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

[Blah!?]

Hey guys, it's that time again. I suppose this chapter took a little longer than I would have liked, but there were a couple of odd things about it I had to work out along the way. Ultimately I decided to go with the change in perspective, but it leads directly into the Club Wars arc, so everyone gets what they want.

Essentially, this chapter cycles through the point of view of each of the 4 main club members so we get to see a their thoughts and mannerisms a bit more. Then, after this, it's time to descend into chaos for Club Wars. Things will never be the same.

-----

~Andy~

Toby and I walked out of our last class before lunch together, and we started to head for the cafeteria. However, after just a few steps, he started to lag behind. I looked back to see he was still walking, but slowly and more pensively. Heh. Penisvely.

"Hey, chum. Why so glum?" I said, spinning around and heading back toward him. He shrugged, staring off into space. That meant he was thinking, and in my experience, thinking leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to... Suffering.

"I don't know," Toby said with a sigh, picking up his normal pace again. "I think Tracy's mad at me."

"How can you even tell?" I asked. As far as I was aware, Tracy only had one emotional state: Tracy. She was never angry or happy or sad or excited. She simply was.

"She's not really talking to me, you know?"

"Dude," I said, smacking a hand on Toby's back. "Tracy doesn't talk to anyone. What makes you so special?"

"You know what I mean. Usually when I say something to her, she'll at least go like..." Toby mimed putting a book down and then nodded silently. He was scarily good at it.

"Chicks, dude," I said, gesturing off into the distance. It's philosophical or some shit. "But hey, Club Wars are right around the corner. Don't go getting all depressed. What's the first rule of Club Wars?"

"Don't talk about Club Wars," Toby droned. Clearly he had something better to think about, but he was still with me.

"Okay, what's the second rule?"

"Don't talk about Club Wars."

"Third?"

"If someone comes in last, their contest is over."

"Fourth?"

"Five guys max per team."

"Fifth?"

"Only one contest at a time."

"Sixth?"

"It used to be no shirts, no shoes, but they stopped enforcing it."

"Yeah, damn shame. Seventh?"

"Contests go on as long as they have to."

"And eighth?"

"If this is your first year in Club Wars, you must do battle."

"Exactly! And if there was a ninth rule, it would be 'don't go getting all depressed before Club Wars.' Now go drink a Redbull or something."

"Andy, you would literally make the worst therapist in the history of mankind," Toby said, looking up at me with half a smirk. I nodded in thanks.

"No, I'm not kidding. Like worse than a drill sergeant."

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you, man. You need me."

"Right. I mean, you're shamelessly hitting on girls all the time. How do you talk to them when they don't want to talk to you?" Toby asked, staring off into space again. He was taking this thing with Tracy very seriously, so I decided to give him the best real advice I could.

"Toby, I harass everybody non-stop whether they like or not because that's just what I do," I explained, putting an arm around his shoulder. Shit was about to get philosophical again. "You have to figure out the thing that's just what you do. Sure, it may alienate some people, but that's how you know who your real friends are. They're the ones who stick with you through all your weird shit."

Toby gave me a surprised stare. I took my arm off of him and started to march onward, eager to get some lunch before the Club Wars announcements later on in the day. Looking back at Toby, I saw he had stopped in his tracks again.

"That's... That's the most poetic thing I've ever heard you say," he said, a look of disbelief on his face. I shrugged.

"What do you want from me? I can't be a jackass all the time. Just don't talk to Tracy! If she of all people is mad, it must be that time of the month!"

Toby's impressed look vanished immediately. He waved a hand at me and grunted in irritation. I shrugged and he started walking the other way.

Well. That struck a nerve.

~Charlie~

With a belly full of whatever I could stuff into my mouth from the cafeteria, I made my way to the gym. It was time for the Club Wars announcements, and I was a little curious to see how things would turn out. I wouldn't quite say I was excited, but I'd never been in a high school club before, so I didn't really know how this kind of thing worked. As I stepped into the gym, I realized I probably shouldn't have spent quite so much time eating.

The gym was completely packed, and people were still filing in to take their seats. Attendance was only mandatory for clubs entered in the contests, but anyone else could come to watch any part. The contests always ended up being little school-wide catastrophes, so bystanders usually got involved anyway, whether they wanted to or not. I had wanted to sit with the rest of the Adventure Club, but I don't think I'd ever be able to find them in this mess. I took the first seat I could find, surrounded by a bunch of people I'd never even seen before. The seat to my left, the last one in the row, was empty, and given my reputation, it would probably stay that way.

"Hi!"

I looked down to my left to see a little girl climbing into the seat next to me. She was tiny, and clearly much younger than anyone else cramming themselves into this assembly. Once she caught my eye, she just kept staring at me, so I figured I'd have to respond.

"Uh, hi," I replied, looking away again. Despite my best efforts, she kept staring at me.

"What's your name?" she asked, tugging on her little skirt. No harm in telling her, I suppose.

"Uh... My name's Charlie."

"Okay! Hi Charlie! I'm Florence. You can call me Flo," the girl said, sounding more excited by the second. Hopefully the announcements would start soon and she'd quiet down. A minute or so passed, and even though she hadn't said anything, I could tell Flo was still staring at me. I refused to make eye contact. Looking at her again would only keep her attention. Some teachers made their way toward the podium at the head of the gym, but even once they got there, nothing changed. I could hear them talking into the microphone, but all the students were just as loud as ever. Losing my concentration, I looked over at Flo again.

"Are you a boy?" she asked the instant our eyes met. I think I visibly flinched. Nobody had ever actually asked me that before.

"No. I'm, uh... I'm a girl." I don't know why I sounded so unsure of myself. Flo was making me uncomfortable, but I wasn't sure what I could actually do about it. Looking over at her again, I finally noticed something else about her that would drive me crazy. She had a flower in her hair, tucked behind her left ear. It was pretty big, so I wasn't sure how I'd missed it until now, but as soon as I caught sight of it, I could feel my nose starting to itch.

"Oh," Flo said, looking confused. "But Charlie's a boy name."

"It's short for Charlene," I grunted, wrinkling my nose. I sniffed deeply, trying to clear up the itching, but that only made it worse. I reached my index finger up to my face and firmly rubbed it under my nostrils. It didn't help much, but it was better than nothing. I knew what would really help, but I didn't want to do it in a place like this. Not with this many people around. I tried to just deal with the irritation for as long as I could, but eventually I felt a sneeze coming on.

"Huhh..."

My eyes narrowed, but I could tell Flo was still staring at me. I ignored her, trying to focus on holding in my sneeze, but I was never any good at that.

"Huhhh... HUA-KNNXX!!!"

Not wanting to get stuff on the person sitting in front of me, I cupped my hands over my nose. Luckily, it was a dry sneeze anyway, so all was well. Unfortunately, the sneeze hadn't done anything to get rid of the itch in my nose. I knew what I had to do. I turned away from Flo, hoping she wouldn't notice, and then I carefully reached my index finger up to my nose again. No longer caring what the people sitting around me would think, I slipped the tip of my finger into my right nostril. But, before I could make any progress, I heard Flo's voice again.

"Ew! Are you picking your nose?" she squealed. I immediately stopped, feeling humiliated.

"No!" I stammered, sitting on my hands.

"It looked like you were."

"I wasn't!"

"Are you sure?"

"Fine! Fine! I was!"

"Why?"

"Uh, because my nose itches."

"Why?"

"Because I have hayfever."

"What's that?"

"Flowers make me sneeze."

"Oh, you mean like my flower?"

That was enough. I knew I couldn't yell at her in the middle of the gym, but I couldn't take it anymore. Clenching my fists for a second, I turned to Flo and gave her my death glare. It usually worked on Toby, so maybe it would work on her too.

"Oh my god!" I shouted as quietly as I could. "You're like 5 years old! Shouldn't you be in some kindergarten class right now?"

"Yeah, I guess," Flo said, playing with her flower. "But this is more fun!"

The rest of the Club Wars announcements passed in agony. I realize now that I never heard a single thing anyone was saying. Except Flo. She kept asking me question after question, even though I never answered any of them. Plus, I must have sneezed a dozen times because of that stupid flower of hers. Once the announcements ended, I just had to get out of there. I bolted out of my seat and stepped over Flo. Before she could even say goodbye, I was out the door.

