Alright! This chapter will be a bit of a two-parter to focus on the Bean Scouts first before going back to the Squirrel Scouts. I wanted to kind of introduce a few plot points that will eventually kind of split off from here amid the main Lazlo and Patsy plot. Anyone who has read any of my fanfics before knows that I like to have subplots and/or mini-plots under the main plot to try and keep things interesting and engaging. So, let's jump back in and see what Clam is up to! Hope you all enjoy the chapter! :D

({No POV})

It was the morning after the dance and everyone was back to their respective camps and getting back into the routine of things.

At Camp Kidney, the Bean Scouts were starting to wake up and get ready for breakfast, Scout Leaders (mostly Mr. Slinkman as per usual) were getting tasks lined up to hand out to the junior scout leaders to help lead activities for the day, and ancillary staff were getting prepped for operation as well.

One such staff member of Camp Kidney was no exception.

Nurse Leslie.

After a night of solitude, while everyone was off at the dance, Nurse Leslie looked like that period of time was not long enough as he started getting the clinic ready for any potential medical situations that may arise during the day like he always did.

He started turning on the lights in the waiting room and grabbed the sign-in clipboard as he headed off on his rolling stool to open the front door and put it outside so any scout could sign in for an appointment. But, right as he opened the door to try to put the clipboard on its usual hook, he skidded backward a bit at who fell through into the clinic from the other side of the door and let out a reflexive, "Eh, ouch!"

Clam.

Nurse Leslie's eyes went wide, wondering why Clam looked like he fell asleep leaning against the door of the Nurse's Station until he opened the door and caused Clam to wake up by partially falling into the waiting room.

Eventually, Clam propped himself up on his elbows from where he was laying on the floor on his back from the 'rude awakening' as he looked up and saw it was exactly the person he wanted to see as he started, "Uh, hi Nurse Leslie."

Nurse Leslie looked at Clam with a slightly quirked-up brow as he questioned, "Um, can I help you with something?"

Even though it was painfully obvious to Nurse Leslie that Clam was purposely waiting to be the first appointment of the morning, he was definitely more surprised it was Clam doing this since this was Samson's usual move since he has the record of being in the nurse's office the most out of any camper in Camp Kidney history.

So, to see Clam here… Nurse Leslie was a bit surprised, to say the least.

However, he was more annoyed than anything else since he couldn't seem to go one morning without having someone burst through the door with something when hardly anything had even occurred yet in the day to logically call for a nurse's visit.

But, he wasn't willing to even hear what Clam looked like he was trying to work up to say as he just sighed and said, "Alright, don't worry about it. Just sign your name on the clipboard and wait in here. I'll be back as soon as I finish warming up the x-ray machine."

After that, Nurse Leslie rolled himself back into the medical office on his stool as Clam eventually just shrugged and signed his name on the clipboard and put it on the counter before sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting area.

And despite the usual even expression on his face, his left leg nervously bouncing as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees while wringing his hands together said otherwise.

Honestly… Clam still wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to do right now.

But, after overhearing the night before about 'what was going on' with Gretchen, he didn't know what else to do?

So, in Clam's mind, it made sense to see if Nurse Leslie possibly had anything that could help, even if it was just a book or video that could help him understand how to try to handle the situation going on with his on edge girlfriend who has barely wanted any physical or verbal contact with him until the night before after not being alone with each other since the final night of camp out in the woods last summer.

And since she seemed to be avoiding him so far this current summer because of something physically going on with her that he didn't understand, he wanted to try and see if he could learn more about it to help him understand for his own sanity… and if anything just to see if he could do anything to help his now more than ever 'on edge' girlfriend. And since he remembered that time at camp when Nurse Leslie, Mr. Slinkman, and Scout Master Lumpus had all the campers individually watch a 'sex ed' video to explain puberty and reproduction to them as 11-year-olds… he knew Nurse Leslie was probably his best shot to try and learn about what was going on with Gretchen here at camp without Gretchen finding out.

Right then, Nurse Leslie rolled back into the door as he said, "Alright Clam, come back with me."

Clam hopped out of his chair and immediately followed. On the way to the exam room, Nurse Leslie looked like he was leafing through Clam's chart on the way as he asked off-handedly, "Can you confirm your full name and your birthday for me?"

Clam worked it up, trying to get his words organized before they came out as he answered (though slightly begrudgingly at him not really for caring for his legal name much at being a 'junior'), "Ehhh, Clement Arnold... MacGregor Jr, April 25th, 1995." Not that Clam had anything against being named after his dad since he actually got along really well with his dad. But, for as far back as he remembered, he never really cared for being a 'junior'.

