The Adventure Club! (16/?) Updated 3/24/2015

[Blah!?]

@Emily: Glad you like him. xD It really makes me feel good to know that my attempts at humor don't all fall flat on their faces.

@Akahana: I like him a lot too. I'm really not a motorcyle person actually, but I'm starting to think they're pretty cool because of all this. xD

@Count: I can maybe think of a few ideas why, but I'm not totally sure. Care to enlighten us? Also, I have no idea if real clubs have to follow all these rules. I'm just basing it off what you usually see in anime. xD

@Grey: Happy to be of service. I always sort of wondered what it would be like to form a club...

@red: I kinda had a feeling it would come down to David and Liz too, but I'm actually kinda surprised you didn't vote for someone else. xD I did try to design them all so they would clash with the club as a whole in some way though, so no matter who was chosen they'd end up stirring up some trouble.

@Sitruuna: Foiled again! the "sneeze introduction" thing was sort of my plan all along, so people would be able to know what each character sneezes like before they vote too. However, now that all the major characters have been introduced, I'm probably going to dial it back to one or two characters per chapter, depending on what's happening.

In other news:

I've started working on the next chapter, with David as the new member. I originally wanted to end the next chapter with a choice about who the faculty adviser should be, but at the same time I feel like I'm taking too long getting to the actual club activities. The adviser's going to be a very minor character anyway, but I can leave that as a choice if people want me to. Basically, do you guys still want to have a choice of who the adviser is, or would you rather jump right into the fun?

[Akahana]

I think the advisor doesn't matter much does it? I think it should be a girl teacher though, I don't really know why...it just seems right. XD

[Blah!?]

@Akahana: Despite my thoughts on the matter, I decided to make it a choice anyway, since that's kind of what this series is all about. However, club activities will start promptly next chapter, based on what you guys decide.

Anyway, here's part three, in which The Adventure Club hunts for a faculty adviser.

-----

After some deliberation via email the previous night, the four of us had made our decision by Friday morning. All of us had light class schedules on Fridays, but we all made a plan to come in early to get our new member sorted out. We actually tended to do that anyway, since we usually didn’t have anything better to do, and we just liked hanging out together.

I got to the club room at about 9:00 in the morning, not the least bit surprised to find Tracy there already, reading another book. She appeared to have finished the adventure story that had given us our name, and she had moved on to something else. I couldn't quite tell what it was, but the book looked pretty old and worn out. Tracy seemed to be behaving abnormally as well; instead of sitting perfectly still and silent as she read, she stopped every few seconds to sniff or rub at her nose with her finger.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, deciding that this was irregular enough to warrant a question.

"Hih... Hih-Hih-Hih!" Tracy's head tipped back as her breath hitched, her thin nostrils flaring slightly. "Hih-CHH!"

"Bless you. Are you alright?" I asked again after Tracy sneezed softly. Her glasses had slipped all the way down her long nose, barely clinging to the tip. Tracy rubbed her finger slowly from side to side under her nostrils, pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, and then finally turned her attention to me.

"The book is dusty," she explained lightly, only making eye contact with me for a second. As soft and quiet as Tracy's sneezes were, they seemed to take a lot out of her. Unsurprisingly, however, she loved reading books of all shapes and sizes too much to mind if one was too dusty for her.

"Ah," I nodded, glancing around the room at random. "Allergies?"

"I don't know," Tracy replied, turning a page. I raised an eyebrow, but before I could think of a reasonable response, I heard the unmistakable sound of Andy coming down the hall.

"Friday, Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!"

Andy flung the club room door open and flopped into his seat, humming the rest of the words to the song, obviously not remembering the lyrics. Tracy ignored him, but I sighed and pressed my palm to my forehead. I already knew he was going to be singing that damn song, but I still hoped that he just wouldn't.

"You better stop before Charlie gets here," I said, not even looking at the idiot. "She'll turn you inside out."

"Meh, she's always late," Andy replied, waving a hand at me.

"I wouldn't count on that today," I said with a smirk. "She's bringing in our new member."

As soon as the words left my mouth, the club room door swung open once again. Charlie stood in the doorway, her helmet tucked under her arm, and I could see David's reddish hair over her shoulder. Charlie led him into the room, and he waved with a goofy smile on his face.

"Hey guys, I'm David. I've met Toby, but I'm afraid I don't know the rest of you," he said, fidgeting with his own helmet. Charlie cracked a subtle smile and led him over to a fifth chair, placed between her own and Tracy's.

"This is Tracy," Charlie said, gesturing to the bookworm. "She likes to read. A lot."

Tracy glanced up at David, nodded once, and then returned to her book. David nervously waved back to her, unsure how to respond.

"Don't mind her," I said, shrugging. "She doesn't talk a lot. She's shy." The slightest blush appeared on Tracy's face as I described her as shy. I couldn't help but smile; one of the only ways to get her to visibly reveal her timidity was to speak of it.

"And this is Andy," Charlie continued, gesturing to our other male companion, who was busy attempting some sort of necktie-origami. "He's an idiot."