"Hey, Charlie!" I heard Toby call out. He ran up to me from behind, slowing to a walk next to me. I quickened my pace a little.

"I think Tracy's mad at me," he said, clearly fishing for advice. I didn't want to talk, so I told him something that would get him to leave me alone, but it might end up helping him too. That's his problem.

"She's mad at you because you pussed out in the basement!"

~Tracy~

Time: 3:15PM

Location: Bench outside gymnasium.

Current state: Frustrated.

Causes: Toby. Tickly nose.

Solution: Ignore Toby. Rub nose.

Toby.input: "Hey Tracy. How are you doing?"

Response: None.

Toby.action: Sit on bench.

Toby.input: "Look, I know you're mad at me. Can we talk?"

Response: Look away.

Toby.input: "Hey, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run away. I was just really freaked out, you know? I never should have left you guys behind."

Anomaly: Mutual feeling.

Solution: Leave bench.

Toby.input: "Tracy, wait! Can we just talk?"

Warning: Toby in pursuit. Increase speed.

Interrupt: Sneeze. Error: Movement halted.

Toby.input: "Bless you."

Response: None.

Warning: Toby repositioning to front. Re-evaluate current state.

Current state: ...Processing... Error: Unable to calculate current state.

Workaround: Pout.

Toby.input: "Look, I know you don't like to say a lot, so maybe I shouldn't say much either. How about this?"

Toby.action: Hug.

Response: ...Processing... Error: Unable to calculate proper response.

Possible Workarounds: Play dead, Dance, Reciprocate hug. Calculating probability of success.

Toby.input: "This is really hard to say, but I just need to say it. You guys are so important to me. The most important things in the world. I was just so scared that I couldn't stop myself. But then, I was even more scared that I'd never see you again. I'm just glad it's over, and now that I've been through it, I know I'm never going to run away again."

...Parsing input...

Toby.input: "Wow, I'm really not good at this confession thing, am I?"

Interrupt: Sneeze.

Toby.input: "Bless you."

Response: Reciprocate hug.

~Toby~

After a prolonged hug, Tracy and I made our way to the club room. Both of us unfortunately had class during the Club Wars announcements, so neither of us knew what was really going on. Hopefully someone else would be able to fill us in. When we got to the club room, it was surprisingly full. Charlie was slouched in her chair, looking exhausted, and David was pacing around at the back of the room. Even Miss Quinn was there, wearing an oddly proud and enthusiastic look on her face. Andy was the only one absent, not that I was surprised.

"Hey guys," I said, heading for my chair. "Where's Andy?"

"YASHOO!"

Hearing him sneeze loudly out in the hall, I rolled my eyes. No one felt the need to comment on the matter. The idiot sailed into the room, and in one swift motion he picked up his chair, turned it around, planted it back on the floor and sat in it, leaning against the back rest.

"So," Miss Quinn began, punching her right fist into her left palm. I had no idea what had her so fired up, but I wasn't about to complain. "I know a few of you missed the announcements, so I'm going to go over things again. The festivities are going to be a little different this year from what they've been in the past. In addition to the seven main competitions, there are going to be three background games that run continuously. You can participate in those whenever you have a free club member for bonus points."

"Sounds good," I said. "What are they?"

"Gardening, swimming and card games," Miss Quinn explained. Serious business.

"Gardening?" Charlie inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"They're pretty simple. Maintain a garden, swim laps, and/or win card games for bonus points. You don't have to do any of those, but they can help you get an edge or close a gap."

"How does the other stuff work? There are more than ten clubs in the school. How come there's only this many competitions?" Andy asked, resting his chin on his folded arms.

"The school doesn't want this going on for an eternity like last year. Plus, only these ten clubs signed up. Also, in order to streamline things a little, when a club comes in last place, they're eliminated from the running. They keep whatever points they've earned already, but they can't enter any of the remaining rounds. So keep your heads above the water and you'll make it to the end."

"Excellent," I said, clasping my hands together. "Who's up first?"

Miss Quinn smirked. I still couldn't quite tell what she was so excited for, but maybe this was it.

"Funny you should ask. You are."

-----

So that's that. The Adventure Club is going to be hosting the first major contest, and since the rest of Club Wars is going to be at least a little bit structured, I thought I'd leave their contest up to you guys!

What should the Adventure Club's contest be?

• A Scavenger Hunt: Items are hidden around campus. First team to find them all gets the most points, last team to find them gets eliminated.
  
• A "King Of The Hill" Race: The members of each club start in different random locations, and they all have to race to the campsite where the Adventure Club had its little hiking mishap. First team to get all their members to the campsite wins, last team gets eliminated.
  
• Any suggestions or requests would be more than welcome. I'm not particularly committed to any individual idea yet, so anything you guys want is fine with me.
  

Also, I suppose I'll explain the rules of Club Wars in a little more depth. Andy and Miss Quinn already went over some of them, but I'll lay them out and make them easier to understand, just so everyone knows how they work.

• There are 10 clubs enrolled in Club Wars. 7 are hosting major contests, and the other 3 are hosting minor, continuous contests.
  
• The 3 minor contests are always going on in the background. Whenever a club member isn't participating in a major contest, they can do one or any of the minor ones for extra points. They're not worth a lot, but they can add up over time.
  
• The 7 major contests work like a round-robin "death race" tournament. All 10 clubs participate in the first major contest, but the club that comes in last is eliminated. They keep whatever points they already earned, but they can't enter any of the future rounds.
  
• Most clubs have more than 5 members, but to keep things fair to the smaller clubs, participating teams can only consist of up to 5 members, depending on the contest. This means that some contests may require fewer than 5 per team, so some people will be sitting out.
  
• Coming in first in a contest does award the most points, but it's not a guaranteed victory. A given club could win the entire competition if the come in second every time without ever coming in first as long a no other team earns as many total points as they do.
  
• The prize for winning hasn't been revealed, but it's always something noteworthy. It usually gets to the point that some clubs are willing to do whatever it takes to win.
  
• I may have lost sight of this at times along the way, but this series was originally inspired by high school anime and silly things like that. These contests are going to get positively insane. Also Community. Recall the paintball episodes.
  
• May the odds be ever in your favor.
  

[TheCakeIsAlive]

King of the Hill Cool update. ^^

I love Tracy's POV. xD

[VividBubbles!]

Oh my gosh, Tracy's POV was hilarious! I literally laughed out loud. And "may the odds be ever in your favor". Hehe. I love references.

Oh, and I pick King of the Hill. Update soon!

BYE!

[Pilgrim]

*in the Halo announcer voice*

Team King of the Hill. Start!

[bloom]

See, I told you people would like Tracy's POV. xD

King of the Hill sounds like fun!

[Blah!?]

It's that time again, folks. As of now, Club Wars has begun!

I think this is my longest, craziest chapter yet, and it's only going to get crazier. Buckle up.

-----

The Adventure Club and I stood backed into the corner of what used to be our own private space. Attempting to cram 45 members from other clubs into our room wasn't working so well. I'm not sure who thought this was a good idea. I was tempted to guess it was Andy, but he wouldn't want this many people rubbing off on his suit jacket. Eventually, I got fed up with how packed the room was getting, and I threw up a hand.

"Okay, this isn't working! Everyone outside!" I shouted, hoping people would listen. However, the room was so loud with every little group's conversations that I was simply drowned out. I sighed, placing my face in my palms, and then Charlie stepped forward.

"Everbody MOVE!" she bellowed, gesturing toward the door. The room fell silent for a second, and miraculously all the gathered clubs began to filter outside. I turned to thank her, but she was already on her own way out before I could say a word.

A few minutes later, the ten competing clubs reconvened in the courtyard outside. As per Club Wars rules, only five members from each club showed up. For us, five was the whole gang. Not having any extra people to fall back on could make things difficult, but I was confident we would manage. Once everyone settle down, Miss Quinn stepped forward to explain how things would work.

"Alright everyone, welcome to the first major contest of this year's Club Wars competition. To start us off, we have what we're calling a King of the Hill Race, hosted by The Adventure Club," Miss Quinn announced, pacing around in a circle. A few onlookers snickered at the name of the event, and in their defense it did sound a little childish. Miss Quinn pointed to the horizon off to the left and nodded.