That's part of the reason why Clam insisted on wanting to be called 'Clam' since it just felt better and more unique to him than his mom and dad constantly calling him 'Junior' until he 'drew his line' with his name at age 5.

Nurse Leslie nodded before saying in confirmation, "Alright, great. Have a seat on the exam table, so I can take your vitals."

Even though Clam really just wanted to tell Nurse Leslie that he really wasn't here for himself and to just say he was there to figure out what was going on with Gretchen, he just let Nurse Leslie record his heart rate, listen to his breathing, and take his blood pressure like usual.

Even though Nurse Leslie barely got the blood pressure cuff around Clam's arm, he glanced up at Clam and asked, thinking Clam was flexing, "Um, can you fully relax your arm?" Clam just looked at Nurse Leslie in total confusion as Clam just answered plainly, "Uh, not flexing."

Nurse Leslie gave him a confused look before double checking and then his eyes went wide as he realized that Clam really was just that 'physically muscular' at this point that it just always appeared he was in a perpetual state of always looking like he was flexing even if he wasn't as he responded, "Huh, guess you're right… Anyway, what brings you in? You look fine to me."

Clam, who realized now that he still was nowhere close to figuring out how to coherently vocalize his 'problem', tried to reach into his back pocket to get his notepad and pen that he carried around in his back pocket to try and communicate 'why he was there'.

It was a suggestion from his speech therapist he had a couple of years ago when he was 14 to help him communicate more complicated things through writing rather than frustrating himself to vocalize it and Clam still liked to use it every now and again. Especially since Clam's circumstances from his brain tumor as a baby really only affected his ability to vocally communicate since he always could understand and come up with words fairly easily in his head.

So, writing sometimes made things easier for him to communicate with others the older he got.

After all, trying to explain that he was looking for a way to get advice on what to do with his stubbornly, aggressively defensive American Alligator girlfriend who won't tell him about 'what's going on with her' in some kind of mating season hormone related thing that she seems determined to not want to explain to him or anyone because she just thinks it's embarrassing and all he wants is just to understand so he knows what's going on with her because he cares about her.

Yeah, Clam realized that still sounded just as complicated as it did since he heard about Gretchen's situation the previous night at the dance.

But, then he felt a wave of embarrassed frustration hit him when he realized he left his notebook in the back pocket of his jeans that he had worn to the dance the other night that were currently back in his cabin. Although Nurse Leslie gave him an expectantly annoyed look at the fact that he wasn't answering his question, Clam looked like he was struggling to try to explain it.

Clam looked like he was straining to try and vocalize why he was there in any way that made sense as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the ceiling, now starting to feel awkward that he was there for a 'girl/relationship problem' and communicating it to the camp nurse.

"Uhh… not here for me. Here for uh… questions. Er, uh, answers to questions." Clam managed to get out.

Nurse Leslie continued to look at him in confusion as he asked, "Um, okay? What kind of questions? Because for the last time, I'm only a registered nurse, not a consultant or a therapist. Besides, weren't you camp therapist once?"

That was true. A long time ago since Clam had that camp job, but it was true!

But, he really was here for an issue that he thought Nurse Leslie was most qualified to answer since there was no decent phone, reception, or internet in the middle of nowhere in Prickly Pines Forest.

Eventually, Clam thought until he elaborated, "No, physical health question. Not about me though. About uh… girlfriend."

Even though Clam respected Gretchen's wishes to keep their relationship a secret from their friends (considering he only ever told his parents about dating Gretchen long distance once he got home last summer), he figured with 'patient confidentiality' that telling Nurse Leslie about it couldn't hurt, plus that Nurse Leslie probably wouldn't be interested in specifics based on his personality and how he handled educating him and his fellow Bean Scouts about puberty several years ago.

Nurse Leslie's eyes went wide, his mind clearly going in several different directions of Clam being a mid to late adolescent-teenage boy nervously asking a 'physical health question' concerning a 'girlfriend'.

While a nurse and not phased by most things, Nurse Leslie absolutely despised the fact that his job as camp nurse master also included him being a 'sex ed health educator' of his camp to the scouts should they have questions, and the high school-aged boys at the camp were his least favorite to have this role with considering they were more 'hormonal' and more likely to be 'sexually active' as near young adults.

So… Clam's question was starting to clearly strike an anxious nerve with him right now as Nurse Leslie immediately fired back with, "Okay, before you go anywhere else here, I'm going to ask you some things. One, is this 'girlfriend' you are talking about… pregnant at all?"

Clam's eyes went wide in shock as he immediately put his hands in front of himself and shook his head while getting out, "Huh? No!"

Nurse Leslie immediately let out a sigh of relief to himself at Clam saying this had nothing to do with something that extreme.

