"Please don't eat us!" Allie squeaked.

"Huh? Hold on."

The shadow reached inside and tapped something. The porch light flickered on. The man smiled at them through a massive beard.

"Are you looking for your friend?"

"Y-yes, sir." Private said.

"Come on in." The two of them entered the cabin to see Barry lying on the couch. His ankle was wrapped up and he was covered in blankets.

"He's okay." Allie sighed.

"Of course he's okay, I'm not mean." The man said. "You must be one of the campers, right?"

"How'd you know?" Private asked.

"I had too many kids coming to my door, that's why this trail was blocked off." The man said. "Oh, that reminds me."

He grabbed a walkie talkie. "Henry? It's Larry. I found the other two kids, over."

"Roger that, Larry. I'm on my way. Over."

"You're pretty close to the town here." Larry said to the kids. "Would you like some tea? My nephew was just making some. He's out getting some firewood."

"Yes please." Allie and Private said.

Larry went to make some tea as Barry groaned.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You went charging through the woods." Allie said. "What do you remember?"

"I was being chased by a huge bear and I fell over something and knocked myself out."

"Pardon." Larry said as he came over with the tea. "That wasn't a bear and I certainly wasn't chasing you. I was seeing what the noise was and I didn't know I'd have visitors. I'm very sorry for scaring you."

The cabin door opened.

"Hey, Uncle Larry!" A young voice said. "I found more firewood. Oh, and Henry's here."

They saw Henry looking relieved and a younger man smiling at them. He didn't look much older than twenty.

"Hey there, name's Mikey." He said.

"Mikey? Mikey Cramer?" Allie asked.

The man laughed nervously. "My name's still being talked about, eh?"

"Yeah. What happened?" Barry asked.

"If you want to tell us." Allie added, nudging Barry.

"Well, I got lodged inside a toilet by Jimmy Randall. It took a long time to get me out of there. There's not much to explain. We just got in a heated fight and he wanted to end it on his terms."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"Ah, that's alright." Mikey said. "Just don't get into fights at school."

The kids promised.

The three of them were treated to a long lecture by Henry on the way back. Private glanced at his watch, wondering when exactly the communication had ended. Henry was carrying Barry on his back.

The kids reassured the teachers that they had been lectured enough. They had been able to eat dinner at Larry's cabin.

Private was sad that Spring Break was over. The past week was so much fun; he was glad that he got to go on the big sixth grade camping trip with his friends

They had a big campfire celebration on Saturday night. Private sat with the rest of his friends as they sung along and ate S'mores. Ramona complained of a cramp, but Barry just told her she was having too much fun and ate too much baked beans for dinner.

They began to tell various stories around the campfire, most involving ghosts. PARK B wrapped up the night with their stories.

Allie went first, followed by Ramona, Private, Kenny, and then Barry.

Allie's story

A couple of students were stuck after hours in detention. They had been caught trying to ditch class for the movies. The girl sat, playing with her pencil while the boy was falling asleep in his chair.

The teacher in charge of their detention had been acting odd…he left them saying that he'd be back at the end of detention and that they had better be there when he got back.

But the teacher also left a warning not to enter Room 13.

Of course, curiosity got the better of the students and they snuck out of detention. The first thing they noticed was that it was very dark for three-thirty in the afternoon. It was also eerily quiet.

The girl pulled out her phone to play some music so they could lighten up the mood.

With the music playing lightly in her pocket, the two set off down the hallway. They came across a door that said 'DANGER: DO NOT ENTER'. But they went in anyway.

The door opened to reveal to an underground hallway. The two of them were nervous about going into a room that entered by itself, but the boy swallowed his fear and went down.

It was a very long hallway with no visible end.

They shook with fear, but pressed on.

Along the sides of the wall, there were red paint splotches as if someone had been testing out the color. The hall seemed to get colder as they continued, their feet started to ache.

They contemplated going back when the girl heard creepy music. She pulled out her phone and gasped loudly.

The screen of her phone was severely cracked and there was a frozen image of a terrifying zombie that one would find in a horror film. She screamed and dropped the phone, stomping on it with all her strength.

