In the Scoutmaster Cabin, Slinkman was on the phone, answering the call as he nodded, ending his conversation before hanging up. The Banana Slug walked down the hall approaching Lumpus' office, noticing the door was closed.
"Scoutmaster Lumpus Sir, that was Commander Hoo-Ha...again, he's still waiting on your weekly rollcall report" The Banana Slug informed as the door slammed open, hitting the Slug into the wall. The door was flung open by jovial Lumpus who told Slinkman the good news, which he referred to as a miracle, claiming 'The Monkey' had returned to camp. Slinkman seemed happy at the revelation the Lazlo was alive and well. Lumpus because they could finally Call Hoo-Ha without damaging his Record.
Slinkman asked to see Lazlo which Lumpus was hesitant on, suggesting they Call the commander first as Hoo-Ha is a busy man, wanting to get the call in before Slinkman could open the door. Upon opening it what Slinkman saw was not Lazlo.
"Sir, that's just Samson Clogmeyer...scratching his armpit?" Slinkman replied as the Slug and Guinea Pig looked at each other. Lumpus scoffed assuring the slug that the scout before them was none other than Lazlo Moreira. Samson just looked at the two staff members, holding a Banana.
"HE MADE ME DO IT!" Samson called out, smashing the Banana over the moose's head bolting out of the cabin, earning a look for Jane who asked if there was any luck on finding Lazlo. almost as if one cue the phone of Lumpus' desk rang again, causing the Moose to slowly pull it from the wall, breaking the cord.
At Cabin 8 Edward was regaling his tale of defeating the bear to the scouts who watched in awe. He told them about how the two fought in the clearing, all eyes of admiration on him. Gretchen taking back what she said early as her, and a few other girls were looking at the Platypus with infatuated glances. Telling them how their eyes locked before bolting off into the woods.
The Scouts were talking amongst themselves, Rachel praising that he was a REAL Woodsman as the girls nodded in agreement. Skip putting his hand up, requesting a cheer for Edward, The Bear Hunter as the scouts did so, cheering loudly.
The Only two Campers who were not cheering were Raj and Calm, over at Cabin 13 they both laid on their beds, the sound of depressing music coming from Raj's record player, the Elephant asked what the rest of the scouts could possibly be 'Cheering' about, Lazlo was gone. Raj understood they barely knew him, but a scout was eaten. The Elephant lost his train of thought was a slice of Garlic toast shot onto his bed.
"Clam I thought you said that toaster of yours did not work" The Elephant questioned, as Calm just put another slice in, pushing the lever down, his only response was that he was sad without Lazlo. Raj commented that the Rhino had toasted enough waffles, glancing at the waffles with covered the floor and stuck to the walls of the cabin. Raj asked how one bag was able to hold so many waffles.
Raj wished he could take it back, wishing that he never saw the Monkey again, Raj would give up all the Rupees in his bank account to see Lazlo alive and well. all these thoughts were again interrupted when another waffle hit Raj, this time in his face. Raj wiped the garlic flavored buttery waffle off his face as Clam approached Raj Taunting him.
"I'm Homesick, I Miss my Mommy, I Play sappy records" Clam taunted, pulling Rajs player from the wall as The Elephant's eye's opened wide, the music cutting off as Raj got defensive, watching the rhino walk back to his bad. Raj Ordered Clam to give back the player, which he refused, quoting the music was 'Too Sappy'.
Raj seeing red reached down, picking up one of the many waffles, chucking it at Clam's face. This only succeeded in making the Rhino mad, claiming the player was now his as a fight emerged between the two, Calm easily avoiding Raj as the Rhino ran up the Totem Pole where Raj could not get him.
Raj huffed, throwing waffles at Clam who was sticking his tongue out. This caused the Rhino to lose his balance, slipping as him and the Totem Pole fell with a loud crash, the pole splitting into pieces, fortunately Calm had landed on his bed, unharmed they both looked at the shattered Totem Pole with remorse.
A Voice interrupted them, asking if everything was alright. It was Edward the self-proclaimed Bear Hunter who kicked open the door. Explaining he heard the commotion and thought that the Jellies might need him. The Platypus looked around, followed by his fan club before calling out the mess and the shattered Totem Pole.
"AH HA, those are Black Bear claw marks" Edward called out, pointing to some scratches on the pole that barely resembled claws. commenting it was probably the same Bear that 'got' Lazlo. Edward commented that it was a shame what had happened to the monkey, retelling the moment he saw that Black Bear drag Lazlo away.
Eventually Edward declared Cabin 13 safe, leaving just as quickly as he came, entourage and all. Raj had tried to tell him that it wasn't a Bear, but Edward was already gone. All the scouts who had showed up were gone, except for one, Patsy who was looking at the words to tell Raj and Calm. She wasn't the type to get emotional but felt she needed to say something.