But, Nurse Leslie immediately followed it up with, "Okay, then are you and this 'girlfriend'... sexually active at all either?"

At this point, Clam realized that if he wasn't as determined as he was to find out what was going on with Gretchen so he could help her, he probably would've run out the door considering Nurse Leslie was just point-blank asking him about 'teen pregnancy' and if he and Gretchen were being 'intimate'.

Sure at this point to say that he and Gretchen weren't in a more 'physical relationship' would be a lie in Clam's opinion, considering he and Gretchen were no strangers to some pretty heavy and intense make-out sessions by night out in Prickly Pines Forest since they started dating.

But, he and Gretchen really haven't done anything beyond barely cracking 'second base' since they haven't done anything beyond kissing and touching above the waist at this point in their relationship.

Not that Clam would in any way complain if Gretchen wanted to go 'further' if he was being blatantly honest.

Usually depending on how much/intensely she would 'sell it' in front of everyone that they weren't dating or even friends usually would equate to how intense their make out sessions would be later that same night, which would typically end up in them turning over boulders or even uprooting trees at points during said make out sessions.

That was why he was pretty eager to get out to the woods the first night of camp this year after Gretchen yelled at him and threw him down that 12-foot-deep hole.

Because as much as he was happy about Lazlo being back and also wanted to stay and celebrate his return to camp, he just couldn't pass up seeing what Gretchen 'had in store' for him in the woods that night since she'd never done anything that intense to him before since they started dating in order to 'sell it' that they weren't together.

But, after excitedly waiting in the woods for hours only for Gretchen not to even show up after not seeing each other since the previous summer in person… he knew something was wrong.

So, now that Clam had gotten to the point of being asked these 'types of questions' by Nurse Leslie with 'all of that' in consideration… to say Clam felt painfully awkward at the moment was an understatement.

But, Clam answered, still trying to be honest as he shook his head again, "Eh, no!"

Right then, Nurse Leslie seemed to fully relax as he started, "Okay, well, if it's not either of those things then… what is it?"

This was the part Clam was dreading to try and explain.

Partially due to his aphasia with his ability to speak full sentences to begin with, but also because it was a confusing thing to even try to work out in his own head.

He tried to come up with something as he finally started, trying to figure out the best way to explain it, "She has uh… hormone stuff."

At that moment, Nurse Leslie's expression dropped as he sighed in slight annoyance as he said, "Okay, look, just come with me."

After a brief look of confusion, Clam hopped off the exam table and followed Nurse Leslie down the hall until they got to what looked like a very small library with bookshelves filled with various medical and health-related books.

Clam kept looking in the room until Nurse Leslie said, "Look, if you need information on this stuff, just look through these books. I don't have time for this kind of thing since I'm fully expecting Samson to come in here needing antihistamines after accidentally touching ragweed again any minute now. Odds are there's probably something in here you can use to find out what you want to know. Just sign it out on this list and bring back whatever you take by the end of the summer. Goodbye."

After that, Nurse Leslie rolled himself down the hall to the pharmacy closet and started to look through medications like he said he was going to do.

After figuring out what exactly happened just now with Nurse Leslie practically brushing him off (even though he knew he shouldn't find it surprising), Clam slowly looked back into Nurse Leslie's medical library and started walking around and scanning over the books.

He had no idea what exactly to look over until he noticed 2 things, one was all the books seemed to be alphabetized in some way and two was that he started to notice 'species-specific books'.

Particularly since he saw one on rhino development… it looked like a light bulb went off in Clam's head as he quickly started looking for A's.

Clam started scanning and even though it wasn't exactly what he was planning to find when he saw the book title, he knew he most likely found his best bet to figuring out how to understand and help Gretchen.

The Behavior and Psychology of the American Alligator.

20 minutes later

After finishing breakfast Edward went back to his cabin to 'get something', which was really just code that almost everyone who knew him currently meant he was getting his lighter and a pack of cigarettes from his cabin (a habit that he picked up toward the end of the previous year after getting a fake ID).

But, as per usual to not get caught smoking by Slinkman and Lumpus, he started to make his way out of camp under the cover of looking like he was 'going on a hike'.

Despite the fact that Edward was really just going to the communal campground parking lot to discreetly smoke.

Edward started to walk on until he heard the familiar overtly happy and obliviously positive tone sound off, "Hey! Hey Edward! How's it going, buddy?!"

Lazlo.

Edward slowly and robotically looked over in absolute annoyance that Lazlo still seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that he still didn't like him and thought Lazlo was still an irritating embarrassment to the outdated, polished dumpster they called a camp.