The phone sparked and leaked a dark liquid. A small hiss came out that sounded like 'you're next'

She screamed and bolted down the hallway before she realized that the boy wasn't with her anymore.

She called for him, but he wasn't there.

She turned to find a masked man with an axe.

"That's so cliché!" She screamed as she ran.

She crashed through a door and slammed it shut. She panted heavily. Suddenly, she realized she was in Room 13. She turned around slowly and saw the boy.

She started to berate him for scaring her, but he handed her a ringing phone.

She answered it and a hand shot out, grabbing her throat!

Her eyes rolled up as she began to choke, her vision blurring and fading

Then…

BAM!

She groaned and found herself back in detention. She blinked, realizing that the boy was holding a hand out to her.

"You fell asleep and then off your chair." He said. "I couldn't do much to help."

"Thanks." She said.

He smiled sadly and began to leave the room. She shouted after him not to go, explaining the whole situation. The boy nodded and promised to stay with her.

The teacher came in, holding a clipboard.

"Alright, you're free." He said. "But don't let me catch you ditching again, young lady!"

The girl looked a little offended. "Why don't you tell him off too?" She pointed to the boy.

The teacher looked concerned. "Who?"

The boy waved his hand, but the teacher made no indication that he saw the boy.

"We ditched class together." The girl said. "That's why we're in detention."

"You think you're in detention?" The teacher asked.

The girl nodded.

The boy sighed. He approached the girl and held her hand.

She gasped, her hand passed through his.

"Are you a ghost?" She asked.

The boy shook his head.

"Let me go." He said.

"Let you go?" She was very confused. Why did the teacher keep writing on the board? "What's going on?"

"Wake up." He said.

She felt very dizzy and started falling. She then woke up on a white bed. The room was a porridge color and made her feel odd. The teacher was sitting on a chair with a clipboard.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." He said.

The girl gasped. "B-but wh-who are you? What's going on?"

"You used to be in my Psychiatric Clinic as a permanent patient. You truly started believing that you heard voices and saw dead people wandering the streets. You nearly killed eleven people and actually managed to kill two. You were very dangerous without help." He turned to leave.

"Wait! Where am I?" She asked. "I'm eighteen! I should be in my last year of school."

"My dear, you haven't been eighteen for thirty years."

The girl looked at him with absolute shock.

"Thirty years?!"

"You passed away at the age of forty-eight in a car accident. Your nephew had taken you out for the day to see a movie and another car crashed into you." He looked around. The scene began to change. "He died before you did. You've been in a coma, my dear. And now…here is your train."

A long and loud whistle sounded, sending her into inky blackness before she headed towards the light.

The campers gaped at her. Allie smiled happily.

Next, Ramona said she was going to tell a short but true story that she swore happened to her.

Ramona's story

Ten year old Ramona had a very full bladder and had to excuse herself to the bathroom. The hallways were empty and everyone was pretty much in class. She held her hall pass tightly in her hand.

She easily found the bathroom and slipped the pass inside her pocket so it wouldn't get messy. She found the room empty as she looked around. She peeked inside the stalls, pretending that she was judging them.

This didn't last long because her bladder reminded her that it still needed emptying.

She ran inside a stall, locked it and sat on the toilet.

Once inside, she thought she heard a strange noise coming from outside the stall. It sounded like footsteps. She would have dismissed it as another student, but she didn't hear the door open.

"Hello?" She called out.

No one responded.

Thinking the person might not be able to hear her, she dismissed it. She finished her business and washed her hands. She thought she heard the toilet paper moving on a roll, and again she ignored it. She turned to grab paper towels when something caught her eye and made her heart skip a beat.

All the stalls were open and no one was coming out. She waited with bated breath.

She started to think it was her imagination. She looked around the stalls and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

WOOSH!

The toilet clanked as it flushed.

Ramona screamed at the top of her lungs and bolted from the restroom. She spluttered and panted as she burst into her classroom, telling them that the bathroom was haunted.

No matter what she said, the teacher didn't believe her. She said Ramona had an active imagination and that she should try to focus on schoolwork.

To this day, Ramona was adamant that she encountered something paranormal.

