It took me less than a minute to run past the Chow Pit and make sure everyone was still at lunch. Everyone except for the Muskrats. Georgia had already gotten to them, and they were waiting for me up at the cabin.
When I came into the Muskrat Hut, all my stuff had already been packed and was gone. My bunk looked weirdly empty, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.
The guys all stared at me like I’d just come from death row. Which I kind of had.
“What happened?” Dweebs said.
“Sherwood gave me the boot,” I said. “I’m going home.”
“What?” Norman said. “But… you can’t. That’s not… you didn’t—”
“Not now, Norman,” I said. “I just need you to answer one question for me. Do you still have those big jars of peanut butter and honey?”
“Uh… well… yeah,” he said. “Why?”
“Just get them.”
You should have seen the way all the other guys looked at me—and then at Norman, when he pulled out those jars from his sleeping bag. It was like we’d just peeled back our faces and showed off the glowing alien heads inside.
But there was no time to explain.
“We’ve got to go—right now,” I told them. “Smurf and Tunz, get as much poison ivy from behind the cabin as you can find. Bombardier, when was the last time you, uh… well, you know—”
“It’s been a while,” he said.
“Good. Come with me. Cav, Dweebs, Norman, you too. Smurf and Tunz, we’ll see you there.”
“Where?” Smurf asked.
“Bobcat Alley,” I said. “While everyone’s still at lunch.” And before they could freak out too much, I said, “Listen, I know what I’m doing. But nobody has to come if they don’t want to.”
That was it. Thirty seconds later, the Muskrat Hut was as empty as a kid’s bed on Christmas morning. Tunz and Smurf were behind the cabin, picking poison ivy with socks on their hands. And the rest of us were headed up the path, straight toward Bobcat Alley.
Three minutes down.
Twelve to go.
Fingers crossed.
