As promised, here is more! :D This chapter continues later on the same day after Patsy and Lazlo's interaction at the cookie sales table in town in the previous chapter. Hope you all enjoy it!

(Patsy's POV)

It's okay…

Everything's fine…

Okay, just think positive here. Lazlo will be fine! He's said he's prepared and he thinks he can do it. He is NOT going to die! Right?...

Although my internal 'positive thoughts' weren't doing anything, considering all I kept doing was overthinking and worrying about Lazlo now that he's doing the BGCO rite ever since we got back from cookie sales earlier.

Then add on that there's literally nothing I can do to stop him from doing it ever since he told me about it.

I'm freaking out.

Especially since I somehow shot myself in the foot by unintentionally motivating him to do it more for 'reasons' I still don't completely understand.

As I kept sitting in the middle of my bed overthinking and worrying about Lazlo to the point of wanting to dive out a window and scream, I was at the point that I was actually relieved when Nina walked back into our cabin to give me a distraction from my 'morbidly worrying thoughts'.

But, I didn't want to be questioned as I tried to make it seem like I was reading one of my magazines as she walked in.

Nina took off her glasses for a second and wiped them off on the end of her sleep shirt as she said with a relieved sigh, "Well, I don't know about you, but I feel pretty accomplished!"

I decided to just take the distraction while I had it, especially since I knew she was talking about her talking to Clam earlier.

"Guessing everything worked out okay with Clam?" I asked, putting the magazine on my nightstand that I was 'pretending to read' so that I didn't look insane and on the verge of a panic attack because of everything going through my head right now.

Nina sat on the edge of her bed and said, looking nothing but relieved, "For sure! Honestly, I don't know why I was so nervous to talk to Clam about it. But, I guess I was just… embarrassed about how I responded when I found out about him dating Gretchen and he didn't tell me. Because, sure, did I feel a little betrayed that he didn't trust me to keep that secret? Yeah! But, can I blame him? After all, we both know more than anyone what Gretchen can be like, so… yeah, I felt pretty stupid for overreacting. I'm just glad he wasn't mad at me either."

She smiled to herself a little bit as she started to readjust on her bed, making me smirk a little to myself.

I know this means a lot to Nina, especially right now. First, because I know how close her and Clam are and I know that making up with him made her feel better. Plus, I know Nina has not had the best week since Henry's grandpa passed away, so he couldn't come to visit her because he had to go to the funeral and can't come to visit for another couple of weeks now because of summer football camp, making Nina understandably sad for several reasons.

So, I'm glad she at least got to talk and make up with Clam today after what happened at the dance.

But, then I looked back over at Nina and saw her looking really deep in thought as I tilted my head and asked, feeling a little concerned now, "Nina? What's going on?"

She looked like she snapped out of it a little as she readjusted her glasses before responding, "Sorry, it's just… I'm not sure? After I made up with Clam and told him I was sorry Gretchen was 'avoiding him', and also told him that I thought she was being completely overdramatic about not wanting to tell him what's going on… he said something that I just can't stop thinking about."

Immediately I quirked up an eyebrow and asked in morbid curiosity, "Why?... What did he say?"

I mean, Clam usually doesn't say that much anyway, so for Nina to say she kept thinking about something that Clam told her… I weirdly want to know what Clam could have possibly said.

Eventually, Nina looked around a little and bit her lip, knowing she was making sure Gretchen wasn't around, before she said, "It was so weird. All he said after taking a notepad out of his pocket was 'Don't worry… got a plan' before walking away from me and picking up litter again. Like, I still have no idea what that even means?"

My expression contorted even more as I started, "Plan? 'Plan' for what? Wait, you didn't tell him anything did you?"