A couple of students had started muttering about experiencing similar things.

Private told the story of Uncle Nigel in Russia. He only tweaked the parts about him being an agent, making it seem like he was with a team of explorers.

When he was done, Kenny was grinning and the others were completely stunned.

Kenny's story was next, it had been one that Kowalski always told him. He cleared his throat and began.

Kenny's story

Most everyone should know the joke 'why was six afraid of seven?' and the response being 'because seven eight/ate nine'. Seems like small bit of humor, right?

WRONG!

As you know, One, Three, Five and Seven are only four of many prime numbers. Six was happy to hang around with the smaller numbers and was especially close to Five.

Seven was happy with the others, even tolerating the appearance of Eight. Seven thought it was the biggest prime number there was and the only one that the younger numbers looked up to.

That was true, until Nine came along.

Five told One and Three that they all added up to nine and that they could learn a lot from such a big number. Seven bit back an angry retort and asked if the other three still looked up to the prime number.

Five was hesitant, not wanting to upset Seven. That's when Nine came to visit the smaller numbers.

Seven didn't like it.

Seven's anger increased when Five, Three, and One mentioned that they all add up to nine. Nine complemented them on their math skills and the four of them grew closer. Two, four, six, and eight had been searching for someone to appreciate. They came back and hung out with Nine.

Even Eight seemed to admire Nine a bit.

One day, Eight took Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, and One to the Number Park.

Nine was talking on the phone to Zero who had been trying to figure out if it was positive or negative.

Seven stood at the doorway, glaring at Nine.

Nine hung up the phone and turned to Seven.

"Hello, Seven! How are you?" Nine asked kindly.

Seven growled and jumped on Nine. Nine screamed and tried to run away, but Seven caught up to it.

Six had been heading back for something when screams burst through the air. Six gasped and ran towards Nine's house.

Entering the door cautiously, Six heard munching sounds. The younger number walked through the hall, seeing how messy it was. Graphs and pencils littered the floor. Six fearfully entered the kitchen and stopped.

The kitchen looked totally destroyed. Seven was laughing like a maniac with something hanging out of the number's mouth.

Six spotted Nine's shoes and the wild expression on Seven's face.

Putting three and three together, Six screamed and bolted from the house.

Seven swiveled around, wondering what that was.

Six ran through the town, screaming that Seven ate Nine. No one understood what that meant. They thought Six was talking about Eight.

Every time they had to get organized, Six shook as they got in line. Seven would give Six an odd look, wondering why he was so afraid.

Nine reappeared, not having any memory of what happened. Seven didn't remember either. It was like they'd been erased and rewritten. Six was the only one who thinks that Seven gobbled up Nine in a fit of anger

To this day, there is still a residue of fear even though Six has been erased and rewritten by many people. Six has long forgotten the exact reason to fear Seven. The two numbers get along, but Six still shivers every so often as if there's a remainder of memory that wasn't completely erased.

"Putting three and three together?" Private asked.

"It's the number six; it can't put two and two together and get six." Kenny said. "And I know nine isn't a prime number, Kowalski told me when he was seven and didn't learn about prime numbers yet."

"Alright, my turn!" Barry said, hopping to his feet.

Barry's story

This takes place in an ancient village that has since been lost to time.

There was once a young girl who was the curiosity of many people. She never spoke, not one word. She didn't even tell people her name so that they could tell other people. She had nodded when asked if she knew many languages.

She would only nod or shake her head. Otherwise she was emotionless. She did not smile or frown, she was blank.

At first, people didn't mind her very much. But strange things soon started happening.

A young man had died in a mining accident and the girl had been seen with him four hours previously. The witness swore that the girl's mouth opened to speak. Investigating the accident, they found strangely written red letters that formed the sentence: 'my name is H. Tead Etai-Demmi'

Thinking it was a prank, villagers forgot about it until one of their council died of heart failure. The woman had been very healthy and relatively young compared to the elders. Her death came as a complete surprise.

Again, several eyewitnesses noticed the woman in the presence of the girl four hours previously. There were words on the woman's wrist: 'I can't control it -H'

They noticed the strange connection to the miner and the councilwoman. Both had been speaking to the girl precisely four hours before their deaths and both had the same writing on it.