"Happy to be of service," Andy said, dropping his tie. He stood up and shook hands with David, putting on his usual crazy grin. David returned the smile, albeit with a touch of nervousness. I totally understood him; Andy made most people nervous.

"Nice to meet you all," David said, taking his seat. He placed his motorcycle helmet on the floor under the chair and crossed his legs, starting to twiddle this thumbs. "I told Toby this before, but I regrettably don't have a ton of time to commit to this club. I can make the minimum number of meetings, but that's about it. I wish I could do more, but I really am pretty busy."

"Hey, that's okay," Andy replied, tossing up his hands. "Even if you never show up, we owe you one. We'd have to disband without a fifth member."

"You're welcome. I just wish I could help you out a bit more than just writing my name on the sign-up sheet."

"We do still need an adviser," I remarked, tilting my head to one side. David's face suddenly lit up, and he turned to face me in his chair.

"Actually, I might be able to help you with that," he announced, his smile widening. "Charlie and I have C.S. later today, and our teacher's pretty cool. I could ask her if she could be our adviser."

"That would be great," I said, nodding in approval. I glanced to one side, noticing Tracy looking up at me. Although she hadn't said anything, I knew this meant she had something to say.

"What's up?" I asked, folding my arms and leaning back in my chair.

"We could ask our English teacher. We have class next period," Tracy suggested, closing her book and placing it in her bag. I nodded to that too; having multiple options would do us some good, especially after what happened with trying to find a fifth member.

"Alright, sounds like a plan," I said, standing up from my chair. "I'll go with Tracy to talk with the English teacher, then I'll go with David and Charlie to talk with the C.S. teacher."

"What should I do?" Andy asked, wrapping his tie around his forehead. Charlie cracked an evil-looking grin and folded her arms.

"What you're best at: nothing," she grunted, patting Andy on the shoulder as she passed by him on her way to the door. Andy held up his arms in a 'what the hell, man' position and stuck out his lower lip. Charlie ignored him and headed on her way. I gave Andy a nervous smile and left the room with Tracy to head off to English class.

---

Despite the fact that we wanted to get on this teacher's good side, Tracy once again sat in the back of the room reading a book completely unrelated to the class. It wasn't that antique book from earlier, probably so she wouldn't sneeze or otherwise draw attention to herself, but it wasn't the assigned reading either. At the same time, Mr. Gavin never caught her anyway, so I guess it wasn't that big of a deal. Mr. Gavin was pretty much your typical English teacher; he was a good guy, and he definitely had his entertaining moments, but he spent all of his time overanalyzing everything. That was fine if he was just going to be our adviser, since all he'd have to do is sign off on our club activities, and I don't think he'd be able to analyze those too deeply.

Once class was over, Tracy and I approached the front desk to have a word with Mr. Gavin, but to my surprise he initiated a completely different conversation. He ignored me completely, instead turning his full attention to Tracy and her obsessive reading habits.

"So, I hear you've been reading ahead again," Mr. Gavin said, leaning toward Tracy. This guy was making me a little uncomfortable, but whatever. We wouldn't have to interact with him too much even if he did become our adviser.

"I have, Mr. Gavin," Tracy replied, only now deciding to close her book.

"Please, call me Sean."

Whoa! Bad touch, man! Last name basis!

"Alright, Mr. Sean."

"How far did you get, Tracy?" Mr. Gavin asked, referring to the book again. I already knew Tracy had finished it weeks ago, so I wondered how she'd respond to that.

"I finished it," Tracy said not sounding terribly interested. Then again, when did she?

"What did you think of the curtains at the end?" Mr. Gavin asked. I had no idea what he was talking about, and to be honest, this was often the case. I understood the things I read for class, but I don't think I understood them the way he wanted me to.

"They were blue," Tracy stated, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her long nose. Mr. Gavin seemed a bit surprised by her response, as if he expected her to have more to say.

"But what do you think that means?" the teacher said again, rephrasing his question slightly. As much as Tracy loved to read, she lacked the tendency to overanalyze everything that I often found in my English teachers.

"They were blue," Tracy repeated. Clearly she hadn't put any analytical thought into this at all. I decided to bring up the club before anything got out of hand.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gavin," I interrupted, scratching the back of my head nervously. "Our club's looking for a faculty adviser, and we were wondering if you might be interested in the position."

"Oh, that sounds most intriguing," the teacher responded. How? How could that sound intriguing? I hadn't even told him what we were doing yet! "What would you need me to do?"

"Not a whole lot," I explained, shrugging my shoulders. "Basically just put your name down, and sign off on any off-campus, after-hours stuff we do."

"You don't need me to help you pick out books or anything? Or lead discussions or analyses?" Mr. Gavin asked, misunderstanding our club before I even told him what it was.

"Well, you see, that's not really what we do," I elaborated, nervously scratching my head again. "We're the Adventure Club, sort of a do-anything club."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were trying to form a book club, considering Tracy's with you."

"I'm not part of a book club," Tracy announced. Her expression almost looked frustrated, but I couldn't quite tell. Mr. Gavin, on the other hand, was clearly shocked. His hand were even trembling. Weird.