Immediately Nina looked almost defensive and slightly offended simultaneously as she started, putting her hands up in front of her on emphasis, "What? No! I mean, I still wanted to tell him since I think Gretchen is being totally ridiculous about what's going on with her and should just tell him, but I kept my mouth shut like you told me to… that, and I also don't want Gretchen to bite my head off if she found out that I was the one that told him. But, like I said, I don't know? The way Clam said it…"

Right as Nina looked like she was trailing off in thought, I asked as my eyes went wide in shock, "Wait… are you saying that Clam might have 'figured out' what's going on with Gretchen on his own or something?"

Nina still looked confused as she shrugged and responded, "I-I don't know? I mean, I wouldn't say Clam figuring it own on his own is entirely impossible anyway. Clam's quiet, but he's smart and very observant. So… maybe?"

Almost instinctively, we both looked out the window and saw Gretchen doing her usual night swim in the lake.

Meanwhile at Camp Kidney

(Lazlo's POV)

I just got out of the communal showers and was walking back to Jelly Camp as I kept toweling off my hair.

I was trying to keep myself calmed down, but I could almost feel the 'spring in my step' (to quote my pop) that I could feel while I was walking back to the cabin, grinning ear to ear almost uncontrollably.

But, why shouldn't I?!

I feel great!

After what Patsy said in Prickly Pines, I think I finally figured out how I can pretty much have cake and eat it too at this point when it comes to doing what I want plus impressing Commander Hoo-Ha enough to not want to rip me apart!

Think about it.

Commander Hoo-Ha is currently the youngest active member of the BGCO and he'll be the one overseeing my BGCO process. Well, you know, at least seeing me off at the beginning by driving me to my starting point and then being present at the end to present me with a BGCO sash once I complete it.

But, seriously, just think about it here. If I pass the rite and get a sash, I can earn more respect from Hoo-Ha, achieve membership into the BGCO like I always wanted to do for YEARS, and… maybe I can finally go out with Patsy without fearing for my life!

Next Friday, I'll get taken out to the start of my 3-day trek back to Camp Kidney by Commander Hoo-Ha in his Jeep and that'll be a good time to try and show him how determined I am to be in the BGCO.

Honestly, all things considered in his own way, Commander Hoo-Ha has always liked me. Ever since our cabin helped rescue that endangered rock from extinction, Commander Hoo-Ha has never had too many problems with all of us in Jelly Cabin all things considered.

I mean sure, he's still pretty scary and yells at us (then there was the Valentine Incident, but the less I think back to that the better), but for the most part… he's not too bad if you stay on his good side.

Which is why I've been feeling really conflicted lately when it comes to Patsy.

Because as much as I know the guys are probably right and I should 'back out' of anything that has to do with Patsy while I still can, but… why do I not want to do that?

I know it sounds crazy, but as scared as I am of Commander Hoo-Ha… I like Patsy more.

Sure I always kinda liked her a little even when we were kids and thought she was pretty (even if she used to freak me out sometimes because of her crush on me), but ever since the first day of camp this year… something 'changed'.

Especially after the dance too, I really like Patsy… a lot.

Yeah, she's pretty, but she's also sweet, strong, brave, and…

I could feel myself getting lost in my head and I tried to focus.

Either way, I really like her and I really want to go out with her, but… I can't do that knowing what Commander Hoo-Haa would definitely do to me at this point if I even tried to date her.

At least not publicly date her anyway.

BUT, maybe if I complete this rite, he'll probably like me more and maybe might be more okay with me dating Patsy. It's the best shot I have and now I can't wait to do this rite now more than ever!

I can bring honor to Camp Kidney AND get some respect from Commander Hoo-Ha to be more on his good side and gain his trust.

It's a win-win! Right when I got to the front door of the cabin, I almost headbutted Clam as he was coming out, which is kinda scary now considering he has nearly fully developed horns on his head that could probably seriously hurt someone.

But, I tried not to make a big deal about it as I took a step back before smiling and starting, "Oh, hey Clam! What are?…"

It wasn't until now that I noticed Clam was wearing his swim uniform. Then before I could even finish what I was going to say, Clam just said, "Going swimming."