Until Edward's eyes went wide in weirded-out confusion as he saw Lazlo standing on the beach barefoot and shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of gym shorts, his grandmother's tree necklace, and a colorful tie-dye bandana tied around his forehead and looking like he was leading some of the younger scouts in a weird yoga and interpretive dance looking activity.

Edward furrowed his brows before asking, very condescending and annoyed, "What are you dingbats even doing?"

But, as per usual, Lazlo seemed completely oblivious to how annoyed Edward still was with him as he laughed before saying, "Aw, c'mon Edward! I'm showing everyone how to do tai chi on the beach this morning! It's really relaxing and great exercise… and it's fun! Why don't you join us?"

While Edward was resisting the urge to rip more into Lazlo, he knew it wouldn't work and be a waste of time at this point since Lazlo still seemed to be annoyingly immune and oblivious to the fact that Edward despised him.

And Edward started feeling that even more since he still felt like the only one who saw Lazlo as a total weirdo since even the new kids fell into the same line as everyone else of thinking Lazlo and his 'weird, eccentric spiritualist tree-hugger tendencies/interests' were 'cool' for some reasons that he still didn't understand.

Instead, Edward rolled his eyes and scoffed in annoyance as he responded indignantly, "Yeah, hard pass, Zen Monkey Boy. I'm going on a hike."

Right as Edward was about to keep walking, Lazlo laughed again before responding in his usual overtly friendly tone, only reinforcing Edward's point that he was still oblivious to his dislike of him, "Hey, that's okay! Maybe next time! Have a good hike, buddy!"

Edward stopped short in seething annoyance before just stomping off into the woods, definitely feeling like he needed to smoke now after the irritating conversation he just had with Lazlo.

Meanwhile Lazlo, despite having a nice morning from showing the new Beans how to do tai chi and seeing them enjoy it, and also still kind of riding the nice and sweet high of holding hands, dancing, and being kissed on the cheek by Patsy the other night, had some internal struggle going on as he was trying and failing to clear his mind after what happened between Raj and Clam the previous night.

Especially since Raj still seemed frustrated and disappeared back to the cabin to listen to his records after breakfast and Clam never came back to the cabin or showed up for breakfast.

Clam never misses a meal so that especially was concerning Lazlo about his friend in addition to not seeing him come back to the cabin period last night or this morning.

Luckily that thought seemed to vanish as soon as he saw Clam walking out of the dining hall (thinking he must have gone in for breakfast last minute after everyone else left) with one of the vegan breakfast burritos Chef McMuesli made in one hand and a book in the other.

Lazlo kept trying to figure out what Clam was doing until he sat underneath one of the Apple trees in camp and started to read whatever book he had as he ate the burrito simultaneously, looking almost hyper-focused on the book.

It looked like Lazlo would've kept trying to figure out what Clam was doing until one of the younger Scouts asked, "Uh, Bean Counselor? Am I doing this right?"

He looked over and saw Terry looking at him as he kept going through the tai chi movements Lazlo taught him.

Lazlo decided to take the distraction as he said, "Yeah! That's pretty good, Terry! Just get your arms into it though. Let yourself just kinda 'flow a little more'. Here, just watch me again. I'll show you!"

With that, Lazlo continued to lead the group in tai chi… despite still trying to keep an eye on Clam at the same time.

Well, even amid the tension, at least Lazlo still seems happily oblivious to Edward's loathing toward him as per usual. Lol. But, I also hope you enjoyed the awkward yet humorous interaction between Clam and Nurse Leslie. Now I will admit, as a healthcare professional who worked during the pandemic and still does now, I will admit that Nurse Leslie is SO relatable to me! Sure, he's a bit too apathetic, but at the same time though I think myself and many other fatigued healthcare workers right now can all find aspects of this nurse shark that we all can relate to. However, one thing I always found hilarious about Nurse Leslie is his skittishness when it comes to explaining sex-related topics with the scouts when they have questions. Like in "Ed's Benedict", Nurse Leslie immediately brushed off Edward's questions on biology in favor of just playing a movie for him to explain it and high-tailing it out of there on his stool as fast as possible. So, for me, the thought of a 17-year-old Clam coming to him and asking questions on how to deal with his 'girlfriend problems' due to her experiencing her 'hormone level spikes'... honestly, that to me is just comedy gold waiting to happen. And then poor Clam struggling to communicate it when he's just trying to be a good and understanding boyfriend to try and understand what's going on with Gretchen to help her. Honestly, Clam's always been a very open-minded and accepting character who is also a fiercely loyal friend, so I could see him being a pretty great boyfriend in a relationship situation. Anyway, what will happen from here? What's going on with Raj? What are the Squirrel Scouts up to? Find out next time, friends! As always, thank you for reading and constructive feedback is always very much appreciated!

Stay Classy!

Dexter1995