"See that mountain over there? There's a campsite a little past halfway up. The aim of the game is to get all of your team members there before any other club. It doesn't matter when your first member gets there, only your last. I'll be waiting in the campsite to keep track of who gets there in what order. If you don't see me, you're in the wrong place. And, as is the custom for this year, last full team to arrive is eliminated from all future competitions."

A few people gasped in shock. Actually, no. That's a lie. Nobody made a sound, but I'm sure people would have gasped in shock if anyone actually cared at this point. Our contest was simply uninteresting to them. This was our first year in Club Wars, so we had no idea just how wild these contests could get. After Miss Quinn's explanation ended, the surrounding clubs descended back into chaos and I approached her for a word.

"Thanks," I said, nodding my head. She smiled and nodded back. Being the de facto leader of our club, I was originally going to make the announcement myself. But Miss Quinn just seemed so excited about this whole affair that I decided to let her do it.

"Won't that be bad for your allergies, though?" I asked, nodding toward the mountain. Miss Quinn pondered this for a moment and then shrugged.

"It probably won't do me any favors, but my doctor told me I should expose myself a little," she said with a smile. Miss Quinn closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nostrils, savoring it for a few seconds before she started to cough. She whipped a handkerchief out of her pocket and pressed it to the underside of her nose. Waving a hand at me as a signal to get going, Miss Quinn blew her nose forcefully, causing her glasses to slip. Knowing she'd be okay, I couldn't help but smile. Miss Quinn was funny, and I was glad we had her as our advisor.

---

Half an hour later, everyone had gotten into their starting positions. Or at least, I thought they had. How am I supposed to know? I can't see what all the other groups are doing. Anyway, to make things more interesting, we all gathered in groups of four around the base of the mountain, no more than one person per club to a group. The school didn't want anyone going anywhere on their own, and they figured this would be a good way for us to bond with people we might otherwise never have met.

"Hey, I'm Toby," I said, waving to the three others standing with me. I didn't expect the seasoned veterans of Club Wars would want to play nice with the likes of me, but they were surprisingly cordial.

"You're from the Adventure Club, right?" one of the other club members asked. She took a step toward me and extended her hand. "I'm Isabel. Swimming club." I shook her hand, surprised at how exceptionally warm it was. I let go as quickly as I could without seeming rude. Sensing my reaction, Isabel gave me a wink and backed up a step.

"My name's Faye, from the Cosplay club," the other girl said, extending her hand as well. Where Isabel was deeply tanned, Faye was almost eerily pale, and her handshake was fittingly cold. No less friendly though.

"What's cosplay?" I asked. I feel like I'd heard Andy mention the term sometime before, but I didn't really know what it was. Faye explained to the best of her ability, and eventually I just defined it as "Halloween every day."

Finally, the final member of our four-person group stepped up. He ran a hand through his hair and then extended it to me to shake.

"I'm Dillinger, I rob banks," he proclaimed, giving what I could only assume was his last name. I shook his hand with a positively broken smile on my face, terrified that I was going to be stuck with Andy 2.0. After a second, he chuckled and shook his head. "I'm just messing with you. I'm head of the Gaming club." A little arrogant of him to proclaim himself head, but I suppose I just did the same thing not long ago. Before anyone else could bring anything new to the table, the alarm on my watch started to beep. Time to get going.

"Hey, I have an idea," Isabel said, holding up a hand. "How about we just forget the race and walk up together. We can just have a nice hike without having to worry about who gets there first."

"Spoken like someone slow to climb," Dillinger said, giving Isabel a wry smile. One look at Isabel's long, athletic legs made it obvious this wasn't the case. Besides, she was in the swimming club for crying out loud. She would at least have stamina.

"No, that sounds like a good idea," I said, nodding in approval. "Besides, I already know the way up. I'll show you guys if you promise not to go running off." It only took a few seconds for everyone to agree, and we set off.

"Heh... Het'CHMMF!"

I shivered, remembering how cold it was last time we were here. Hopefully that one sneeze was just a fluke. I was a few yards ahead of everyone else, so chances were none of them even heard me. Climbing over a large rock, I decided to wait for everyone else to catch up. One by one, Isabel, Dillinger and Faye pulled themselves up after me and we rested for a second.

"Damn it's cold," Dillinger groaned, wrapping his arms around himself. I nodded, noticing Isabel's eyes flutter. She cupped her hands over her nose and then bent forward sharply.

"Hih-CHHW!"

The three of us blessed her, and then with renewed strength we got underway again. Despite Isabel's suggestion that we get friendly with each other, nobody said much of anything. Furthermore, this was taking a bit longer than I imagined it would. I suppose that could be explained by the fact that we didn't start from the same place the Adventure Club and I did when we came here before, and since this was a race after all, it felt a little stressful moving so slowly.

After a few more minutes ticked away, Faye removed a deck of cards from her pocket and began to shuffle them. At first I didn't pay much attention, but eventually I looked over and saw they weren't normal playing cards, but rather they were from a collectible card game. She was shuffling them too quickly for me to make out which one. Then, after shooting the cards around a bit more, she jogged up to me and held the deck in my direction, fanning the cards out in an arc.

"Here, pick a card," she said with a smile. I'd never seen a card trick with collectible cards before, so I figured I'd indulge her. However, before I could, an unfamiliar voice called out to us.

"Hey! What kind of cards are those?"

I looked over Faye's shoulder to see a short-looking guy waving at us. He was wearing a purple baseball cap with pointy, red eyes above the brim, and I realized I recognized him from the club gathering. I didn't know which one he was from, but he was part of the contest. I had to stay on my toes.

"They're MTG. Why do you ask?" Faye replied, shooting the cards from one hand to the other. Purple-hat guy's face lit up and he sprinted forward. He reached into his pocket and drew out a plastic deck case, holding it up proudly.

"Want to play a game?"

Right now!? I mean, if they wanted to lag behind and potentially lose the entire thing for a game of MTG, more power to them. I somehow doubted Faye would go for it, but-

"Sure!"

What.

"Oh, great! My name's Joey by the way. From the CCG club," the guy with the hat responded, eagerly shaking Faye's hand. I think even Faye realized it would have made more sense to just wait until we got to the campsite, but she simply waved us off and told us she'd catch up. That didn't make much sense to me, but it was still nice to see some people weren't getting too caught up in the competition. Not wanting to linger any more than we already had, Dillinger, Isabel and I continued on.

Five minutes later, we left the card game far behind us. I was surprised we hadn't seen anyone from any other groups yet, but as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I saw someone on the path up ahead of us. It was a tall, savvy-looking girl wearing rough pants, a rugged jacket and sturdy hiking boots. Her short, boyish hair was almost completely hidden under a large bucket hat. She held a walking stick in her right hand, and she was waving her left hand back and forth in front of her face. As we approached, I noticed she sounded like she was laughing.

"What's funny?" Dillinger asked unceremoniously. The hiker girl shook her head, still waving her hand in front of her face.

"N-not laughing... Hah-Hah-Hahh... Hayfever... Hah-Hah-Hah-HAACHHHOOOO!!!"

After she sneezed, the hiker girl tried to get moving again, but she could barely take two steps before being overwhelmed again. Dillinger kept going, but Isabel and I hung around for a second just to make sure she wasn't going to keel over or anything.

"You okay?" Isabel asked, raising an eyebrow. The hiker girl nodded weakly before sneezing again.

"I didn't... Hah-Hah-Hahhh... Didn't know we'd be hiking, so I didn't bring my... Hah-Hah-Hah... My medication... Hah-Hah-Hahh-HACHHOOOO!"

Figuring there wasn't any more we could do, Isabel and I left the hiker girl behind. We quickly caught up with Dillinger, but now that we were on a path, I don't think he had any intention of waiting for us anyway. I didn't want to cause any trouble, so I kept to myself.

"Remember the deal?" Isabel said with a suspicious glance at Dillinger. He shrugged and kept going.

"Whatever you say, hot stuff," he grumbled, keeping up his pace. Isabel didn't react to his comment, which I thought was odd, but I wasn't about to tell her what to be bothered by.