Swimming?

My brain felt like it was twisting in confusion as I questioned out loud now, "Swimming?"

Right then, Clam responded with a nod, "Swimming. Need to clear head. Be back, Lazlo." Before I could even ask anything else, Clam jogged to the dock before diving into the lake.

I stood there in confusion for a couple seconds until I heard what was clearly Raj let out a sigh inside the cabin. Through the screen door, I could kinda sorta make out Raj sitting on the edge of his bed and staring at the floor with his back to me.

He still hasn't said much for the past week since the night of the dance when he 'exploded' after finding out Clam and Gretchen were dating.

But, even then, he's been very quiet and every time I try to ask about what's going on all he does is say 'I'm fine' before walking away.

Then… it hit me again as I remembered what Patsy told me earlier in Prickly Pines.

Huh...

I opened the door, trying to figure out how to bring it up as I started, "Raj?"

I jumped a little bit when he pretty much gasped dramatically and threw himself on the floor of the cabin. Well, until he realized it was me and tried to calm down and stand up, stuttering and smiling, "O-Oh! H-hi Lazlo! Uh… what is it?"

I kept looking at him as I started, knowing he was hiding something as I asked, "Raj, are you sure nothing is going on?"

Then I got even more suspicious when he let out a nervous laugh and said almost way too quick, "Nothing! Nothing's going on! Haha. What makes you think anything is 'going on'?!"

After he nervous laughed again, I started tilting my head a bit as I responded, "Ooooo-Kaaaaaay. Well, when I was in Prickly Pines earlier, Patsy said something about Amber and you…" But, before I could even finish what I was asking, Raj's expression contorted in horror before he pretty much broke down as he threw himself on the floor and started almost dramatically sobbing, "AHHHH! I DIDN'T MEAN TO, LAZLO! She kissed me and I-I… AHHH! I AM SO ASHAMED!"

Immediately my expression contorted in confusion even more as I quirked up an eyebrow before asking, feeling COMPLETELY lost and surprised, "Wait, what?! Amber kissed you? That's what happened? Wait, did you not want her to or…? " It was almost like a runaway train at this point as Raj just kept spouting dramatically, grabbing me by the shoulders now, "NO! I-I mean, I liked when she kissed me, but… AHHH! That's not the point, Lazlo! I kissed her back after she kissed me! Do you know what that means?!"

I felt completely lost at this point as I started, not understanding why he was panicking this much about kissing Amber, "Uh… Should I?"

Honestly, I still don't know why Raj is this upset about kissing Amber. Even though he's never said it, I always kinda knew he at least liked her a little.

So, if he's saying he liked kissing her and wasn't upset about her kissing him… I'm confused.

Raj, who was still holding my shoulders, started pretty much shaking me at this point as he responded, making me worry for his mental health, "DON'T YOU GET IT?! I am practically engaged and I kissed Amber! I feel like I betrayed the engagement and my future marriage by kissing another girl who my parents would NEVER approve of in a million years! I am a DISGRACE!"

Almost immediately, I responded, trying to get Raj to calm down, "Uh, Raj? Don't you think you're being a little dramatic about this? Besides you and Kajal won't actually be 'engaged' until you're both in college or something like that, right?"

I mean, I know I've never been to India and I know Raj said 'dating' is 'not the same' as where he's from, but… I still think he's freaking out a bit too much over something like a kiss with Amber that he even admitted he liked.

