Rod wakes with a start, as Coach begins to play Reveille on his trumpet, rather badly and loud enough for the whole camp to hear. Rod had been lucky enough to be spared the rude awakening yesterday, since Mark had gently woken him up before Coach started practicing, which Coach apparently does every morning. So far as anyone knows, he hasn't ever gotten better.
After getting dressed and stopping by the cafeteria, Rod and the rest of the Reds start running the obstacle course. While quickly stepping through the tires laid on the ground, Rod asks Mark, "So we have to do this every day?"
"Pretty much."
"Is there any way we could not do it?"
"Only if you're sick, doing chores or Jeffrey Harty after an excursion out back." Mark finishes saying while pointing in the direction of the Battlefield.
With a confused look, Rod asks, "Speaking of Jeff, where is he? I didn't see him at breakfast... In fact, I haven't seen him at all since yesterday. Did he get abducted by aliens or something?"
As they're climbing over a wall with a knotted rope, Mark explains, "Jeffrey Harty probably has the worst sense of direction the world has ever known. He can't find his way anywhere, even with a path right under his feet. Chances are, that after the battle yesterday, he was separated from everyone else and got lost, again!"
"Shouldn't we be looking for him then?"
"Nah. Every time this happens, he always manages to find his way back, albeit with a few bumps and bruises and in real need of a bath, but he comes back nonetheless."
They get down the other side of the wall and start vaulting, with one hand, over picnic tables, Rod none too successfully. Upon finishing, they get to the last obstacle, where they have to swing over mud (for some reason). Mark makes it across easily, whereas Rod ends up dragging his feet through the mire.
As they head toward the cafeteria for lunch, Mark sees movement behind a cluster of trees and brush. Mark puts a hand on Rod's shoulder and he raises a finger in front of his mouth and motions with his head in the direction of the trees. They crouch and sneak over. Peering from behind a bush, they see a kid, about twelve years old, with a yellow armband, surrounded by teenagers with blue. Among the blues is Mo and one of the others is holding a "Squirrel V.52" handgun.
"We can either do this the easy...", Mo manages to say just before the kid pulls out his wallet and hands him a stack of rectangular pieces of camouflage colored paper with pictures of acorns on the front (camobucks). Mo looks down at it in surprise and says, "Well that was easy." And after taking it, begins saying, "Remember now..."
"If I spill my guts, you know where I live. Got it!", the yellow cabiner says quickly and runs off, occasionally tossing back nervous glances, in case they decide to chase him.
"It ain't fun when they finish your sentences for ya!" Mo says with an agitated look on his face. The other three stand there with blank faces, staring at the ground and nodding in agreement.
"What? You just gonna stand there wit' them dumb looks on your faces? Get goin', com'on, com'on! Move it!"
They all snap out of it and start running back toward the blue cabins, trying to avoid the kicks that Mo aims at their shins.
Once they're out of sight, Mark and Rod rise from their hiding place. Rod says, "Man, I wish we could've stopped 'em!"
Mark holds up a camera.
"This good enough for you?"
Rod gets a smug grin on his face, "You, Sir, are awesome!"
Mark looks through the pictures and says, "Finally nailed you, Mo."
At the cafeteria, the whole red cabin table is abuzz in no time after Mark starts showing around his pictures of Mo caught in the act. Leo asks Mark, "What it is that Mo's been doing?"
"For the past few years, he's been robbing everyone he can manage to corner, even members of the blue cabins, any that haven't joined his mob yet. Some say he even has members of other cabins in his little mafia."
While everyone else is looking at the pictures, a guy wearing a red armband breaks away from the group and sneaks over to the blue cabin table.
"Well, if it isn't the self proclaimed 'Ladies Man'.What is it Carl?" Mo asks the fifteen year-old, Spanish kid with a mullet, wearing skinny jeans and a jacket, unbuttoned to let his muscular chest show.
"For the last time, my name is Carlos, Sir, and it seems you didn't come away completely clean when you robbed the yellow cabin punk."
"How do you know about that?" Mo turns his attention to the three goons closest to him, "Which one of you's been blabbing about it?!"