The three of us continued on in silence, and after just a few more minutes, we arrived at the campsite. We weren't the first ones to arrive, but we were far from the last. Miraculously, Charlie and David were already there. David was conversing with some other students I didn't recognize, and Charlie was sitting with Miss Quinn near the fire pit, presumably to share her tissues.

"Hey," I said, sitting on one of the available rocks around the fire pit. "How'd you guys get here so fast?" Charlie tapped her motorcycle helmet with one hand, grabbing a tissue to wipe her nose with the other.

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah," Charlie replied, pressing her wide nose up with the tissue. "There's an access road that comes within a hundred feet of here. I don't know how we didn't find it last time we were here, but it's there. And nobody ever said we had to walk here."

"She's right," Miss Quinn said, her voice more congested than ever. "Embrace technicality." She blew her nose and threw away her tissue, adding to the small mountain of them she had already amassed.

As the minutes passed, more and more people began to arrive. Some of them stuck together like I had with Isabel and Dillinger, but many more showed up on their own. The only constant was that all the students with allergies corralled around Miss Quinn to nab some of her tissues. Surprisingly enough, Tracy wasn't even the last one to arrive. She practically fell into the campsite, out of breath. Clearly she had been pushing herself as hard as she could, so I dragged her over to the fire pit so she could sit more comfortably.

"That's four," I said, craning my neck to look around. "Where the frak is Andy?" By this point, at least a few other complete clubs had arrived, meaning we already lost the claim to first. However, I could tell that plenty of the other clubs were still missing members, so we weren't out yet. Luckily, only a minute later I heard the telltale sound of idiocy coming up the path behind me.

"And then I said, 'You think this wise, boy? Crossing blades with a pirate?'"

I heard a shameless movie quote and my mind associated it with Andy, but after processing it for a few seconds, I realize it wasn't him. In fact, it sounded like a girl. I turned around to see Andy walking up the path, but he wasn't alone. There was a girl walking next to him, almost exactly his height, her dark hair up in a business-style bun. She wore a peacoat and dress pants, and I could have sworn I saw a windsor knot around her neck. Dillinger had been a misfire. This was Andy 2.0.

"Andy! Get over here!" Charlie bellowed, the lower half of her face obscured behind another tissue. She jabbed a finger at Andy and then pointed down at her shoe. It was no secret Charlie was the most competitive of all of us, and I guess no time like the present to show it. Andy and the girl stopped, smiling at each other.

"Yeah, I guess we'd better get in there," Andy said, scratching the back of his head.

"I wonder, will we ever see each other again?" the girl asked, tilting her head to the side. Andy smirked.

"Who knows? God willing, we'll meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search For More Money."

The girl have a big, nasally laugh, her head tipping back slightly. Andy laughed along with her, but then, without any warning, the girl shoved him down to the ground and sprinted for the campsite. Andy screamed like little girl as he fell, kicking up a cloud of dirt when he smacked into the ground. He laid there for a second, only getting up when Charlie shouted at him.

"Seriously!? MOVE!" she nearly screamed, waving her arms frantically. I could have sworn Tracy giggled. Finally, Andy started to push himself up. He stood and dusted himself off.

"YASHOO!"

Andy sneezed loudly, turning a few heads. Charlie groaned and sank back down to the rock she had been sitting on. Finally, Andy straightened his tie and started walking again. He made his way to the fire pit, and before he could even sit down, Charlie smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow. How did we do?" Andy asked, nodding to Miss Quinn. She picked up her clipboard and scrolled down a list of clubs.

"Eighth," she said with a bit of a sigh. Charlie gave the back of Andy's head another smack. Personally, I was relieved. I didn't much care that we'd had our asses handed to us, I was just glad we were still in the running. After a moment of wondering who would come in last, I realized neither Faye nor Joey were at the campsite.

Then, two people unceremoniously strolled into the campsite. At the sound of footfalls, I looked up to see Faye first, Joey trailing about a foot behind her. I couldn't help but smirk to myself. That MTG game ended up costing someone the tournament after all.

"Joey! Oh my god!"

I looked over to see the hiker girl standing knock-kneed and jabbing one finger at the man in the purple hat. She stomped on the ground once and then brought a tissue up to her face to blow her nose.

"Hey," Joey said, waving a hand at her. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he had cost his club the tournament, but the hiker girl was having his share of emotions for him.

"Joey! We lost! What the heck were you doing!?"

"Oh, sorry. I was just so happy I won the MTG game with Faye. I guess I forgot," Joey replied, adjusting his hat. The hiker girl scrunched up her face, looking like she was about to explode. Then, she stomped a foot on the ground again and sprinted away, starting to sob.

"Well, I guess that's that," Andy said, putting his hands on his hips. "How about we get out of here?" Nobody responded at first, but after a few seconds, Miss Quinn nodded, holding a fresh tissue to her nose.

"Sounds great to me," she snuffled, pausing to blow her nose afterward. "Ugh, my allergies... I need a bath. And my sinuses need one too."

Miss Quinn stood up and headed over to the service road so she could walk back down in relative comfort. The other students followed, Charlie and David mounting their motorcycles as soon as they could. The two of them gave Tracy and I a ride back to school. As punishment for getting us eighth place, Andy was on his own.

-----

And that's that. The Adventure Club is struggling, but they're still holding on. The Collectible Card Game Club has been eliminated, leaving 9 participants in the running.

Up next is the Cosplay Club! This contest involves creating themed costumes within a short period of time, with unbiased teachers with no club affiliations acting as the judges. Also, teams in this contest consist of only three members from each club, so 2 people are going to be sitting out. Toby doesn't necessarily have to be among the participants either. He can observe just as well.

Instead of a simple choice, this week I'm going to leave all you faithful readers with a bit of a task to complete. Pick three of the five club members, then match each one up with a costume, and prepare to watch them trip over themselves spectacularly! I'm sure Andy would love to go in drag.

• Toby
  
• Tracy
  
• Andy
  
• Charlie
  
• David
  

-----

• Anime Schoolgirl
  
• Nordic Warrior (FUS RO DAH)
  
• Magical Girl
  
• French Maid
  
• Superhero
  

Thanks for reading! And, once again, brace yourselves for the madness to come...

[Curiosity234]

Charlie, Nordic Warrior. Tracy, Superhero. David, Magical Girl.

[VividBubbles!]

This choice is awesome! Okay, this is what I'll go with:

Andy: Anime School Girl

Tracy: Superhero

Charlie: French Maid

Can't wait for the next update!

BYE!

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

David - French maid, Tracy - Nordic Warrior, Charlie - Magical girl.

[Sitruuna]

David, magical girl

Andy, anime schoolgirl

and

Charlie, French maid.

...the best way to go...

I must say I really like the Tracy part of the... other chapter? lol

It was great~

Edited June 24, 2013 by Sitruuna

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Charlie: Nordic Warrior

Andy: French Maid

Tracy : Magical Girl/Anime Schoolgirl

So amused they found Andy 2.0.

[knightinggale]

charlie as a maid

andy as a magical girl

and toby as a schoolgirl xD

[Pilgrim]

This is looking like it'll be the best arc yet! Can't wait for the next competition!

Charlie - French Maid

Andy - Schoolgirl

Tracy - Nordic Warrior

[Blah!?]

Hey everyone! It's that time again!

I took a little longer than usual, but this chapter is a little longer than usual too. In fact, it's about twice as long as most of the previous chapters have been. I think it's also one of my favorites so far, and I hope it doesn't run on too long. Anyway, let's not waste any more of your time.

-----

Still feeling a little clueless about cosplay, I decided to google it over night before the next contest. I knew they were up next, so I wanted to be prepared. What I found didn't really help me very much at all. The best I could understand cosplay was still it just involved wearing outlandish costumes, and I really had no idea what we'd end up doing for a contest. For all I thought I knew, I also knew anything would catch me off guard.