But, then I instantly had a realization as I asked, "Wait, are you and Kajal 'dating' or… are you having second thoughts about wanting to marry her or something?" "NO! Um, I mean, no. We aren't dating at all. But, I am lucky that I happen to like Kajal a lot. She's very nice and I think she's pretty and we surprisingly have a lot in common. We both care about 'tradition' to want to fulfill the marriage for ourselves and our families. But, after this… I feel… guilty. Because as much as I like Kajal and even though nothing is 'official' yet between us… I… I like Amber too. She's pretty, we both like music, and I like talking to her since I have a lot in common with her. She comes from a VERY big family like I do and she also comes from a smaller populated town around the same size as my village back in India. But, AGH, she's from Kansas, Lazlo! She's AMERICAN! If my parents found out I liked a girl like Amber in that sort of way, they would probably cast shame down upon me for liking a girl that isn't even from our own country or culture! And I feel like I'm sneaking behind Kajal's back too by liking Amber like that! IT FEELS WRONG! AHHHHH!"

After that, Raj pretty much collapsed face down on his pillow and kept wailing and groaning.

All I kept doing was just standing there awkwardly after hearing Raj 'let all that out'. Sure I was still confused and still thought Raj was taking all this WAY out of proportion… I knew what to do to at least solve one of his problems!

Immediately, I smiled a little and grabbed the box of cookies and Raj just kept laying face down on his bed groaning.

So, I sat on the edge of his bed and started, "Raj? I think I got something to help you feel better, buddy."

Raj didn't even look up at me as he responded, still definitely self-loathing and over dramatic as much as possible, "I highly doubt anything can help me right now. I'm past help, Lazlo." But, I just kept smiling as I prodded, "Past help enough to not want any of these S'more cookies?"

Right then, I saw him turn his head and smell with his trunk before asking, "The ones with the marshmallows and chocolate chunks?" I started opening the box and grinning as I led on, knowing Raj's sweet tooth was taking over now, "You got it, buddy. But, if you don't feel like you're up to it, I guess I'll just have to eat these alone."

Immediately, Raj turned back over and snatched the box out of my hands and started tearing into the box and started eating them in handfuls, "OH! I forgot how good these were!"

I didn't even care that he was eating all of them as he kept eating them. All I could do was smile as he kept polishing off the box, feeling good about having at least one of my friends somewhat back.

15 minutes later

After Raj got in a better mood after finishing the box of cookies I got him earlier, I decided to try to keep it going as I somehow got Raj to put on a record and we started playing Gin Rummy with a deck of cards from my suitcase.

It wasn't a lot and even though Clam wasn't here, it felt nice to do something like this Raj.

It reminded me of when me, Clam, and Raj would sit on the floor and play cards or a board game before we were forced to go lights out for the night as kids here at camp.

Either way and even though I don't regret spending that time with my grandmother… it did feel like I was 'home' right now doing this with Raj.

We kept playing until finally I heard Raj sigh and say, "I still don't know Lazlo? I still don't know what to think right now. Maybe I am overthinking it, but… I just can't stop. Dating at all back in India is rare. Especially in the more traditional areas like where I'm from, it's something that is almost not discussed since the focus is always on school and marriage. Even for the people who do 'date', it is pretty much kept a secret to an extent even when it does happen. And this is when you live in the same place! But, Amber is not even remotely close to who I am used to back at home. I just… I don't even know what to do when I see her again? The tug of war is coming up and I'll have to at least see her eventually. So, what am I supposed to do? She probably hates me or thinks I'm a freak at this point anyway."

After hearing that, I decided to just tell Raj what Patsy said as I shrugged and started, "Don't worry about it, Raj. Besides, at least from what Patsy told me, Amber seems like she wants to talk to you about 'what happened'. Who knows? Maybe that can be your chance to let her know what's going on."

Raj looked at me with wide eyes before his expression sank again and started, "Well… I won't get my hopes up."

I decided not to push it anymore as we kept playing until Raj said, "Wait, where's Clam?"

Almost immediately I quirked up an eyebrow in confusion as I started, "What do you mean? He walked out to go swimming as I walked in. You didn't see him leave?"

Eventually, Raj just shrugged before saying, "I guess I wasn't really paying too much attention. I hardly knew he was even in here. All he's been doing lately is reading that book. Wait… did you say he was going swimming?"