A few of the braver citizens tried to approach the girl and figure this out.

For some reason, they never remembered what happened and seemed to be in a trance for the next few hours. Unfortunately, they died before they could snap out of it.

The town started panicking because they had lost several citizens, presumably because of the little girl.

The words on those people seemed to be asking for help.

They found a strange paper in the same handwriting. The names of the dead were on the list and at the top was 'eid tsum I…pleh'

After a few days of questioning the girl, they were no closer to an answer. She would not speak.

One of the miners had a brilliant idea; he gathered wax and stuffed it in his ears. He approached the girl and asked her name.

The girl opened her mouth to reply. The man did not hear her. He smiled and asked her what she needed.

She wrote something down on the paper.

'eviver'

"Revive?" The man asked.

The girl smiled. A bright glowing light filled the room. The dead appeared from the forest, miraculously alive and unhurt. They quickly left the scene while the man questioned the girl.

He asked again what to do.

She looked at the paper which immediately burst into flames. She pointed to the paper as she dropped it.

She removed the wax from his ears and whispered in a soft tone. "Esaeler" she said.

His head began to swirl. He managed one last word before he blacked out. "Release?"

The girl smiled.

A loud rumble sounded as the girl was shrouded in a dark red light. A huge explosion sounded and all was still.

The village vanished into nothingness just like the girl had. Legend has it, she's still around. She's going from town to town, punishing naughty children who don't eat their vegetables and disrespect adults.

The man grinned before the costumed children, having told the most amazing story his village had ever heard. The children screamed and ran away, some of them with soiled underwear. His wife smacked him with a fish head and told him he had to stop scaring trick or treaters.

Kenny and Allie were completely stunned by Barry's story. They could barely move, let alone speak. Private shook his head, trying to make sense of it. The others were unusually quiet as they looked around at each other; some still stared in shock at the grinning thirteen year old.

Ramona was the first to come to her senses.

She stuttered, trying to get words out. "B-but Halloween is-"

"Over six thousand years old." Barry finished. "Anything could be classified as 'ancient' including typewriters which haven't been used in quite some time."

"Where the heck did you hear this story?" Ramona asked.

Barry grinned wider, looking scary in the orange glow of the campfire. His response was to retrieve another S'more. No one got the answer to where he got that story from.

Sorry to interrupt, but this is the part where I warn you that I am about to discuss something a bit sensitive. If you want me to edit this part out, I will do so, but I felt it was something I needed to approach since the characters are reaching a certain age. Skip down until you find the other warning if you don't want to read it.

At the end of the night, they trooped back to their tents with full stomachs and high spirits. It took awhile for the chatter to die down as the last camper went to sleep.

Private woke up to a very peculiar noise. It sounded like a broken chainsaw followed by a sort of groan. He located the noise almost immediately as it had stopped when Barry sniffed, rubbed his nose and turned to his side.

"Yeah, I'm surprised I could sleep through that." Kenny said.

Private inhaled sharply.

"Sorry, I woke up too. It's still dark out."

"I have to use the restroom." Private said.

"I should try too." Kenny threw his pillow at Barry who gave a grunted snort and lifted himself up.

"What was that about?" He grumbled.

"You're coming with us to the bathroom."

"Why?"

"Buddy system, duh." Kenny responded.

"Yeah, because you guys are my buddies." Barry said sarcastically. "Why didn't you two go by yourselves?"

Neither one of them answered him. Barry rolled his eyes and got up anyway. The three of them put on shoes, jackets, and headed to the bathroom where they saw a familiar face glowing in the light of a small flashlight.

"Hey Allie, what's up?"

"Ramona's in there, she's not feeling good."

Private looked concerned. "Oh dear."

When Kenny and Private finished in the restroom, they discovered that Ramona was still inside the other bathroom.

"Ramona, what's the hold up?" Barry said loudly.

"My intestines are squeezing me to death right now!" She responded. "I think it was the baked bea…oh no…what is that? Oh my gosh, what is that?!"

"Ramona?" Allie called.

The boys exchanged anxious looks.