The nine remaining clubs filtered into the school's theater, all of us sitting down except for the Cosplay club, who stood up on the stage with a large bowl filled with paper slips. I recognized Faye from yesterday, and given that she was standing in the middle of the group I could only assume she was the leader of the club. Most of the other Cosplay club members were fairly nondescript, but there was this one guy, standing right next to Faye. He had the craziest mop of spiky blonde hair I'd ever seen, and the face he was making was just ridiculous. He was giving the whole crowd this suspicious stare, his eyes so narrow they looked like they were closed.

"Yokoso!" the blonde guy proclaimed, stepping forward. Maybe Faye wasn't in charge after all, or maybe this guy just had the biggest mouth of the group. I heard Tracy shift a little in the seat next to me, and I looked over to find her smiling subtly. Wasn't quite sure why.

"We're the Cosplay club!" blondie continued, holding up his hands extravagantly. "If you don't know what that is already, you're all ahos!" Tracy snorted almost silently, and when I looked over at her again she was holding a hand over her mouth. Shrugging, I looked back up at blondie just in time for him to continue explaining.

"Three of you from each club will come up here and take a slip of paper out of this bowl. Just three! Not five or four, just three! San!" Tracy snorted again, a little louder than last time but still quiet. "Each slip of paper has a costume on it. Your job is to make that costume from scratch, and then model it in front of a judge! Your club mates can help you make the costume, but the person who draws it has to model it! Any questions, tonchikis?"

Tracy moved her hand slightly to cover her nose as well as her mouth, and then she began to shudder with silent but barely contained laughter. Meanwhile, Andy slumped back in his seat and raised his hand properly to ask a question. Blondie nodded at him and Andy cleared his throat obnoxiously.

"Yeah, I got a question," Andy blurted, sounding mock drunk. "What's your real name, super saiyan?" Blondie looked massively offended, raising his arms almost to a fighting stance and taking half a step back. He gritted his teeth, bowing his head ever so slightly. At this point, Tracy completely lost her composure and began to giggle uncontrollably.

"B-baka! My name's Hal. As punishment for your insolence, your club picks last!" Andy shrugged, and the rest of us joined him. For once, not even Charlie took the opportunity to discipline him. Hal hung his head again and sighed, then he reached up one arm and waved a hand back and forth at the crowd.

"Ikimashou."

The Adventure Club and I sat in silence as the rest of the clubs headed up to the stage one by one to draw their costumes out of the bowl. Andy took a nap, and Charlie and David looked awfully pensive about what their costumes could be. I would have thought about it too, but I figured it wouldn't do much good pondering it until I knew what it was.

"What's so funny, Tracy?" I asked, looking over at her again. She was still giggling, which seemed odd. It wasn't that she never laughed, I had just never seen her actually find something this funny before. Tracy took a deep breath, trying to calm her giggling, and eventually she managed to stop. Letting out a few final laughs, she pushed her glasses back up the high bridge of her nose and looked over at me.

"Hal's a total weeb," she said, not a shred of shame in her airy voice. I wasn't totally sure what that meant, but if she thought it was funny, more power to her.

"Alright, let's go," Charlie said, pushing herself up out of her chair. Everyone else, including most of the Cosplay club, had already left the theater. Only the five of us plus Hal and Faye remained. Charlie reached into the bowl and picked out one of the last remaining slips of paper. She looked down at it, but after just a second she crumpled it up in her fist.

"What'd it say?" I asked, trying to look over her shoulder.

"Doesn't matter," Charlie said, avoiding eye contact. "I'll just make the costume and we're good."

"Seriously, what's it say?" David asked, also trying to catch a glimpse of the paper. Charlie sighed, her shoulders drooping, and she uncrumpled the paper.

"French maid."

David, Tracy and I snickered silently, but we all stopped before Charlie could turn and give us her death glare. I expected Andy to join in, but instead of his laugh I heard Alouette being played on the accordion. Already knowing what I would see, I turned slowly but deliberately to see Andy standing behind us, the massive instrument held to his chest as he played out the song.

"Where did you get that!?" I stammered, more shocked that he suddenly had an accordion than anything else. Andy shrugged, continuing to play.

"Found it."

"And since when can you play the accordion!?"

"Oh, I can't. I just know the one song. Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette, je te plumer-"

"Move," Charlie droned, silencing us. She pushed between Andy and I and started to head for the backstage area. "I'll just make my damn costume. Don't follow me, don't help me, don't even think about me. I'll take care of it."

Andy and I shrugged at each other. For Charlie finding out she'd have to wear a skimpy maid outfit, that went better than anyone could have expected. Tracy stepped up to the bowl next and fished out her own slip of paper. She read it over and then held it up to David and I.

"Nordic warrior..." we said in unison, not really sure where this was headed. Behind us, I heard another song, this one on the violin. I recognized it as the epic, sweeping theme song to that one really popular TV show. I kept meaning to watch it, but I never ended up getting around to it. I'd heard the theme song so many times I could recognize it from a mile away though. Slapping my palm to my forehead, I slowly dragged it down over my face and turned around to see Andy with the violin.

"Let me guess. You found that too?"

"Yep."

"And do you only know the one song?"

"Nah, I know this one too." Andy stopped abruptly, the violin's bow squawking for a second, and then he started to play a different, albeit similarly themed song. "Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin. Wah dein vokul mahfoerook asht vaal! Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovakhiin, fah hin, kogaan mu draal!"

For whatever reason, David and I let Andy finish his little performance. He darted off back to wherever it was he found the instruments to ditch the violin, so David and I turned back to the bowl. We both reached for it at the same time, and after a bit of awkwardness, I let him go. David drew out our final slip of paper, and after reading it he immediately folded it up again and glanced at me nervously.

"What?" I blurted, shocked by the look of worry on David's face. He simply shook his head, and then he turned to Hal.

"Can I pick another one?

"Sorry, only one draw per person," Faye said, sounding significantly more sympathetic than Hal. David frowned, looking back down at the bowl.

"Please? There's a few more left in the bowl. Just let me pick another one," he pleaded, glancing back and forth between Faye and Hal. The latter shook his head, an evil smirk on his face.

"I'm sorry, David. I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Fine," David said, hanging his head. I looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

"What's it say?"

"M-muh... Magical Girl..."

I didn't say anything, and instead I waited for the inevitable. Just a few seconds later, the sound of an electric guitar behind me confirmed my suspicions.

"Fighting evil by moonlight. Winning love by daylight. Never running from a real fight! He is the one named Sailor Mooned!"

"Andy!" David and I shouted in unison, glaring at the idiot as he stood atop his guitar amp.

"Yo," he replied, his song coming to an abrupt halt.

"Will you stop that?"

"No way. Music for all occasions."

I groaned, turning away from Andy. That was generally a healthy thing to do. Faye caught my eye, and she smiled sympathetically.

"You guys better get started," she said, putting her hands on her hips. Then, she suddenly reached into her pocket and drew out a deck of cards.

"Or I could show you a magic trick if you'd like."

"I... I think we're good," I said as politely as I could, backing away. At long last, we headed backstage to grab supplies. Charlie was already long gone, but I wasn't too surprised by that. We all knew she'd come back whenever she was ready. Whether that would be sooner or later remained a mystery. Tracy and David had me load some stuff into a pair of boxes for them, and as we were preparing to take them back to the club room to get to work, I called for Andy to help me carry the other box.

"Yo, Andy! Gimme a hand with this stuff!"

"C-coming, senpai!"

The frak did he just say? I turned around to face him, and I dropped my box of costume material. I wanted to stick my head in it if only to avoid continuing to gaze upon the horror that stood before me. I had no idea how he put it together so quickly, but Andy was dressed like the quintessential anime schoolgirl. Navy blue skirt and white collared shirt like the girls' uniform here, but he also had one of those little neckerchief things, and even worse, long socks that went all the way up to his thighs. Just for the added cherry on top, he was even striking a pose, one finger held up to his mouth and his hips cocked away from me.

"Wha... What the frak are you doing!?" I blurted, feeling my brain cells steadily committing suicide. Andy stared at me, swaying his hips the other way and looking disappointed.

"You... You don't like it?"

"No! I don't frakking like it! Now pick up this box and take it to the club room! Just... Just give me a few minutes head start so people don't think I'm affiliated with you."

"Ijiwaru..."

