Twisted Wonderland: Camp Vargas - Exercise in Survival

Chapter 3-2: The Tough Guy Act

Late in the evening is the evening of the first day of camp. All the students at their campsites after finishing their tasks.

Vargas calls out, "The sun has officially set! Time's up! Let's see how you did. When I call your club, tell me how many Vargas badges you earned."

He then calls out, "Equestrian Club!"

"We've earned all three badges," Riddle says.

He, Silver, and Sebek are each holding one of the three badges.

Vargas calls out, "Track Club!"

"We got all three too," Jack says.

Vargas calls out, "Basketball Club!"

"Three as well. Though we admittedly squeaked by," Jamil says.

"And last up, Spelldrive Club!" Vargas calls out.

"Three, of course," Ruggie says.

Then Vargas says, "All right! Looks like you made it through the day and achieved your objectives. But considering you were all working to the last minute, it was hardly a slam dunk. I'll be announcing the next challenges tomorrow morning. Be warned—you ain't seen nothing yet. Normally I'd say to get plenty of rest so you can be fresh for the long day ahead, but... The forest fairies will be trying to put out your campfires all night. So make sure you keep watch 'til morning. Dismissed!"

Soon, all the students take their leave to their campsites.

Then Vargas turns to Briar and her group., "Come with me, record keepers."

"Huh? Where are we goin'?" Grim asks.

"I'm staying in the cottage. You'll be setting up your tent right next to it," Vargas says.

"So we're camping away from the others," Briar says.

"That is correct," Vargas says.

Grim groans and annoyed, "Aww, man. We're sleepin' near Vargas? And we gotta hike over there and rig up a tent at this hour? What a drag."

"No need to worry about any danger! I'll keep a watchful eye as I crush my reps!" Vargas says.

This just makes Grim even more annoyed, "We don't need you creepin' over our shoulder! How 'bout you give us a hand instead?!"

"Come on guys, let's go," Tanzanite says.

And with that, Vargas, Briar, and the others head off towards the cottage.

At the Basketball Club campsite...

Jamil walks to Floyd and asks, "Hey, Floyd. Have you seen Ace?"

"Crabby? Nope," Floyd says, "What're you askin' me for?"

"You were both tasked with gathering ingredients by the lake. But only you came back," Jamil says.

"Oh yeah, he wasn't at dinner, was he? I didn't even notice," Floyd says, "He's prolly just goofin' off somewhere. Sounds fun, actually. Maybe I should join him."

And Jamil says, "You've still got energy after all that swimming around? Well, too bad. You're not skipping out on campfire duty."

Floyd groans, "Ugggh. You're talkin' like Azul now, Sea Snake."

At the Track Club's campsite...

Deuce feels tired, "I'm beat... It's like I can barely keep my eyes open..."

"Today was more strenuous than our usual practice," Jack says.

"Okay, let's figure out our rotation for guarding the fire so we can hit the hay," Deuce says.

At the Equestrian Club's campsite...

Riddle and Silver are beginning to doze off while watching the fire.

Suddenly, Sebek shouts, "RIDDLE!"

Riddle wakes up in shock, "Sebek?! What's the matter?"

"I fully expect Silver to doze off, but not you," Sebek says.

Realizing this, Riddle says, "Ah... Apologies. I'm partly worn out from today, but I don't normally burn the midnight oil either."

"Then might I suggest you go rest in your tent? I'll stand guard over the campfire," Sebek answers.

"Are you sure? You must be as exhausted as I am," Riddle asks.

"I'm fine, truly," Sebek says, "Roughing it is nothing new to me. Would you take Silver with you, though? His blatant snoring is infuriating."

"All right," Riddle says. Then walks to Silver, "Come on, Silver," and shakes him.

Silver soon wakes up, "Hm? Oh... Did I nod off again?"

"You did," Riddle says, "Let's get back to our tents. Sebek can take over from here."

Soon, Riddle and Silver head back to their tents to get some sleep.

At the Spelldrive's campsite...

"Everyone's tuckered out... You must be tired too, Epel. You should get to bed," Ruggie says.

But Epel says, "No, no! I'm wide awake!"

"Hey, no need for the tough guy act. We're gonna be working way harder tomorrow, remember?" Ruggie says.

"Mmph... I'll stick it out a little longer," Epel says.

Ruggie snickers, "Shyeheehee, if you insist. You got the heart of an athlete, don't ya?" then turns his head, "Sure wish you could share some of that with a certain guy who just ducked into his tent without a word.

"Who...?" Epel questions, and soon looks to where Ruggie is talking about, "Oh, hahaha."

There in his tent, Leona is snoozing away, "Zzz... Zzz..."