"R-really? Well, that's... That's n-news to me!" Mr. Gavin said, inexplicably losing his cool. I didn't think he'd freak out kill us or anything, but it was getting weird. "I bet you two have classes soon, so you'd better go! I'll clean up the chalk board here!"

Mr. Gavin grabbed an eraser and slammed it against the chalk board, most likely harder than he intended to. A cloud of chalk dust exploded out of it, filling the air around us. Tracy and I began to cough, but Mr. Gavin started stifling sneezes into his elbow as the two of us fled the classroom.

"Hhhn'gxt! Hhhn'gxt! HHN'GKT!"

"Is he always that much of a weirdo?" I asked, not even looking back at the classroom door. You know, in case he was following us or something. Tracy shrugged, and I took that as a yes.

---

Tracy headed back to the club room to read again, and I decided to screw around for a while after finding the computer lab. I've never taken a computer science class, so I had no idea where it was until now. I took a peek in the window when I first arrived to find the class was still going on, so I decided not to disturb them. I didn't even recognize anyone in there other than David, who was writing a massive block of code that I couldn't understand, and Charlie, who was once again picking her nose when she though no one was looking. She thought I wouldn't notice. But I did.

Once the period was over, the computer lab quickly emptied, leaving only the computer science teacher and my friends. David stuck his head out the door and beckoned me inside. The two of us stood by the front desk while Charlie spoke with the teacher for a moment. The C.S. teacher looked a bit odd, but I just hoped her behavior would be more normal than Mr. Gavin's. She was tall and skinny, not as tall as Charlie nor as skinny as David, but she still seemed a little lanky. In addition, she wore a very feminine cream-colored suit, complete with flared sleeves and leggings. Her light-brown hair was done up in a large but tight bun, and a pair of huge, round glasses sat atop her upturned nose.

"Your grades are really getting a lot better, Charlene," the teacher said, gently placing a hand on Charlie's shoulder. Her voice sounded congested, but I didn't think anything of it. Charlie looked away slightly, and for the first time since I had known her she almost looked embarrassed.

"Thanks. I've been getting some help," Charlie explained, as if she needed to make excuses. She also didn't seem bothered that the teacher had used her proper first name, but I guess it was something she had never really been too forceful about in the first place.

"That’s great! Asking for help is always a good thing," the teacher continued. I could have sworn her voice was starting to sound stuffier with each syllable. Charlie nodded and led the teacher toward David and I. The teacher extended one hand and adjusted her almost comically-large glasses with the other.

"Hey there," she said, her voice even more blocked up than before. "I'm Quinn Harper. You can call me Quinn, or Miss Harper, or whatever you like is fine. Nice to meet you." I shook her hand and smiled weakly, feeling a little concerned about her voice.

"I'm Toby. Can I call you Miss Quinn?" I asked, not realizing how awkward it must have sounded until after I said it. For whatever reason, I always felt compelled to address my teachers formally in some way or another. Luckily, the teacher nodded in approval and decided not to point out how much I sounded like a kindergartener.

"Charlie and David told me about your club," Miss Quinn said, smiling and leaning against her desk. "It sounds really cool, and I'd love to be your adviser. Is there anything specific you'd need me to do?"

"Not a whole lot," I said with a smile, glad this teacher was more normal. "Basically just sign on the dotted line. By the way, are you feeling alright? You don't sound so good."

"Oh, it's nothing," Miss Quinn said, smiling and placing a hand behind her head on her hair bun. "It's just my ahhhh..."

"Your what?" I asked, subconsciously already knowing what she meant to say.

"Aahhhhh..."

Miss Quinn reached into one of the front pockets of her suit jacket and removed a silky-looking handkerchief. She gently placed it under her upturned nose, her breath continuing to hitch.

"Aaaaahhhhh... Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh... AAAHHHHHHH!"

I thought I had run into my share of odd sneezers this week, but Miss Quinn sounded like a cartoon character. She actually looked a little like she might explode. After a buildup like that, I was expecting her sneeze to be even more dangerous than Charlie's, but to my surprise she let out nothing more than a squeaky "CHUH!" into her handkerchief.

"Bless you," I said, taking a concerned step forward. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Just allergies," Miss Quinn said, gently blowing her nose into her handkerchief. The pollen count today was at an all time low, and the computer lab was probably the cleanest room on campus, so I had no idea what could even be setting her off.

"What are you allergic to, anyway?" I decided to ask. I didn't notice David resting his forehead in his palm until it was too late.

"Well, let's see," Miss Quinn said, putting her handkerchief away. "Ragweed, flower pollen, tree pollen, grass pollen, hay, house dust, cats, dogs, horses, feathers, and mold."

"You forgot pepper," Charlie grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Oh, of course. Pepper too. Thank you, Charlene."

My jaw literally dropped. How was this poor woman still alive? She noticed my frightened expression and immediately tried to put me at ease.

"Please, don't worry! I have a lot of allergies but they're all very mild. I do tend to be stuffed up a lot of the time though, so please forgive me for that."

I nodded as if to say 'don’t worry about it,' and I quickly left the room with Charlie and David in tow before Miss Quinn could find something else to sneeze at.