Ramona whimpered "I-it's blood…OH MY GOSH, I'M BLEEDING!"

"What?!" Allie and the boys yelped.

"I'm bleeding and I can't stop it…what's going on? Help me, I'm going to die!"

"Okay, you've got to calm down." Allie said. "Is it number one or number two?"

"Neither, it's coming from you-know-where and I'm having these horrible cramps. What is it?"

Allie looked to the boys for help, but they shrugged. "My mom told me about how babies are made, but she told me there was more that she had to explain when I was older."

"My mum didn't even want my dad to tell me about how babies are made." Private said.

"My brother is not an expert in the field of girls." Kenny said. "But he did research and tell me about 'the talk'…in detail…"

"Ew." Barry said.

"Don't you think you'd have noticed a long time ago if I was going to have a baby?" Ramona snapped.

"Hang on, I remember Alexis complaining about something when she was fifteen. She told me it was maturing pains." Barry said.

"What?"

"My sister would have cramps every month and she said she had to take pain pills."

"Maybe you're a werewolf…" Kenny said thoughtfully.

Allie smacked his arm. "Last night was the full moon, don't you think she'd have grown fur, fangs, and claws and eaten all of us at dinner?"

"AGH, will someone help me?!" Ramona groaned. She sounded as if she was crying.

"Hang on, we'll get some help!" Private said. He pulled Barry along with him and they ran back to the campsite.

Barry located the counselor's tent and suggested they try to wake up the female counselor. They told her that Ramona was hurt and hiding in the bathroom. She was alert and nervous until Barry said she was bleeding from 'you-know-where'.

She gave a small smile and picked something out of her bag. She then instructed the boys to get some fresh bottoms for Ramona.

Private remembered where the tent was and peeked inside. The only girl in there was someone he'd known by sight, but never remembered the name of.

He saw Ramona's bag, but decided to warn the girl that he was entering. He whispered 'hello', but she didn't wake up. He tried to remember back to the first day and everyone had introduced themselves to him.

"Er…Megan?" He guessed. "Excuse me, Megan…or is that not your name?" He asked himself.

The girl stirred and woke up.

"Please don't be alarmed, Mrs. Braden sent me here…Megan, right?"

"Nicole." She responded. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Ramona's not feeling good. I came to get new clothes for her."

Nicole pointed to the middle sleeping bag which had Ramona's suitcase at the head.

Private found what he was looking for and smiled. "Thanks. Sorry again for the name mix up."

"That's fine, Megan and I are best friends and we look similar so we're used to it."

"Ah, well thanks."

"No problem, I hope Ramona feels better soon."

Private nodded and headed back to the restrooms, Barry catching up with him on the way.

"I was told to wait for you." Barry said. "And it gave me time to fart in Quincy's tent."

Private snickered.

"He deserved it for making me look like a fool." Barry said defensively.

"Yeah, he didn't need to help you there." Private said.

"Shut…up…"

Private handed the clothes to Allie who entered the bathroom to help Ramona.

"I instructed Allie how to help her." Mrs. Braden explained. "I also explained to Miss Belmonte that this was perfectly normal and that there are many girls who start early. Do you know what happened?"

"No, is she going to be okay?" Barry said. "I mean I care about her, she is my futu-"

"FINISH THAT AND I'LL BE FUTURE WIDOWED!" Ramona shouted.

Private and Kenny held snickers in.

"Mrs. Braden, if Ramona doesn't mind, could you tell us what happened please?" Private asked once he'd stopped grinning.

She nodded and told them to wait for the girls. The sun was beginning to rise as Ramona came out, followed by Allie who had Ramona's pajamas in a plastic bag.

Ramona looked scared and there were tear tracks on her pale cheeks.

"I will tell you boys the simple version, and then I will talk to the girls." Mrs. Braden said nicely.

Barry was about to protest when Kenny and Private nudged him to be quiet.

"Yes, ma'am." Private said.

