“A nature hike? Not interested.” Ryoko folded her arms before going back to her bowl of cereal. It was early in the morning, so not only was Ryoko in a sour mood, many of the others were dead tired. The atmosphere seemed as if someone had invited zombies for a breakfast party, minus the decaying body parts. They may as well have in their condition, however.

                Kenichi clung to Ryoko’s leg and pulled out his classic con maneuver: The puppy eyes.

               “Please Ryoko?”

                Ryoko’s lower eyelid twitched at Kenichi’s expression. “Okay, you’ve officially creeped me out….stop, seriously……”

               This only caused Kenichi’s lower lip to extend down more and tremble.

             “GAH! FINE! JUST STOP THAT!” Ryoko finally gave in. Kenichi backed off like a wounded puppy for a second before smiling and hugging her leg again, cheerfully this time.

              Tsuru smiled as she watched them, biting into her waffle. The sweet maple syrup oozed over her taste buds. She smiled fondly.

            “What are you so happy about?” Takeshi asked, looking puzzled at Tsuru’s sudden glee over a waffle. Tsuru swallowed it before she gave an answer:

            “Oh, sorry, it’s just that it reminds me of back home in the country, my mom would make waffles by scratch, and one winter, we went to a special farm that tapped it’s own sap to make the syrup…..we got to bottle some and take it home……” She suddenly looked down at her plate sadly. She was worried that something would happen to her mother while she was away, that when she came back, the day she left would have been the last time she got to see her.

            Takeshi put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “It’s all right. I’m sorry I asked. I didn’t mean to make you sad…….”

           “Oh Takeshi, I----“

            A whistle suddenly blew, interrupting the fluffy moment between the couples, much to their dismay, especially Kenichi’s.

          “All right people, listen up! We’re going on a nature hike today!” The chaperone stood before them. His voice was young and gentle-sounding, and he seemed much more social than he did the night before. The mercury in his eyes shimmered more, compared to their dulled appearance, and his hair shined more than it did when it was scattered everywhere.

          “Shaaaaaaaaaadyyyyyyy……” Ryoko murmured under her breath, watching the chaperone’s movements carefully. Yoki covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud.

          “Hello, everyone, my name is Mr. Kawaru, and I will be your advisor for the rest of the trip. I hope we have a lot of fun together!”

          “Yeah, that sounds like total bullshit…” Ryoko muttered again. Kenichi shot her a quick look that said “Hush,” then adverted his attention back to Mr. Kawaru.

         “Now then, I don’t know your names very well, so how about we go around and announce them to the group?” Mr. Kawaru continued, “Why don’t we start with you?” he said, pointing to Maiko, “Oh, and please tell us about yourself while you’re at it: I would like to know about what you like and don’t like.”

         “Uh…okay….” Maiko stood up. “My name’s Maiko, and I like Wataru-chan, porn, hentai, and yaoi. Uh….dislikes…..I can’t think of any right now, but I love my stuff animals, cause they’re great to bang around with! Anything else you wanna know?”

          Mr. Kawaru had a horrified face. “N-no, no, that’s REALLY okay……..next person…?”

         Wataru stood up next. “My name’s Wataru, and I like punk stuff and skateboarding, but I dislike miso. A LOT. Please keep that in mind.” He sat back down almost as soon as he stood back up.

        “Um…you don’t seem very punkish……” Mr. Kawaru said, but he decided not to push the issue and moved to the next person.

         Takeshi was next: “I’m Takeshi, and there isn’t much to know about me…..oh, but I’m skilled with martial arts, and used to be in a gang….but I quit, to find broader horizons…” The last part was said almost dreamily, as if he was deep in thought.

        “Um……okay….I’ll…keep that in mind……” Mr. Kawaru pointed to Tsuru, hoping she would be fairly normal. Much to his relief, she was:

        “Hi…my name’s Tsuru Kobayashi, and I moved to the city from my grandfather’s shrine when my mother became ill. I enjoy singing and flower arranging, and my favorite color is purple.”