---

"Great, so now what do we do?" Andy asked, laying down across three adjacent chairs. He was a bit disappointed that our faculty adviser options were almost as strange as he was.

"Honestly, either one is fine with me," I said, crossing my arms. "Yeah, they're both weirdos, but have you seen us?"

"But let's just get this straight. The English teacher sounds like a total pedobear, and the nerd teacher sounds like she's even more likely to drown us in snot than Charlie is."

In response, Charlie dug her pointer finger into her right nostril and flicked whatever she retrieved at Andy. Despite lying down, Andy somehow managed to jump up onto one of his chairs, simultaneously screaming like a little girl.

"Mr. Gavin's not really a perv," I said, raising an eyebrow. "He is a little creepy, I'll give you that, but we're not in any danger from him. That's ridiculous. And Miss Quinn just has allergies. She said herself they're pretty mild."

"What the frak did you just call her?" Andy said, sitting back down in one of his chairs as his smile extended from ear to ear. "Isn't that her first name?"

"Yeah, well..."

"Oh, Miss Quinn, can you wead me a bedtime stowie? Are you in frakking kindergarten?"

I opened my mouth to commence verbal warfare, but before I could say word, Charlie grabbed us both by our collars and hoisted us into the air. She glared at Andy, and then she glared at me, making me glad I hadn't drank anything since breakfast.

"Are you finished?" she growled, directing herself more at Andy than at me. "If you hadn't noticed, we sort of need to make up our minds about this. And to top it all off, if we don't start coming up with some club activities soon, we're going to have to disband anyway. So, with that knowledge fresh in your heads, what are we going to do at the end of the day?"

"Uh, hiking?" I blurted, just saying the first thing that came to mind. Charlie turned to Andy, who shook his head violently in agreement. She put us back down in our chairs, and we couldn't help but chuckle to each other.

"You just said the first thing that popped in there," Andy said between his laughter.

"Of course. What about you? What just popped in there?" I asked, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. Andy gave me a smirk, and in unison we both murmured "The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man." We began to roar with laughter, not even stopping as Charlie slammed the door shut behind her, eager to rid herself of our insanity.

-----

I actually have two different sets of options for y'all to choose from today, so here you go:

Which adviser should the Adventure Club choose?

• Sean Gavin, the English Teacher
  
• Quinn Harper, the C.S. Teacher
  

-And-

Where should the Adventure Club go hiking?

• A mountain path (Colder climate)
  
• A forest trail (More pollen)
  

I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you'll all come back next time!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Ooh ooh ooh Mountain path, just because it sounds cooler. (Even if I do prefer pollen most of the time. ).

And... English teacher.. no, C.S. teacher, no... both? I can't choose, they both sound awesome. xD

From a fetishy point of view... Miss Quinn, no question. From a story-line pov, I'm much too curious about Mr Gavin. So I'll withhold my vote on this one.

And well, I told you about my favourite bits already. xD *giggles* necktie-origami.

[Sneezypeezy]

Mountain path bc it might lead to cold sneezes and mr.gavin just because I love guys who stifle <3 I love this story so far

[VividBubbles!]

Well, Mr. Gavin has amazing sneezes, but I think he's just a bit too abnormal and creepy for me. So, my vote goes to Miss. Quinn (who sounds adorable, btw). And I think it'd be way cooler to hike on a mountain path than a forest trail. Plus, I'm really hoping for a cold to be passed around the characters. *hint hint* I can't wait to read more of this!

BYE!

Edited November 18, 2012 by VividBubbles!

[SweaterWeather]

Hmm....I love these kids, first of all. especially the interactions between Charlie and Andy. They're just....hillarious. Anyway, I'm really curious about this Mr. Gavin fellow, he doesn't seem too creepy to me just, curious? Anyway, I want to know more about him, but Miss Q is so....*Drools* Anyway, my vote goes to Mr. Gavin and a Mountain Hike ^ ^ Also, I said anyway A TON in this reply, sorry about that

[Sneeze999]

Miss Quinn and Forest trail for me! Allergy sneezes are just the BEST!

[a red nine]

Can't wait for the next chapter, as we finally get to see the club in real action! I think you'll have fun writing it too. All that annoying preliminary stuff (not that it was annoying to read) is out of the way and a true plot can be derived. For the advisor I vote Quinn Harper. As for the location... hmm... both have nice possibilities but I choose forest trail.

Edited November 18, 2012 by a red nine

[Curiosity234]

I think they should go Quinn the forest.

[Sitruuna]

MOUNTAIN PATH, MOUNTAIN PATH, MOUNTAIN PATH

o3o

...and the English teacher.

Sorry it took me so long to reply to this. u___u'''

...somehow it seems like Charlie has a crush on someone. thehehe

Or at least she acts that way. A littlee. Or something.

I like both of the teachers but... of course I go for the male one. They are interesting and Mr. Gavin is pretty... fitted for a slightly anime styled story. xD

Blah, tell me someone is going to catch a cold or something at some point. ;____;

I'm begging you..!

[knightinggale]

oh goodness mountain paaatttttthhhhh

[Blah!?]

Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long! Also, this part is relatively short, but I plan to make up for it with lots of fun in the next few! I hope you enjoy!

-----

"Get that email sent?" I asked as I returned to the club room at the end of the day. David had headed home, and Charlie, Tracy and I had retrieved our coats from our lockers, as it was starting to get a bit chilly out. Andy insisted on wearing nothing more than his suit, so we left him in the club room to email our chosen faculty adviser.

"Yep," Andy responded, somehow spinning his phone on the end of his finger. "Miss Harper, oh, I'm sorry, Miss Quinn, should get it any second now. I'll check for a response when we get back."

I elbowed him as I waited for the others to gather up anything they needed from the club room. We were just going to walk to a nearby mountainous hiking trail to begin our first official club activity, so we probably wouldn't need much other than our jackets and water bottles. Once we were all ready to go, Charlie and I led the way, if only because nobody else felt like doing it.

Charlie gave her thick, lightly-freckled nose a quick but powerful rub with her index finger, causing it to bend back and forth across her face. I noticed, but I didn't think anything of it until she did it a few more times, each rub more forceful than the last.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, not expecting much of a response.

"Yeah," Charlie replied tersely, giving her big nose yet another rub.

"Itchy nose?" I asked, not realizing I had stated the obvious until Charlie gave me another of her death glares.

"No, I want to see if it comes off," she grunted irritably. "Yes it's itchy. What of it?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, not wanting to antagonize her. Charlie turned her attention away from me, wrinkling her nose with a loud, irritated snort. Behind us, Andy chuckled to himself, and I knew he'd have something to say.

"Here we have a fine specimen of the local Charlene, attempting to simulate a higher level of thinking by imitating a more civilized species known as the pig," Andy announced, narrating his own imaginary wildlife tour. I tried to ignore him, but his comment did make me realize that we hadn't seen a whole lot of actual wildlife so far. I guess it made sense, since it was getting pretty chilly. Also, I expected Charlie to somehow put Andy in his place, but she instead elected to saw her index finger back and forth under her nose again. She usually never missed an opportunity to abuse Andy in some way or another. Another irritable-sounding snort from Charlie convinced me to give her some space, so I fell back to walk next to Andy instead.

"Hey, I don't know if Charlie's feeling so good. You might want to leave her alone," I warned, trying to keep quiet enough for only Andy to hear me. He simply shook his head and waved a hand at me.

"Nah, she doesn't mind. She's a total guy's guy anyway. Isn't that right, Charlie?" Andy called, waving a hand toward the tall girl ahead of us. Charlie was too busy snuffling and rubbing her nose to respond. I gently shoved Andy in reply, and it was then that I noticed he was shivering slightly. Everyone else had dressed for the cold weather, but he only wore his usual suit jacket.

"You're going to freeze to death, frakking idiot," I said, stuffing my hands into my pockets. Andy shrugged, trying to hide how obviously cold he was.

"Hey, don't worry about me. I've got it all under control."

"The hell are you talking about? It's freezing and you still wore that paper-thin jacket," I said, rolling my eyes. Andy insisted on wearing a suit and tie in some fashion every day. I guess I sort of understood it, since dressing classy could be fun, but he took it to a ridiculous extreme.

"How dare you suggest I wear anything else?" Andy responded, trying to sound offended. He folded his arms and looked away from me, prompting me to roll my eyes again.

"Get an overcoat or something, genius. You can keep warm, and still be classy or whatever it is you call this madness."

Andy suddenly froze in place. I came to a stop next to him when I noticed, unable to read his expression. His face showed some strange mix of what looked like surprise, excitement, and constipation, but I couldn't really tell. Suddenly, he held up one finger.

"That's excellent," Andy said, slowly turning his head to face me. I was a little creeped out. Holding up my hands as if to keep him at bay, I slowly started backing away. I never should have opened this can of worms. He'd probably make me go shopping for overcoats with him after this. That would be fun.

Since she was the last one in the group, I figured I'd walk with Tracy next. However, it actually took her a while to catch up with us, and I was surprised to see how far behind she had fallen. I guess it made sense; she was always awful during gym class in middle school. After a few minutes of waiting on the side of the path, Tracy made her way up to me, obviously out of breath. In fact, I think this was probably the first time I'd seen her look so distressed since one of those aforementioned gym classes.

"You okay?" I asked, offering to give her a hand up. Tracy didn't take my hand, but she nodded as she climbed up the rocks toward me. Despite the cold weather, she was panting and a bit sweaty-looking. Her cheeks were rosy, and her usually focused eyes looked slightly distracted.

"We could take a break if you want," I offered, gesturing to a big rock we could sit on. I wasn't sure how I expected Tracy to respond, but I guess I wasn't too surprised when she kept going.

"Warm enough?" I asked, feeling like an idiot when I finally noticed how Tracy was dressed. She wore a big, heavy coat and a pair of fluffy, light-blue earmuffs; I could practically feel the heat coming off of her. Still, Tracy simply nodded, not noting the stupidity of my question.

We walked along in silence for a few minutes, and eventually Charlie and Andy left us behind. The trail still only went one way though, so I knew we weren't lost. Tracy was still panting and moving slowly, so I kept my pace down so she could keep up. I wanted to ask if she was okay again, but I knew she wouldn't tell me the truth anyway.