Mrs. Braden smiled at his politeness. "This is the start of puberty which means that Ramona is growing up. Usually it begins in teen years, typically from ages thirteen to seventeen. Ramona is one of those who start around thirteen years old. There is no need to worry as it is perfectly normal. This will happen to Allie one day and eventually you boys will go through your own puberty. I suggest you ask your fathers about this. Or a sibling or guardian." She added, seeing Kenny's uncomfortable twitch and Barry's broken eye contact.

She told the boys to go on ahead while she walked and talked to the girls.

"I forgot that Ramona's a year older than us. Let's ask Skipper when we get back." Private said. "I remember him saying something about puberty."

"Yeah, my brother's voice got deeper when he was fourteen." Kenny said.

"And I know nothing." Barry said. "Alright, I suppose Skipper is a good source of information."

"I always wondered how little kids can have such high voices and then grow into deeper voiced men." Private said. "And my mum never let my dad explain anything."

"Wow, she really wanted to retain your innocence." Kenny said.

"Nah, it was broken when I walked into the laundry room and saw Alice bending over to pick up a quarter. I do wish she had pulled her pants up higher."

The other two mimicked gagging.

"Mine was broken when I asked a rather awkward question and Alexis decided to show me instead of explaining with words." Barry shuddered. "What about you, Kenny?"

"Er…I don't want to talk about it." Kenny said.

"Ooh, that means it's extra embarrassing." Barry said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No, it means I don't want to talk about it." Kenny mumbled, looking at his feet.

Private immediately slapped a hand over Barry's mouth as the latter opened it. Barry gave him a look, but Private shook his head.

"Alright, let's just think about how many pictures we took this week." Private said.

"Don't forget Allie's video camera." Barry said. "We can put them together for an awesome movie."

"Yeah!" Kenny chimed in, glad that the conversation had turned away from him.

Again, sorry for the interruption, but you can read now if you skipped the rest, Kenny revealed yet another mysterious part of his life.

They became so excited that they couldn't sleep and by the time they'd finished getting dressed and ending their conversation, the other campers had woken up.

The entire sixth grade class gathered around the campfire circle and prepared to discuss the clean up process. Ramona and Allie joined the boys as they listened to the instructions. Everyone then was dismissed to get ready and pack up.

Once everyone was packed up, they were told to clean the campground and search for anything that might look important.

Park B ended their jobs early and decided to hang out by the lake.

"So that's sixth grade coming to a close." Allie said. "Do you realize that we only have a month and three weeks of school left?"

"And then finals week." Barry said.

"There's one thing I have to know." Kenny said. "What is your full first name?" He asked Allie. "I always thought it was Allison, is it?"

Allie smiled. "Nope."

"I've already guessed Alexandra, Alicia, Alejandra, Allison…there's not much to go on! You've avoided that question since I got here, tell me already." Kenny said.

"Trade secret."

"Tell me or I'll dump you in the lake."

"I guess I have to tell you. It's Alligator." She said.

"Yes! I knew it- wait what?"

Ramona, Barry and Private laughed. Kenny stared at Allie for a while.

"Yes you doofus, it's Allison. And yours is Kenneth, right?"

"Yeah."

"And mine is Popalopagus the third." Barry said.

"Barry Wheeler, what the heck?" Ramona said.

"Ramona Belmonte, do you like the lake?"

"I like it if you don't push me in again."

"It was an accident!"

"Yeah I don't believe you."

Until the buses came, PARK B decided to relax. Barry had climbed a tree and sat on the branch, watching the others. His ankle felt a little better.

Ramona was trying to teach Kenny and Allie how to skip rocks on the lake. Private took a few last minute pictures. Then, they all asked a classmate to take a group photo of the five of them. They also went around, taking pictures of various classmates.

Their phones were returned to them right before they got on the bus.

Kenny, Allie, and Barry fell asleep on the way back. Ramona and Private took short naps, but they woke up when there was an hour left. As they got closer to their destination, Private remembered something he wanted to ask.

"Hey Ramona, why does Barry call you his future wife?" Private asked. He looked over at his friends who were leaning on each other. Barry was snoring, but Kenny didn't seem to mind this time. Allie was asleep with her face on the window.

Ramona shrugged. "I really don't know. Do you know what's up with Kenny?"

Private shook his head. "My dad thinks that his dad might just be strict and not a holiday man. I don't know, I think there's something deeper."

