to have mostly regained her composure. She stepped over to Melissa as she wiped her red eyes with her towel.
"I concede," she said weakly. "I didn't want to admit it before, but you really are the more qualified one to be leader. Don't worry, you won't be hearing from me again."
"But…why not," Melissa asked, causing Suzy to look at her in surprise. "Suzy, you're pretty amazing as well. Even if you weren't a Lil' Spark, you've still got the stuff it takes to be a real Fireside Girl. I'd love to have you in the troop."
"Really?"
"Absolutely. You're not one to give up on something so easily. Remember the first rule of the Fireside Girls, after all."
"The first rule of the Fireside Girls is you do not talk about the Fireside Girls," Adyson said proudly. She then lurched forward as Gretchen smacked her hard across the back of her head. "Hey, what was that for?"
"Just something I promised myself I'd do a while back," Gretchen told her with a smirk. "Now hush."
"Never give up, never surrender," Suzy said, replying to Melissa.
"We may each be pretty good on our own," Melissa told her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "but think of what we could do together! Especially with the other girls in the troop along with us."
Suzy thought for a moment about it, and eventually smiled back at Melissa. "We would be pretty dynamite, wouldn't we?"
"Without a doubt. Besides, I could use a solid second-in-command and you've more than proved you could fill that role."
"I guess there are worse ways to spend a summer vacation. If you really don't mind having me around, I think I would like to stay after all."
Melissa and Suzy hugged, which was met with applause from all the spectators as well as the girls. Mrs. Feyersied dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief as she was so touched by the new camaraderie between the two young girls.
"There's just one thing though," Suzy said, stepping back from Melissa. "In August I'm going to need a couple of days away from the troop. That is…"
Suzy turned and looked up at Candace. "…if I can still have that spot in the wedding you offered me before."
"Nothing would make Jeremy and I happier than to have you as a bridesmaid, Suzy," Candace told her with a warm smile. "Thank you."
Suzy shook her head at her. "No, thank you Candace. I mean…sis."
A few days passed and Isabella, Gretchen, and Adyson found themselves relaxing on Isabella's front lawn. Ever since the challenge between Melissa and Suzy, the three had done their best to spend a little more time with each other so as to renew their friendship again. Currently they were simply lying on the lawn watching clouds.
"Man am I glad we never had drama like that when we were active in the troop," Adyson said. They had just been going over the whole event again, and it again made her thankful their troop had been such a tightly knit group.
"Yeah, all we had to deal with was a Troop Leader who was prone to fits of obsessive daydreaming," Gretchen added with a laugh.
"I'm right here, you know, guys," Isabella told them, sounding mildly annoyed. "And I heard that, Gretchen."
Gretchen sat up and grinned at her. "Yup. That's because I said it out loud."
"Hey, speaking of troops, check it out," Adyson said, pointing up the street. Isabella and Gretchen looked and saw Melissa leading Suzy and a group of other Fireside Girls their way. The three teenage girls got up and walked over to greet the troop.
"Hey guys," Isabella said with a brilliant smile. "Whatcha doin'?"
"On our way to work on our 'Endangered Wildlife Preservation' patches," Melissa told them. "We're gonna hold a car wash to raise money to save the meerkat."
"That sounds like a great idea," Isabella told her. "Best of luck on it."
"We don't need luck," Suzy added cockily. "We're just that good."
"By the way, meet the troop," Melissa said, turning to introduce the other girls. "There's Trisha, Marty, the twins Tina and Gina, and Doris."
Trisha was a freckled redhead with pale skin. Marty had very short black hair and very much looked like a tomboy. Tina and Gina were both brunettes and were practically identical except one wore her hair in pigtails and the other wore her hair in a ponytail. Finally, Doris was a particularly large girl with braided black hair. They all saluted the older girls, who saluted them back in turn.
"Looks like you guys have one heck of a troop," Adyson said, complimenting them.
"You'd better believe it," Suzy told her proudly. "We're out to break every record you guys ever set."
"Good luck with that," Adyson told her, then muttering under her breath, "Fat chance of that happening."
"And I'm sure you'll have loads of fun doing it too," Isabella said.
Melissa and Suzy looked at each other, smiled, and then looked back at Isabella and said in unison,
"Yes. Yes we will."
Next Episode Preview: Django decides to find out how far his friends' relationships have progressed, but when it turns out one of them has actually gone farther than the others it has them all wanting the details of the event. Who is it? And how far did they actually go?
Content Advisory
The next chapter will contain some mildly adult content. No sex or anything terribly explicit, mind you, but I wanted to alert any readers who may be sensitive about this sort of thing ahead of time. This will also not be the last time this sort of thing comes up over the course of this story. Trust me, though, it will be all be handled in a very tasteful and romantic manner.