Eventually, we reached a small clearing on the side of the mountain, finding Charlie and Andy there waiting for us. The clearing was intended to be used as a camp ground; a metal railing had been constructed around the edge, and there were a few used fire pits strewn about. Charlie and Andy were sitting on a pair of large stones around the nearest fire pit. Andy was staring at us with his usual moronic grin, and Charlie was predictably picking her nose again, looking awfully serious about it.

"Now, where have you been?" Andy asked, eyeing us suspiciously. I rolled my eyes at him again and tried to shove him off his stone with my foot. Tracy and I then sat down at the two remaining stones, and I noticed we were sitting in the same arrangement we always had in the club room. Tracy immediately pulled a book from her pocket and began reading, and I think we all just took that as a sign that we'd be taking a break for a while.

"How about you get some firewood?" I asked, noticing that Andy was still shivering.

"Nah," he said quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets. It was starting to get pretty cold, and I'd probably need a good fire soon even though I had actually dressed for the weather.

"You okay, Charlie?" I asked, noticing that the tall blonde was still furiously rubbing her nose. It had turned slightly pink, and I could tell she had been rubbing it for the duration of the walk.

"Yeah," she responded, her voice sounding congested.

"You sure? You sound like you're coming down with something," I said, only realizing I shouldn't press the issue after I spoke.

"No I'm not," Charlie groaned, sounding almost angry.

"Doe I'm dot," Andy repeated, mocking Charlie's stuffy voice. She glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice or care.

"Really, it's okay," I said, leaning toward her slightly. "You can tell us if you're not feeling well."

"Fine," Charlie grunted, rubbing her finger under her nose with a sigh. She couldn't help but take in another loud snort before explaining.

"I have hayfever," she said, sounding downright ashamed. "That's all. Okay?"

"You didn't want to admit to having hayfever?" I asked, probably sounding ruder than I meant to. Charlie shrugged.

"I just didn't want anyone to worry about it. Is that so much to ask?" Charlie said, clearly trying to make excuses. As she spoke, she hadn't noticed Andy creeping up behind her, and she jumped a little when he knelt down next to her and draped an arm around her shoulder.

"Aw, poor widdle Charlie," he said, shaking her slightly. Normally, Charlie would have already destroyed him in a situation like this, but today she was too distracted by her itchy, stuffy nose to care.

"I hope it's not too bad," Andy cooed, reaching a hand around to Charlie's face. Not realizing, or more likely not caring that he was dealing with a ticking time bomb, he began to gently tickle the gap between Charlie's nostrils. At first, Charlie simply wiggled her thick nose, trying to get it away from Andy's finger, but after a few seconds of tickling, her whole face began to scrunch up.

"Hhhh... Hhhhh! HHHHH!"

Charlie took in a series of deep breaths, her nose wrinkling up tighter with each one until it couldn't compress any further. Andy took no note of his impending doom until it was already too late, and at that point, he could only watch in horror.

"HHH-KKNX!"

With an ugly snort of a sneeze, Charlie's nose cleared itself of the congestion that had been plaguing it all afternoon. Andy didn't have nearly enough time to move out of the way, so naturally he wound up getting his hand covered with the stuff. He staggered back, cradling his wrist as if his hand had just been severed. Charlie smiled to herself, probably equally happy about driving Andy off and being able to breathe through her nose again.

"Whoa, thanks," Charlie said with a deep, wet sniff. "That feels really good, actually."

Andy screamed. Charlie slowly, carefully slid her index finger across the underside of her nose and began to laugh to herself. Andy screamed again, and then he ran off into the woods, holding his hand over his head like it was on fire.

"Bring back some firewood!" I shouted after him. It was starting to get pretty cold, and I thought we'd all need it.

-----

And there you go!

Naturally, the only logical way to go from here is to have someone catch a cold. But who? That's up to you guys!

In the next installment, who should be the first one to catch a cold?

• Toby
  
• Andy
  
• Tracy
  
• Charlie
  

Be sure to comment and vote! And hopefully next time I'll have a longer chapter, and I should be able to get it out sooner.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

I love the jumping around and screaming Andy is doing. xD And Charlie's response to him being a pain.

Vote goes to.... Tracy, because she's cute. xD (Second choice being Toby, because I like descriptions from I-perspective )

[Sitruuna]

ANDY ANDY ANDY

...or Toby. Either one would be great, but somehow the idea of... just about anyone getting an opportunity to be nasty about it to Andy makes him the one I vote for now.

[VividBubbles!]

Ooooh, this is so cute! LOL, Charlie.

I think that my vote'll go to Andy. After all, he's not dressed for the weather at all. And he was just sneezed on, so more hilarious bickering with Charlie if he does catch it.

Update soon!

BYE!

P.S. However, if I could say, I love Emily's idea. Like, a lot. So... yeah.

BYE! Again.

Edited December 2, 2012 by VividBubbles!