Carlos says, "Mark was watching you do it and took pictures."
"Dang it!" Mo nearly shouts, then looks around to see if anyone heard. Soon he focuses his attention back on Carlos and whispers, "Carlos, I need you to get those pictures away from him before it's too late."
"Yes, Sir!" And Carlos slinks back over to the red cabin table.
Beatrice, one of the lunch-ladies, rings a bell and says, "Alright, lunch time's over. Everyone finish up and go about your business."
As they're leaving the cafeteria, Rod asks Mark, "So what happens when you tell Coach about Mo?"
"His leadership of the blue cabins will be revoked and they'll elect a new guy. Mo will spend the next few weeks mopping the cafeteria and cleaning the outhouses. The camobucks the blue cabins have will be equally divided among the other cabins, too."
Suddenly, Leo drops on his knees and starts groaning, "I don't feel so good."
Rod kneels beside him and sees how pale he is, making his one mole, on his chin, even more prominent. Mark and Rod help Leo up, then Shawn walks over, "Hey, you look like you've had a little too much mystery meat!"
Leo asks, "Is that what it was?"
Mark says, "We gotta get him to the nurse's office. Shawn you can help."
The three of them carry Leo to the nurse's office and just as they approach the steps, a voice behind them says, "I'll get the door, Amigos."
Mark replies, "Thanks, Carlos."
Carlos opens the door and they haul Leo through and put him on the table. Maggie, who was listening to Anna Blue on her MP3 player, stands up and asks, "What's wrong?"
Mark says, "I don't know. We were just at lunch. He ate an apple, some raw carrots and a ton of the mystery meat."
"Ptomaine poisoning, just great! Bad news is my Mom is at the Doctor's for a checkup. Good news is she mixed up something for this, just before she left." Maggie, half skips, half walks, over to a shelf and grabs a bottle, pops the top off and pours some of the liquid into the cover. While she's doing that, Carlos sneaks over to where Mark had carelessly put down his camera and snatches it.
Maggie says "Leo, Honey, you're gonna have to drink this... here." Leo swallows it and almost coughs it back up.
"He should be fine in about half an hour, but he'll need plenty of rest."
"Thanks, Maggs," Mark says. Carlos heads for the door and says, "Well, I have some business to take care of. See you all later!"
As Carlos passes Maggie she gives a yelp when he lightly spanks her and says with a smile, "Nice job Mejillas Dulces!"
Maggie's hand moves like lightning as she seizes the back of Carlos' mullet, puts on a bone-chilling smile and says in a scarily sweet tone, "Carlos, Honey, if you ever do that again, I swear, you'll get such a swift kick you-know-where that your voice won't stop squeaking, for a year."
Carlos, looking like he's either about to scream, or cry, says, "Si Senorita!!"
Maggie lets go, and Carlos runs like a pack of wolves is on his heels.
"Darn that pretty-boy!" Mark says.
Everyone looks at him and Shawn says, "Yeah nobody treats my future girlfriend that way!" He shakes his fist in the direction Carlos went.
Maggie asks, "And what makes you think I'm ever going to be your girlfriend?"
"Uuuuuuuuuuhhh..."
Mark interrupts by saying, "No, not that. Don Juan there just took my camera!"
Mark, Shawn and Rod, charge after the turncoat toward the Blue Cabins. They run straight through a large clump of trees and when they get to the other side...
*BUGUGUGUGUGUG!*
One of Mo's thugs is standing there with a Beehive V.85, firing at the ground in front of their feet and Carlos is handing the camera to Mo.
Shawn shouts at Carlos, "You Benedict Arnold! How long have you been plotting with General Clinton there?"
Carlos asks, "What, do you read up on American history every night before bed?"
"As a matter of fact... no."
Mo, chuckling the whole time, says, "Well Mark, *hee hee hee*, looks like I, *hee hee*, win again. Ha ha ha haaaa!" He then proceeds to press the "delete all" button and tosses the camera back to Mark.
Mark says as he turns to leave, "Until next time, Mo."
"Yeah yeah, next time, whatever." Mo says with a final chuckle and shuts the door of Blue Cabin One behind him.
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