        Mr. Kawaru smiled at her innocence. Thank god, I have a sane person!  He thought to himself. Maybe this trip won’t be so bad after all….

        Or so he thought, until Yoki stood up:

       “Hiya! My name’s Yoki! I love cheese, all American things, and I won’t do anything in class unless Ryoko’s sitting next to me!”

       “Huh….?” The last statement confused Mr. Kawaru.

       “That WASN’T information he needed to know, dumbass,” Ryoko retorted.

       “Well he asked, didn’t he?!” Yoki shot back.

        These two…..can actually sit next to each other in school….? Mr. Kawaru watched the squabbling, puzzled beyond his own beliefs. “Uh, anyway….I already heard a little about you, Mr. Kenichi. It’s such a surprise you and Miss Yoki are related!” He tried to reassure them with a smile. When no one smiled back, he gave up and moved to Ryoko.

        Instead of standing up, however, she stuck her feet up on the table. “Yeah, my name’s Ryoko, I’m the one the weirdo was talking about earlier…..”

       “RYOKO!!!!!!!! DON’T BE MEAN!” Yoki bawled.

        Ryoko ignored her and continued: “…..so yeah, if you wanna know what I think, I think this camp thing is retarded and you should fuck off from bothering us.”

       The rest of the table gaped at her foul language, then turned to see Mr. Kawaru’s reaction. Surprisingly, he gave none. Instead, he simply told them to pack the day bags and went back into the camper. Kenichi wanted to protest to what Ryoko had said, but he decided against it. Ryoko wasn’t in a good mood anyway.

                                     **************************


      “Okay, we are OFFICIALLY LOST,” Wataru announced.

      “Aw man, we’re done for! The wild bears are gonna eat us ALIVE!!!!!” Takeshi began to panic.

      “Please don’t talk like that……” Tsuru pleaded nervously. Everyone’s morbid talk frightened her to the marrow, and instinct had her clinging on to Takeshi.

      “Aw dude, I wanna rape a bear!” Maiko said, excitedly.

      “Miss Maiko….um…I don’t think that’s possible…..” Mr. Kawaru said, looking as if he was going to puke.

      “Why the hell would you wanna do that anyway? That’s just WRONG.” Yoki shifted her weight from one leg to the other, impatient that they had stopped moving.

      “So I could be famous around the world!!!!” Dreamy sparkles lit up her eyes, and she twirled in place as Mr. Kawaru and Kenichi stooped over the map, baffled at the directions.

      “Great…..damn nature hike…so now what?” Ryoko’s arms were folded, and she tapped her foot impatiently. Her arm suddenly shot out and grasped at what appeared to be thin air, but she turned her hand over and exposed her prey: a mosquito.

      “Well…we should make the best of it! After all, we’re surrounded by this beautiful nature!” Mr. Kawaru then crouched down by a plant. “Hey you guys, check this out!”

       The group gathered around to find a mound of white foam on top of one of the leaves. Mr. Kawaru tenderly held the leaf up with his curved index finger, so that the others could see.

      “EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW!  That’s gross!” Yoki cringed at the sight of it.

      “Um….sir? How is someone’s spit on a plant EDUCATIONAL?” Wataru asked.

      “It’s not just anyone’s spit…” Mr. Kawaru said. He swabbed the foam with his finger, and presented a small black dot on his finger. Many in the group were disgusted by his maneuver.

      “What is that?” Takeshi asked, adjusting his glasses.

      “It’s called a spittle bug. It emits it’s saliva to trap it’s prey. You should be able to find them in the center of the saliva,” Mr. Kawaru answered, “Cool, huh?”

      “WOOOOOOOOOW!!!” Maiko’s eyes sparkled at it. “So, so, after it gets it’s prey, it does it?! As in IT?!”

       Mr. Kawaru gave her an unamused look. “No, Miss Maiko, the bug does not rape its prey. It EATS it.”

      “God, Maiko, you’re so horny today. Lay off the estrogen,” Wataru said. Maiko just grinned at him.