[Healer]

Tracy

Since I haven't yet, I should also say that this is really quite a good story, and a great idea (getting the forum to vote on the direction the story takes). So, thanks for writing this!

[a red nine]

Okay, this chapter was really hilarious. Like, everyone had their own moment of humor, and poor Toby was stuck in the middle of it all as usual, the parent with three kids. Charlie is sick, Tracy is a lazy slowpoke, and Andy is driving everyone bananas. I mean just this:

Andy screamed.

I'm not sure why but this little part just delights me. Like he way over-exaggerates and idk... just enjoyable. Andy never gets any recognition for anything, but he totally deserves it, so it's okay. But hey guess what, my vote has to go to him. Big shocker there! But my second vote goes to Tracy, cuz she's also pretty cute. And Charlie shouldn't have to deal with hay fever and a cold. Though that spice scene was pretty adorbs. But yeah, she shouldn't have to deal with both an illness and allergies. I feel like we're trying to predict who's going to die last. Only Toby remains...

Wow my brain can't stay focused. Anyway I really liked everyone in this chapter, and I can't wait to see how it gets resolved!

[Pearlised]

ANDY

There'll be hell to pay if it's not Andy, Blah, just watch yourself.

And excellent chapter, love it

[knightinggale]

Oh andy is my absolute favourite what a babe

I would love it if he was first but as long as he gets hit with it hard eventually i'm good uvu

[Emily]

LOOOOL That whole bit with the impending doom and snot and screaming was hilarious xD It's really great to be able to read something like this when we've got all these plot-thick kind of depressing stories around the forum and plus I think we all love that you do both male and female. Also your sense of humor

I would like Toby to get it first (and then proceed to hide it from everyone while simultaneously passing it along ).

[Akahana]

Andy definitely he's ASKING for it XD He's probably my favorite character so far!! This story is so fun, I love that you let us interact with the writing of the story, it's AWESOME!!!

[Blah!?]

Hey again, everyone!

Back a bit sooner this time with the next update. I feel like this chapter is a little short still, but it's longer than the last one and it has plenty of sneezing by comparison. There's not much else to say at this point, so here we go!

---

Charlie, Tracy and I sat around the fire pit for maybe five minutes, waiting for Andy to return from the woods. We knew he'd be back eventually, so none of us bothered to go looking for him. In the meantime, Tracy had finally stopped panting and was free to enjoy her book in peace, but Charlie's hayfever had started to act up again, and I didn't have anything to occupy myself with at all, for better or for worse.

After a particularly distressed-sounding snort from Charlie, Tracy reached into her coat pocket and removed a small pack of tissues. She extended them to the taller girl, who was too busy rubbing her itching nose to notice until after a few seconds had passed. Charlie eyed them for a moment, but eventually she refused, gently waving a hand at Tracy.

"No thanks, I'm okay," Charlie said, trying to sound polite and healthy through her obviously stuffy voice.

"Maybe you should just blow your nose," I suggested, leaning back on the rock I was sitting on. Charlie shrugged at me, and I was relieved she didn't seem angry. "You never know. It might feel really good."

"I'd rather not," Charlie responded, firmly rubbing her finger back and forth under her nostrils. She snuffled and shrugged again, clearly feeling too subdued by her stuffy nose to make an issue out of anything.

"What, do you not know how or something like that?" I asked sarcastically, taking advantage of what might be my only chance to ever poke fun at her. Surprisingly, Charlie scowled and turned away from me, folding her arms and staring down at her left foot. I could tell she was feeling embarrassed now, as hard as she was trying not to show it so I decided not to push it any harder.

"YASHOO!"

All three of us lazily looked up from what we were doing to see Andy standing behind me, one hand over his face. He groaned and walked back to the stone he was sitting on, shivering even more obviously than he had been before.

"Did you bring any firewood?" Charlie asked, pretending not to care about his wellbeing. Andy silently tossed a handful of twigs into the fire pit. They pathetically clattered to the ground, obviously not enough to build any sort of fire with.

"Good job, thanks," the tall blonde continued, gently scratching her septum.

"Alright, we need some real firewood," I said, standing up from my stone. "Who's with me?"

Andy raised his hand, but I quickly shook my head at him.

"After that pitiful effort?" I said, gesturing to the mostly empty fire pit. "I don't think so. How about you, Charlie?"

Charlie shook her head and then tried to act weak. I didn't fall for it, and I don't think anyone with a pair of eyes and a brain stem would have either.

"I'd love to, but my hayfever's really acting up," she complained, sawing her index finger back and forth under her nose and forcing her voice to sound stuffier than it really was.

"Oh come on," Andy interjected, folding his arms. "You're just being lazy."

"You're lazy," Charlie quipped, finishing her nose-rubbing by ungracefully picking her left nostril.

"Your face is lazy," Andy retorted.

"Your mom is lazy."

"Your mom's face is lazy."

"Children! Please! Do I have to give you a time out?" I interrupted, putting a stop to their bickering. Suddenly united against me, the two of them pointed to our fourth member.

"Why don't you take Tracy?" they suggested simultaneously. I looked over at the bookworm to find her staring up at me from the stone she was sitting on, and I felt awkward when I realized she had probably been looking at me since I asked for a volunteer. She had even put her book away, indicating that she had accepted the challenge.