"Look Guys, I... Lazlo... he... He did not deserve what happened to happened to him. Yes, he was a troublemaker, and yes While I did not get or approve of his 'Fun'; To be dragged off by a Black Bear" Patsy tried to comment. Clam looked at the mongoose "Brown".
Patsy asked what he meant before Clam commented that Fluffy, Lazlo's Bear friend was Brown and not Black as Raj huffed, stated that Clam remembered the dumbest and most useless things as Patsy pondered, she only saw the bear for a few seconds when it was standing over her, making the Mongoose nearly piss herself but she realized Clam was right.
"The Bear Lazlo Brought back WAS a brown bear... But Edward said it was a 'Black' Bear?" Patsy asked, confused as Clam shot up, declaring Edward a lair. Patsy agreed, realizing the Mess Hall where Edward went to get Waffles was on the other side of the camp from where Harold saw Lazlo and Fluffy.
Patsy was the one to put everything together and realize that Edward didn't see anything and was just saying he saw Lazlo get eaten so he can boast about scaring off the bear.
"Lazlo NOT eaten" Clam added as Raj pondered, admitting it was still a possibility but there was also a chance he could be out there, in the woods. Clam jumped at the chance for him and Raj to go find Lazlo as Patsy looked at them. asking if they intended to Leave the camp.
IT was Camp Runnybottom's most scared rule to not leave Camp, violating that rule was what started all of this. Part of her felt she should report in immediately, but she could not. If there was a chance Lazlo WAS alive, she could not just snuff it out. she looked at the two. explaining that she did not see or hear anything, but they had until morning announcements.
When Lumpus did Roll Call tomorrow she would not cover for them. Patsy did not know why she didn't just report it, but she just headed back to cabin 7. Gretchen and Nina were still flocking around Edward as the Mongoose laid on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She had no reason to feel bad about or worry for Lazlo, it wasn't like it was her fault. was it because it was a result of him breaking the rules.
Part of Patsy wanted to join the Jelly Duo on their mission, but her conscious would not allow her to leave the Campgrounds. it wasn't that Patsy couldn't take care of herself, she took outdoor survival classes with her family and could handle herself. It was more about following the rules.
The Mongoose grew up in a strict household and there were rules for everything, what foods she was allowed to eat, what shows she was allowed to watch, which friends she was allowed to have over and during what times. as a result, the idea of violating the rules was stomped out of Patsy's head at a young age.
She changed into her nightgown and went under the covers, honestly hoping that Raj and Clam would be okay, that they would find Lazlo. But what if they both went missing, would it be her fault for NOT speaking up. It was safe to say that Patsy Smiles did not get any sleep that night, laying in her bed. after a while Nina and Gretchen returned, talking about the party at Cabin 8 that Edward threw to celebrate him, the 'Bear Hunter'.
The Morning rolled around as Patsy got out of bed, getting dressed in her Camp Runnybottom Garb, putting her brown shorts on and adjusting her shirt she and the rest of her cabin made it to the flagpole, noticing that Raj and Clam had not made it back, picking up on the dummies resembling the two, which no one else seemed to pick up on.
Slinkman did the rollcall, counting the scouts, falling for the obvious dummies as Patsy did not question her luck. the Wooden Raj and Clam were standing next to Chip who leaned in commenting about them being petrified, before the two dummies fell apart. Patsy smacked her forehead; it was too good to be true.
Chip let out a scream, commenting that he killed Raj. Slinkman walked over, noticing the wooden heads, resting on sticks with spare uniforms, asking what was going on and where Raj and Clam were. Patsy opened her mouth to tell him everything, but Edward beat her to it.
"Oh, I know where they are" Edward explained as Pasty covered her mouth. Edward went on telling everyone how he tracked the same bear that got Lazlo to Cabin 13 the previous night. Everyone jumped at the mention of the bear being in camp. Edward went on the say that the Two must have been so scared that they ran off and left those decoys to fool the bear.
Slinkman was quick to tell Lumpus they may have lost two more campers. Lumpus quickly bolted into cabin, Slinkman running behind him to prevent the Moose from locking him out, only for the Moose not wasting time to lock the door, taking care of what was most important, pulling the phone on the cabin out, leaving the camp with no working phone and no way for Slinkman to contact Hoo-Ha.
Patsy could not stand by idle anymore, approaching the Scoutmaster cabin, the guilt of sending Raj and Clam off was eating her, she had to check on them, but she would not break the rules. That was when she had a genius idea, If Scoutmaster Lumpus gave her permission to look for the two, she technically would not be breaking the rules. By some miracle Lumpus actually agreed to this, stating how important it was for Raj and Calm to be back. He knew that Patsy was probably the most capable of the scouts and could actually pull it off.
I was thinking about how to get Patsy to join the duo in looking for Lazlo and figured her getting permission to bring Raj and Clam back to Camp would give her a way to leave Camp without getting in trouble.