      “Hey, look! There are some travelers coming this way! Perhaps they’ll know the way to the campfire site?” Tsuru pointed at a couple, male and female, walking in the opposite direction of where the group was heading. Both were laughing and holding hands. Kenichi looked at them sadly, jealous that he and Ryoko couldn’t do the same.

      “Ah, good thinking, Miss Tsuru,” Mr. Kawaru said. He walked up to talk to the couple while the others stayed behind.

      “Wow, some chaperone. Doesn’t even know his way around,” Ryoko mumbled.

      “Ryoko, you know he’s trying his best…” Kenichi protested, “He’s a really nice person when you get to know him…..”

      “Yeah…but I don’t think he likes me that much…..” Maiko said with a sigh.

      “Who would? After all the comments YOU’VE pulled?” Wataru retorted.

      “WHAT?! Wataru-chan, how could you say such a thing?!”

      “Because it’s TRUE! I’m surprised you actually have FRIENDS!”

      “Yeah, well, I’m surprised you have a GIRLFRIEND, you effing prep,” Ryoko countered, with a snarl, “And some girlfriend it is! She didn’t even come!” Kenichi could sense that everyone was giving her a headache.

      “Ryoko, that’s not nice……..” Kenichi tried to say.

      “I DON’T GIVE A DAMN!” Ryoko snapped back, “And you, lay off the babysitter complex! It’s goddamn annoying! And don’t think I’m gonna be all happy couple-like at that damn festival! SO FUCK OFF, YOU TWERP!”

       Kenichi’s face looked as if he had shattered into tiny glass shards. Everyone was so quiet, almost as if they could hear the shards dropping to the ground one by one. He just looked down.

      “Onii-chan…?” Yoki crouched down to see his face. She was surprised at what she saw.

       Kenichi was crying.

      “I-I can’t believe….you just said that…..I thought…….I thought…….I was making you feel better….since you weren’t having fun…….I guess I was wrong…………maybe……..maybe I shouldn’t have come! Maybe everyone would have been………would have been…….better without me!” With this, he ran down the path, and disappeared into the forest.

      “Onii-chan! Wait!” Yoki tried to call him back, but to no avail. He didn’t even turn around when she called. Yoki suddenly became infuriated at Ryoko: “This is all your fault, you stupid! You hurt his feelings, and now he’s going to get lost, and we’ll never see him again!”

      “Oh, are you mad? Bring it on, crybaby,” Ryoko retorted. With that, the fists broke out of their cages, only not playfully, but very violently, as if all they could see was red.

      “You guys, stop!” Takeshi tried to calm them down, but did not dare get between them.

      “THAT’S IT! I HATE YOU, WATARU-CHAN!” Maiko slapped Wataru across the face and ran in a different direction from Kenichi.

      “Yeah, well I HATE YOU TOO, YOU HORNY BITCH!” Wataru yelled back, “This trip sucks! I’m going back to the camper!” He ran down the path they had just gone down, back towards the beach.

      “Wait, you guys, come back!” Tsuru pleaded.

       Meanwhile, Ryoko gave a hard punch to Yoki’s stomach, causing Yoki to fall backwards, gasping for air.

      “I’ve had this. Wataru’s right, this trip sucks ASS.” Ryoko went in her own direction, making sure it was the opposite of Kenichi’s.

       Mr. Kawaru, suddenly realizing what had just broken out in the span of a minute (he was too engrossed in conversation with the couple to notice), helped Yoki into a sitting position.

     “Are you okay?” he asked. He swung the daypack from his shoulder and took out the first aid kit and a mini cooler, which contained ice packs and cold drinks. “Here. Takeshi, Tsuru, I’m leaving you in charge of Yoki. I marked the directions to the campsite on the map in red. Follow the path down, and you should find the campsite. When you get there, wait for me. I’m going to get the rest of the group back.” His decision was to go after Wataru first. Meanwhile, Tsuru and Takeshi tended to Yoki’s wounds, then head down the path in a shocked silence that was very palpable to them all.