I picked up my box and sprinted to our club room. When I got there, David and Tracy were already working with the supplies they had brought themselves, and I wasn't even sure what they needed my stuff for. Charlie was still nowhere to be seen, and Tracy and David hadn't seen her either. I asked them if they wanted any help, but Tracy seemed to have a vision going and I don't think David really wanted anyone to pay attention to him as he attached sparkly things to a skirt. I just sat in my chair and waited, trying not to think about what kind of chaos Andy might be causing.

"Hih-Hih-Hih! Hih-CHH!"

Tracy suddenly sneezed, catching my attention. I glanced over at her to see her messing with a large piece of fur, trying to cut it to fit around the shoulder of her costume. Loose hairs were starting to fill the air around her, though she seemed to be oblivious to the mess she was making.

"Want any help?" I asked, leaning toward her. She made eye contact for a second and then shook her head, her eyes fluttering and her nostrils flaring.

"Hih-Hih! HICHHH!"

"Gesundheit," a familiar voice said. I turned to see Charlie stepping through the door. She was wearing a bathrobe, presumably to hide her costume, though she did have a black and white tiara in her hair.

"Yo," I said, waving one hand. She nodded to me and approached.

"Hey. I saw Andy out there wearing a skirt. Did he get a girly costume or something?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow. I simply sat in silence for a few seconds, the image of Andy prancing around being forced into my mind.

"No, he's... He's just doing that."

"Oh my god..." Charlie groaned, slapping a palm to her forehead. "My costume's done, at least. Does anyone need help with anything?"

"Nah, I think the just want to be left on their own. How'd you finish so fast?"

"I just got lucky, I guess."

At that moment, our final club member burst through the door. He was still dressed like an anime schoolgirl, but at least it appeared he wasn't trying to act like one anymore. For whatever reason he ditched the box I told him to carry, but Charlie was already done and Tracy and David seemed like they were faring just fine without the extra supplies.

"I come bearing gifts," Andy announced, holding up a large plastic bag. Charlie groaned again and fell into her chair. I could imagine today had been pretty overwhelming for her already, and it was only going to get worse. First, Andy approached Tracy, drawing a long object out of the bag.

"For you, milady," Andy said, bowing and holding out a freaking sword. Surprisingly, Tracy's face lit up and she quickly snatched the sheathed weapon out of his hands.

"Dude," I blurted, holding up a finger to shakily point at the blade. "That's a freakin' sword."

"Yeah, I know," Andy said in a matter-of-fact tone. "I figured it would go well with the whole Nordic warrior thing. What do you think, Tracy?"

Tracy slowly removed the blade from its scabbard, and her eyes started to glow with excitement. She pulled it all the way out, setting the scabbard down on the table next to her costume, and she held it up to catch the light. I had no idea what kind of sword it was, but it certainly had a Nordic look to it. Speaking of which, this wasn't just some cheap costume shop piece of plastic. This thing was either a real sword, or it was a very, very realistic replica.

"This is so cool," Tracy squeaked, her voice conveying more emotion in one second than she usually showed in a year. She flipped the sword over the back of her hand once, sheathed it, and then she gave Andy a hug, even going so far as to kick up one leg.

Next, Andy approached David, who was trying awfully hard not to be noticed. Andy stood across the table from him, reached into his bag, and pulled out a gigantic jar. David stared at it for a second, confused.

"What is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. I was curious too, but I already knew it would be nothing good. Andy smirked, unscrewing the lid of the jar. I took a step back, looking for something to hide behind.

"It's la crème de la crème of girly accessorizing! The Herpes of arts and crafts supplies!" Andy announced, reaching a hand into the jar. "Have some glitter!"

Andy dug out a handful of glitter and threw it right in David's face. The sparkly powder splashed around everywhere, and I felt an impulse to tackle Andy to the ground. He was right about one thing; glitter really was the STD of arts and crafts materials. Once you get it somewhere, it's impossible to get rid of all of it, no matter how hard you try.

"Heh... HEISHHH! Dammit!" David hacked, waving his hands in front of his face. "As if this wasn't already bad enough! Heh-Heh... HEISHHHHH! This costume sucks!"

Andy happily skipped away, glitter trailing in the air behind him. He approached Tracy again, reaching into the jar again. I moved to stop him, but he only drew out a tiny bit of glitter this time.

"A little pinch for the lady," Andy said, sprinkling the glitter on top of Tracy's nose. She smiled at first, but then she sneezed too.

"Hih-Hih-Hih! Hih-CHHH!"

Tracy rubbed a finger under her nostrils and wiped off her face, but despite her efforts, her nose was still a little sparkly. Andy frolicked over to Charlie, and this time I just let him go. I knew if he did anything to her, I wouldn't have to worry about punishing him. There wouldn't be anything left to scold. Andy reached into the jar once more as he arrived next to Charlie, but her words put an abrupt stop to him.

"If you get any of that on me, I'll make you eat the rest of it," she snarled, glaring up at him. Andy immediately shifted into reverse, walking backwards along the same path he had taken to reach her. When he passed me, I yanked the jar out of his hands and immediately screwed the lid back on. He gave me a disappointed look, but I didn't care. This was for the greater good.

"I got something for the maid, too," Andy said, reaching into his bag for the final item. Charlie snorted, closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair.

"Whatever it is, I don't want it," she grumbled, putting her hands behind her head and stretching out. Andy stood up again and approached her.

"But what French maid would be complete without a big, fluffy feather duster?" he said temptingly, holding out the device in question. Charlie opened one eye slightly and stared at the feather duster for a few seconds.

"Fine, give it to me," she said, holding out a hand. Andy handed it over peacefully and then quickly skipped off again. He made a grab for the jar of glitter, but I quickly sat on it to keep him from getting a hold of it again. Meanwhile, Charlie played absently with the feather duster, but after a minute, her eyes fluttered and her nostrils flared.

"Huh... Huhhh... HAA-KNNNX!"

Charlie sneezed powerfully, bending forward in her chair. She vigorously rubbed her free index finger under her nose and groaned. After staring at the feather duster again for a moment, her nose scrunched up and she sneezed once more.

"Huhh... HUAA-KNNX!"

"You okay?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Charlie glanced at me for a second and then quickly looked away.

"Yeah," she said dismissively. "I'm fine."

Then the alarm I set on my watch started to beep, signaling we were out of time. We had just a few minutes to get to the theater before it was our turn to be judged. Tracy put on her Nordic warrior outfit, and I have to say it was really quite well made. I'm not sure if I was surprised by her craftsmanship or not, but it looked pretty awesome. And I had to hand it to Andy, the sword really pulled it together.

David, meanwhile, was more hesitant. He too had changed into his costume, a white and pink skirt and shirt combo with lots of streamers. Surprisingly, the face full of glitter didn't seem terribly out of place either. However, as nice as the costume looked, David was beyond uncomfortable wearing it.

"Uh, Charlie," David said, slinking up to her. She rubbed her nose quickly and glanced over at him questioningly.

"Where'd you get that bathrobe? I'd like to get my hands on one too."

Charlie closed her eyes and sighed, and then she actually untied the bathrobe and slipped it off, handing it to David. Underneath, Charlie's French maid outfit was absolutely perfect. Tracy's and David's costumes were both very well made, but Charlie's was absolutely flawless. I supposed the reason she didn't want anyone to see it was because of how skimpy it was, but aside from that, the quality was damn near professional.

"You sure?" David asked, slipping the bathrobe on anyway. Charlie nodded, already starting to look less comfortable.

"Yeah, but you owe me wuhh... Huhh... HAA-KNNNNuh...!"

We made our way back to the theater just in time to catch the back end of the Swimming club's modeling, the last club before us. Isabel stepped off the stage wearing a pretty nice-looking superhero costume, and she once again gave me a wink as she passed. Tracy decided to go first, jogging toward the stage with her sword drawn as soon as we got there. However, Andy stopped her just before she could step out from behind the curtain.

"Sorry, Tracy," he said, spinning her around to face him. "But we have to make this authentic." Without any other warning, he reached up to Tracy's face and removed her glasses. Tracy blinked and squinted, frowning at him.

"I can't see," she said flatly. Andy smiled and patted her on the head, ruffling her hair.

"That's okay. Just don't walk into anything," he said, gently pushing Tracy out toward the stage. She was still squinting, but she at least managed to get out there without running into the curtain.