"He was nervous and fidgety when we first met." Ramona said. "I guess I was too loud for his liking, but Allie was always quiet so he tended to talk to her. Barry was definitely too loud, but we all grew on him."

"Who is Allie's sister?"

Ramona looked surprised. "Allie has a half sister named Doris. Doris lives with her dad for some reason. I don't know who Frankie is."

"Is he that kid who was trying to sell me things? The one who likes blueberries?" Private asked.

"I asked Doris and no, it's not him." Ramona said. "She doesn't want to talk about him either."

"Oh, okay. What about you?"

Ramona sighed. "What about me?"

Private gave her a knowing look. "You have something you don't want us to find out."

"No, it's not you." Ramona said. "It's Eggy."

"Eggy?"

Ramona nodded. "The thing is-"

"ACHOO!"

They jumped and turned to see a boy sitting behind them, rubbing his head.

"Sorry." He said. "For some reason, there was an awful smell in my tent and it's making my nose feel funny."

Private fought to keep a straight face. "It's alright, Quincy." He said. He turned to Ramona to see her shaking Allie slightly.

Private turned to his friends. "Kenny, Barry, wake up." He said. He nudged Barry who shot up, knocking his skull on Kenny's.

"Ouch!" Barry said.

"'M sorry…" Kenny mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Didn't that hurt?" Private asked.

"No, not really."

Private turned to Ramona who shrugged. Allie patted down her ruffled hair and stretched as they reached the school.

"I'm going home for tonight." Ramona said. "I'll be back tomorrow."

The others nodded.

Once Allie's parents had picked her up, the boys returned to the apartments. Rico had showed up to help them a little bit. He and Rikki had spent Spring Break at home and got an early flight.

"What are you three doing here?" Alice asked.

"We came back from the camping trip." Private said.

"Ugh. You weren't supposed to be here until tonight…" she grumbled.

"Yeah, we missed you too." Barry said sarcastically.

"Watch it, Wheeler."

They went to the elevator where they began telling Rico the story of their vacation. Once Barry and Kenny had been dropped off on the third floor, Private continued to fill Rico in. He mentioned that he discovered a little bit more about his friends, but still barely scratched the surface.

"I'm sorry you keep missing everything." Private said.

Rico shrugged.

They entered the room and Rico helped Private unpack.

"Hunt'r?" Rico asked.

"She's in seventh grade." Private said. "How was your vacation?"

"Good." Rico said.

Later in the evening, Rico and Rikki went to dinner with the younger boys.

"We're the first to dinner!" Barry said, beaming with happiness at the empty dining hall.

"And I just lost my appetite." Kenny groaned.

"Wha- oh…" Private turned to see Rocky and Kowalski entering. Both of them were rolling their eyes. Behind them, Skipper was holding hands with Kitka.

"They haven't kissed yet." Kowalski said, putting his bag down so Kenny could hug him.

"I think it's about time for our first kiss." Kitka said.

Barry slapped a hand over Kenny's eyes. Both looked a little disgusted. Private, Kowalski, Rico, and Rocky's jaws dropped.

Skipper and Kitka leaned in and-

BANG!

"OUTOFMYWAYIGOTTAPEE!"

"ME TOO!"

A/N:

Private: three guesses who…

Allie: Another chapter, another cliffhanger…but we should be happy that we got two updates in a week! WOW!

Ramona: Why make me suffer?

Kenny: We're taking over the Author's notes! If you have any questions for TK, we're now answering them! Why am I ending sentences with exclamation points?! That one didn't make any sense! I'm not shouting! Stop that! …what?!

Barry: It's me, messing with you, buddy! LONG LIVE PRANK KING BARRY AND HIS EXCLAMATION POINTS!

Kenny: Oh brother…!

Kowalski: Yes?!

Kenny: You too?!

Allie: I'm whispering!

Kowalski: Barry, I'm asking you calmly to please change it back!

Private: Wow, this is awkward!

Ramona: Where is he…?!

Barry: YOU'LL NEVER KNOW! HEY, WHY AM I STUCK ON CAPS LOCK? GUYS?