"Want to come get some firewood?" I asked. Tracy nodded up at me and then stood. I shrugged at the other two, and then I headed off into the trees, the quiet bookworm in tow.

"YASHOO!"

I heard Andy sneeze again after we had been walking for a few minutes. It echoed, and I had to laugh at how dramatic it was. Turning back to Tracy, I caught her smiling at the sound too, just for a second or so. Subtly shrugging to myself, I looked back at the ground, dismayed to see that there still weren't any decently large sticks or logs around.

"Looks like we might need to break some branches off these fallen trees," I said, gesturing to a tree trunk lying across our path. Tracy nodded and stepped forward, placing her hands on a branch. She tugged on it, but nothing happened. Even after pulling harder, the branch didn't budge. Finally, Tracy pulled back as hard as she could, putting her weight against the branch. Suddenly, the branch slipped through her gloved fingers and she flew backwards. Letting out a split-second yelp, Tracy landed in a pile of dusty leaves, scattering them into the air around her.

"Hih! Hih-Hih-Hih!" Tracy's breath hitched as the dust and leaves began to settle around her. I offered a hand to help her stand up, but she had to sneeze first.

"Hih-CHH!"

A gentle sneeze lifted Tracy's head off the ground for a second, and after she recovered, she grabbed my hand and I pulled her back to her feet. Her glasses had slipped down the long bridge of her nose, and she reached to push them back up. However, before she could, a second sneeze washed over her.

"Hih! Hih-CH!"

The bookworm let out another soft sneeze onto her gloved fingers. She briefly rubbed her nose back and forth and then pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Tracy headed back to the branch she had been trying to break, but I stopped her before she could grab it again.

"Uh, how about I break the branches?" I offered, grabbing the offending piece of wood. "I'll give them to you to hold." Tracy nodded, and I pulled against the branch. It broke off surprisingly easily, and I quickly handed it to Tracy to start our stockpile.

After maybe twenty minutes of collecting wood, I figured we had enough for a fire. Tracy and I headed back to the campground, our arms full of severed branches. As we stepped back through the edge of the trees, we found Andy and Charlie sitting around the fire pit, both of their heads tipped back slightly.

"YASHOO!"

"KKNNX!"

The two of them sneezed simultaneously, their heads snapping forward. Both of them looked absolutely miserable. A thin string of snot hung from Charlie's right nostril, and Andy was still shivering, and now he looked much paler than usual. Charlie slurped the snot back into her nose with a trio of irritated snuffles, and then she furiously rubbed her finger back and forth under her itchy nose.

"Bless you," I said, dropping my armful of branches next to the fire pit. Tracy did the same, placing her gathered wood next to my own.

"Thanks," Andy and Charlie said in unison, both sounding equally congested. I began to arrange the branches we collected into a suitable shape for a fire.

"How's your hayfever, Charlie?" I asked, putting the last log in place.

"Never better," she answered sarcastically, folding her arms and wrinkling her thick nose.

"And what the frak's wrong with you?" I inquired, turning to face Andy. He shrugged, wrapping his arms around himself and shivering.

"Couldn't tell you," he said, clearing his throat. Charlie shoved him lightly, and he wobbled to one side.

"What do you think happened to him?" she said, shrugging her shoulders. "It's freezing and he's naked compared to the rest of us." The tall blonde gave Andy a furtive, concerned glance that I only barely noticed, then returned to rubbing her stuffy nose.

"Clearly I got whatever this is from you," Andy accused, shooting Charlie a wry glance. She glared at him for a second before being distracted by a brief case of the sniffles.

"I have hayfever, not a cold, you dunce," responded, sounding horribly congested. I would have tried suggesting she blow her nose again, but I knew she wouldn't do it anyway. "And I am properly dressed for the weather."

"But I am significantly more... More... YASHOO! More fashionable," Andy responded, still bobbing subtly from side to side. I waved a hand at him dismissively and then turned my attention back to the fire.

"Anyone got a light? I suck at lighting fires by hand," I confessed. I guess I assumed Charlie would have a lighter, but I didn't want her to know I'd assumed that. As I suspected, she offered one to me. I accepted the large, metal zippo lighter from her and flicked it open.

"What, do you smoke or something?" I asked without really meaning to say it out loud. Charlie glared at me; I could feel it even though I wasn't looking back at her.

"Do I look like some kind of delinquent to you?"

I shut up and lit the damn fire.

---

And there you have it! I'm thinking there'll be one more chapter based on the club's failure of a hiking trip, and I'll try to make it suitably sized for a grand finale. As such, here's our final vote for the hiking trip:

Who should become the caretaker of the group?

• Toby
  
• Tracy
  
• Charlie
  

Meaning, everyone else will get sick, leaving whoever wins the vote to care for them until they get back to the school. Since these characters are all very different, I expect the next chapter to go in wildly different directions depending on who's chosen this time.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

[Animeeze]

You are doing a great job on these stories, Blah, keep up the awesome work!

[Curiosity234]

Tracy! Because... she's probably read books that had nurses?