The judge only looked at her for a few seconds before throwing down his verdict. He was a teacher I don't recall ever seeing around before, but what he said endeared him to me a little right away.

"Well, this is certainly one of the first costumes today I can actually understand. I just don't get all these weird glowy things. Kids and their cartoons these days. Plus, I really like the sword. Nine."

Tracy smiled and skipped off stage, sheathing her sword along the way. I held up my hand to give her a high five, and she tried to return it, but she missed by a few inches. She squinted at me and tried again, managing to find my hand this time. Finally, Andy placed her glasses back on Tracy's face and she pushed them up the bridge of her still-glittery nose with a smile.

David took a bit of encouraging, but he went next. The rest of us took a few steps back to give him some privacy, but we couldn't hear what the judge said. After a few seconds, David returned, looking relieved.

"What'd he say?" I asked, taking a step forward. David hung his head, but he sounded happy that it was over.

"He said he didn't understand the costume, but he gave me an Eight out of pity."

I raised my eyebrows in pleasant surprise. Eight was pretty high, especially for a pity score. I had no idea how the other clubs were doing relative to us, but a nine and an eight were pretty good. Charlie was up next, but when I looked around for her, she didn't appear to be at the top of her game.

"Huh... Huhhh... HUAA-KNNNNNX!!!"

Charlie sneezed massively, inadvertently shaking her feather duster as she bent forward. A little runner of snot was ejected out of her left nostril, and it hung under her nose for a second before she slurped it back up with a snort in her usual fashion. She slowly but firmly rubbed a finger under her pink nose, giving me a dismayed look.

"Uh, guys," she groaned, sounding congested. "We have a problem. I think I'm allergic to feathers." I pondered this for a moment. Even if we ditched the feather duster, she had to go out there in just a few seconds. It wouldn't make any difference. Before I could take action, however, Andy stepped up behind her and started to push her out toward the stage.

"Andy, s-stop Huh... Huhhhh... HAA-KNNNNeh...!" Charlie stammered, waving an arm at him. I was surprised she didn't resist further, but she was apparently too distracted by her sneezes to push back.

"No way, this'll be perfect. Just go out there for a few seconds!"

Before Charlie could protest further, Andy shoved her and all of her black and white French maid glory out onto the stage. Charlie stood there silently fuming for a few seconds before another sneeze took over. She fought furiously to hold it in, but it was no use.

"Huhhh... Huhhhhh... HUAA-KNNNNNX!!!"

"Ten," the judge said unceremoniously. Charlie perked up, and so did the rest of us.

"Wow, really?" she asked, wiping her dripping nose with the back of her wrist. The judge nodded.

"Yeah, I can appreciate the comedy of a maid who's allergic to her feather duster. But you know what? Nine, for questioning me."

"What!?" Charlie screamed, throwing her arms down to her sides. Now she was angry. That spelled doom for us all. Andy and I rushed out on stage and tried to pull her back before she lost us any more points, but this time she fought back.

"Sacre Bleu! Do you have any idea how hard I worked on this ridiculous outfit!? Are you not entertained!?"

"Charlie, let it go," I said softly, hoping the judge wouldn't take further action. She tried to throw me off, but I didn't let go.

"No! I can be a real French maid! Merde! Bonjour! Eifel Tower! Huh... Huhhh... Huhhhhh... HAA-KNNNNX!!!"

As Charlie sneezed, Andy and I took advantage of her lapse in concentration and we finally managed to drag her backstage again. We sat her down on the floor in the corner, and luckily by the time we got her there she had calmed down a bit. Charlie threw away the feather duster and started furiously rubbing her nose, snuffling and snorting continuously.

"You okay? What was that little outburst?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Charlie growled in response, still rubbing her nose. I threw up my hands apologetically and backed off, leaving her alone with her itchy nose for the time being. We sat in silence for a moment, overall pretty happy with our scores. But then, it was time for the Cosplay club itself to go...

"Shimatta!!!"

I heart Hal cry out from the other side of the backstage area. I glanced over at him, watching him run around in circles in his panic. I didn't want to sneak across the open stage to eavesdrop, but he was so loud I could hear him just fine from where we are.

"Can't we just use our old costumes!?" he pleaded, sinking to his knees.

"I wish, but it's in our own rules. Any existing costumes aren't allowed," Faye replied, sounding disappointed but nowhere near as apoplectic as Hal. Blondie pounded a fist on the ground and growled.

"But where would they even go? The new costumes we made can't just disappear! Someone must have stolen them! Thieves! Burglars! Dorobo! We can't be eliminated in our own contest! IIAAA!!!"

And with that, Faye grabbed Hal by the ear and pulled him away. So ends the reign of Hal Blondie, disciple of Super Saiyan hairdos. I glanced over at the rest of the Adventure Club to see Andy sitting at a piano. Instead of protesting again, I just smirked and gave him a nod. Andy winked back at me, and then he played one final riff.

-----

And that's that! As usual, I hope you guys enjoyed reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it! This has easily been one of the craziest chapters so far, but they're only going to get crazier.

Next time, the contest is going to be a Scientific "zombie apocalypse," Scientifically hosted by the Scientific Science Club! These mad scientists have engineered their own fast-acting virus, and they plan to unleash it on the school! The virus is extremely contagious, but it's also mostly harmless, the only symptoms being sneezing and lapses in judgement. Some of the participating clubs are going to start out infected, but others will start out healthy, armed with fancy Scientific stun guns also Scientifically developed by the Science Club. Clubs can earn points in the contest regardless of which side their members are on, either by infecting new people or incapacitating those who have already been infected.

And therein lies your choice for the next chapter...

• The Adventure Club starts out infected and they must infect the other healthy clubs.
  
• The Adventure Club starts out healthy, and they get picked off one by one as they try to survive.
  

Regardless of what you guys choose, the next chapter is sure to be Scientific! For Science!

[VividBubbles!]

Hehe! That chapter was awesome! And the next one sounds amazing too. I definitely want the Adventure Club to be picked off one by one. This competition is great!

Update soon!

BYE!

[bloom]

Picked off one by one, for sure.

[OCC]

I think the club should start out infected, and try to infect others by sneezing on them.

[Hedgehog]

The whole idea of this story is wonderful! I love it. (Only one little critic - there's not enough fever for my taste. ) Keep it up!

[Hissybella]

Omg. How did I not discover this before. This series is awesome! (By the way, does anybody know if there's art of these characters?) Oh and Tracy's POV was so perfect.. . Both choices are so awesome i can't decide... If they start out healthy, they might not sneeze as much, but they still have their allergies and if they start out healthy, it can give us a hint to which characters have a weaker immune system or, one of them could sneeze on another by accident and infect them.... On the other hand, if they start out sick, we can watch them sneeze on other people, or rather, they'd be eager to sneeze. lalala... I'll remain neutral.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Hmmm... both options are delightful... difficult... Also I really like this update. David and the glitter. Hilarious.

I wil refrain from voting.. both options could be really nice.

[Curiosity234]

Survivor mode. Picked off one by one. (Option 2)

I think this was a load of fun. Charlie as the french maid was the obvious choice which is why I didn't vote for it, but very well done with it!

Feathers X3

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

Ooh ooh I know they could start off as two and then it could round of and end as option 1. :3

[destiel]

Picked off one by one for sure! I love this so much, keep it up!

[a red nine]

Okay, it's high time I did something I should have done ages ago: reviewed your story. So here are some of my live comments while I read:

Penisvely.

My God Andy, you little turd

"Hey, chum. Why so glum?" I said

and yet he always ends up being my favorite anyway

"Andy, you would literally make the worst therapist in the history of mankind,' Toby said, looking up at me with half a smirk. I nodded in thanks.

I can't handle their friendship

"That's… That's the most poetic thing I've ever heard you say," he said, a look of disbelief on his face.

I'm actually grinning this is really funny

With a belly full of whatever I could stuff into my mouth from the cafeteria, I made my way to the gym.

I feel like this sentence is basically Charlie in a nutshell. That, and punching ghosts in the face

As I stepped into the gym, I realized I probably shouldn't have spent quite so much time eating.