"Yeah, he said he was going swimming and then ran and dove into the lake," I responded.

Raj scoffed a little and shook his head before saying, "I swear, Lazlo. I feel like I don't understand anything about Clam anymore. First, his weird 'night runs' and now jumping into Leaky Lake for who knows what reason at night. Ugh, I just still can't believe he's dating Gretchen of all people."

Right as I was about to respond, my eyes went wide when I went back to what Raj said about Clam 'reading that book'.

My eyes shot over to Clam's nightstand and saw 'the book' just sitting there.

Without saying anything, I just threw my cards aside and jumped up before going right over to it.

"Lazlo? What are you doing?" Raj asked in total confusion.

But, that didn't stop me as I picked up the book. Except right when I saw the book that Clam's been glued to even more than I've been glued to the BGCO Guidebook for the past week, I got even more confused when I saw the title on the cover.

The Behavior and Psychology of the American Alligator.

I kept thinking and thinking, trying to figure out why Clam would be reading this.

Wait, 'American Alligator'... isn't that what Gretchen is?

It was almost like I couldn't stop myself at this point as my curiosity made me open the book and page through it. Although, I still didn't get it. It just seemed like any science textbook that you could find in a library and covered anything to everything on how American Alligators typically behaved, felt, and thought in various situations.

But, then I noticed a cardboard backing that merit badges usually came on that Clam looked like he was using as a bookmark.

Should I?

Even though there was a part of me now that felt like I was almost 'invading Clam's privacy'... and possibly 'Gretchen's privacy' (that part kind of scared me a little), I couldn't help myself. I know my mom always told me that sometimes 'curiosity can kill the cat'... it really was like I couldn't stop myself as I turned to the bookmarked page.

But, I just felt like this could be some way I could find out more to help Clam.

He's like one of the brothers I never had and if there's something in this book that could help me figure out what I can do to help him, I'll do it to help one of my marshmallow buddies!

Right when I turned the page, I saw something that confused me even more than I already thought I was.

The title of the chapter was: "Mating/Romantic Behaviors and Signals".

My eyes went wide as I froze as a lot of different things started going through my head about what exactly this could possibly mean.

Finally, Raj pulled me out of it as he started, "Lazlo?... What is going on?"

Immediately I slammed the book shut and started, trying to change the subject, "Uh, never mind. It looks pretty… personal. Hey! Where were we in that last run in the card game?"

As much as I wanted to help Clam with whatever was going on with him and Gretchen… maybe this is something that is a bit too personal and that Clam needs to do on his own.

Looks like Lazlo found out a bit more about what Clam's been up to than what he was bargaining for… and he doesn't even know all sides of the story! But, I thought it would seem VERY Lazlo to step up and try to attempt to help Clam try and make up with Gretchen… until he realized that maybe some things are better left for Clam to work out for himself, especially after seeing Clam has been apparently studying 'Alligator Mating' for reasons Lazlo is a little to freaked out to understand. Lol. XD Although, what is Clam up to exactly when it comes to Gretchen? Stay tuned! Also, I hope you enjoyed seeing 'Raj being Raj'. When I was working out what a teenage Raj would be like, I 100% thought he would still be the same skeptical, nervous, and timid Raj to his core. But, then add on being a teenager, I could Raj being this overthinker who is EXTREMELY nervous when it comes to girls. Then add on him having a crush on a girl, he would just be a mess. He has no idea how to handle his feelings for Amber and keeps on overthinking his feelings and his wants. Because sometimes things get complicated and Raj having a predetermined future fiance back at home in India who he fully intends on marrying when he's a young adult, he is conflicted over it because he also has a crush on Amber and the kiss he had with her only drove him over the edge even more with his nerves. So… we'll all see what will happen with that in the future! Anyway, a lot to look to for everyone in the Jelly Cabin Trio at this point. Anyway, thank you all so much for reading as always, and constructive feedback is much appreciated if you can spare it.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Dexter1995