Don't worry Charlie, this is how I feel every day

"Uh, hi," I replied, looking away again. Despite my best efforts, she kept staring at me.

Once again, I understand

"Okay! Hi Charlie! I'm Florence. You can call me Flo," the girl said

Well great, now my mental image of her just grew a beehive hairstyle and I can't stop associating her with Progressive

"Are you a boy?" she asked the instant our eyes met. I think I visibly flinched.

Flo what are you playin' this is Charlie you're talking to

"No. I'm, uh... I'm a girl." I don't know why I sounded so unsure of myself.

Oh yeah I almost forgot Charlie's secretly kawaii. Flo better be glad she's not a ghost

"Ew! Are you picking your nose?" she squealed. I immediately stopped, feeling humiliated.

"No!" I stammered, sitting on my hands.

Ohmigod someone finally noticed I'm dying

"Yeah, I guess," Flo said, playing with her flower. "But this is more fun!"

I think we found someone more annoying than Andy

"She's mad at you because you pussed out in the basement!"

That's what Toby gets for talking to Madam Blunt I suppose

Tracy's freaking font is like a typewriter ohmigod she's writing like she's a computer, I'm a little afraid

"Interrupt: Sneeze. Error: Movement halted.

Toby.input: "Bless you."

Okay fine that was strangely adorable in that writing style

Possible Workarounds: Play dead, Dance, Reciprocate hug. Calculating probability of success.

If she chose one of the first two, I wouldn't be able to handle it

Response: Reciprocate hug.

AAAaaaaaaawwwwwwwwWWWWWWWWWW

"Gardening, swimming and card games," Miss Quinn explained. Serious business.

If we don't get some Yu-Gi-Oh shenanigans I will be severely disappointed

"They're pretty simple. Maintain a garden, swim laps, and/or win card games for bonus points. You don't have to do any of those, but they can help you get an edge or close a gap."

You really thought this games thing out though

A few people gasped in shock. Actually, no. That's a lie. Nobody made a sound, but I'm sure people would have gasped in shock if anyone actually cared at this point.

Poor Toby

Half an hour later, everyone had gotten into their starting positions. Or at least, I thought they had. How am I supposed to know? I can't see what all the other groups are doing.

I like how as soon as Toby seems like he's going to be a real main character-like main character, he just stops caring about everything and relapses

"My name's Faye, from the Cosplay club," the other girl said, extending her hand as well. Where Isabel was deeply tanned, Faye was almost eerily pale, and her handshake was fittingly cold.

weab alert, weab alert

"What's cosplay?" I asked. I feel like I'd heard Andy mention the term sometime before

Headcanon that Andy's actually a really bad closet cosplayer and attends conventions from time to time

Faye explained to the best of her ability, and eventually I just defined it as "Halloween every day."

Yes good I laughed

Right now!? I mean, if they wanted to lag behind and potentially lose the entire thing for a game of MTG, more power to them. I somehow doubted Faye would go for it, but-

"Sure!"

What.

OH MY GOD

"N-not laughing... Hah-Hah-Hahh... Hayfever... Hah-Hah-Hah-HAACHHHOOOO!!!"

Sounds like someone's on their way to Lavender Town

"And nobody ever said we had to walk here."

Charlie you're really something

Clearly she had been pushing herself as hard as she could, so I dragged her over to the fire pit so she could sit more comfortably.

True friendship

Luckily, only a minute later I heard the telltale sound of idiocy coming up the path behind me.

Actually laughed

Dillinger had been a misfire. This was Andy 2.0.

Darn it another girl appears that would be cute with Andy, now I have no idea what to ship

"I wonder, will we ever see each other again?" the girl asked, tilting her head to the side. Andy smirked.

"Who knows? God willing, we'll meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search For More Money."

A match made in heaven

The girl have a big, nasally laugh, her head tipping back slightly. Andy laughed along with her, but then, without any warning, the girl shoved him down to the ground and sprinted for the campsite. Andy screamed like little girl as he fell, kicking up a cloud of dirt when he smacked into the ground. He laid there for a second, only getting up when Charlie shouted at him.

OHMI GOD THOUGH

I'm sure Andy would love to go in drag.

I'm legit ashamed I wasn't around to vote this time

He had the craziest mop of spiky blonde hair I'd ever seen, and the face he was making was just ridiculous. He was giving the whole crowd this suspicious stare, his eyes so narrow they looked like they were closed.

When did Naruto and Brock have a child

"Three of you from each club will come up here and take a slip of paper out of this bowl. Just three! Not five or four, just three! San!" Tracy snorted again, a little louder than last time but still quiet.

Wait is Tracy laughing at them

"Hal's a total weeb," she said, not a shred of shame in her airy voice.

Tracy my love for you just grew a lot and I already loved you

"And since when can you play the accordion!?"

"Oh, I can't. I just know the one song. Alouette, gentille alouette. Alouette, je te plumer-"

Freaking ANDY

"Nordic warrior..." we said in unison, not really sure where this was headed.

Charlie the maid and Tracy and the Nordic warrior I'm-

"Nah, I know this one too." Andy stopped abruptly, the violin's bow squawking for a second, and then he started to play a different, albeit similarly themed song. "Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin. Wah dein vokul mahfoerook asht vaal! Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovakhiin, fah hin, kogaan mu draal!"

ANDY YOU ARE KIDDING ME

"Andy!" David and I shouted in unison, glaring at the idiot as he stood atop his guitar amp.

"Yo," he replied, his song coming to an abrupt halt.

Andy I really honestly can't handle you right now

"Will you stop that?"

"No way. Music for all occasions."

I'm marrying Andy

Just for the added cherry on top, he was even striking a pose, one finger held up to his mouth and his hips cocked away from me.

I really can't handle Andy right now

"Wha... What the frak are you doing!?" I blurted, feeling my brain cells steadily committing suicide.

My favorite sport is watching non-anime people face anime things so thank you, thank you for this

Tracy slowly removed the blade from its scabbard, and her eyes started to glow with excitement.

What a gosh darn cutie

"It's la crème de la crème of girly accessorizing! The Herpes of arts and crafts supplies!" Andy announced, reaching a hand into the jar. "Have some glitter!"

Yep I married Andy

I knew if he did anything to her, I wouldn't have to worry about punishing him. There wouldn't be anything left to scold.

All the inner-club interactions just delight me

"If you get any of that on me, I'll make you eat the rest of it," she snarled, glaring up at him. Andy immediately shifted into reverse, walking backwards along the same path he had taken to reach her.

This story continues to make me wish it was a TV show, because I can visualize how hilarious it is and I really just want to see it animated

"I can't see," she said flatly. Andy smiled and patted her on the head, ruffling her hair.

"That's okay. Just don't walk into anything," he said, gently pushing Tracy out toward the stage

Andy you BUTT KING

"He said he didn't understand the costume, but he gave me an Eight out of pity."

That's the spirit David

"No! I can be a real French maid! Merde! Bonjour! Eifel Tower!"

So authentic 10/10

Andy winked back at me, and then he played one final riff.

Andy we can't take you anywhere

So overall, I really didn't think this story could get any funnier, but these are earnestly some of the most hilarious and engaging chapters yet. I feel like the way you write, I can picture everything that is happening like a video in my head. You've also really nailed your main four characters' personalities, so that I always have an idea of how they're going to respond - and yet their reactions still manage to surprise me and make me smile. Even the background students were enjoyable, managing to be amusing stereotypes that were their own people simultaneously. It's just a very nice balance of characters. Everyone contrasts enough that they bother or intrigue each other, but their friendships still manage to be genuine. It's just truly a lot of fun to read.

I really can't say I'd change anything. You've found a great arc to focus on that allow there to be variety, as well as lined up situations that manage to intermingle fetish-related stuff with plot and character development. I think my favorite character is still Andy, because he cracks me up, but Tracy, Toby, and Charlie all made me laugh out loud at least once. I am definitely looking forward to the next chapter.

I'm not sure I fully understand the question this time, but I think I'm going to have to vote get picked off one by one. Sounds like it may build some suspense. But heck, the first option could also be pretty funny. Keep it up!

[Hissybella]

I just read that whole review XD Lol. Totally worth it. Anyways. Bump.