Triple Trouble

Chapter 2: Lena

As it turns out, the 'Big Something' Rodrigo wanted to tell Jeff was that his parents were planning a camping trip and the triplets were invited. This was good news for Lena as she liked to take every opportunity she could to challenge herself. Their mom wasn't happy that her child didn't obey her orders of taking his brothers to the swimming pool, but she let it slide.

"You think I'm gonna need a flashlight?" Gary asked, scratching his head.

"Are you seriously asking me that." Lena laughed.

"Unless you wanna get eaten by bear I'd say yes." Jeff rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe his mother was making him take his sibling with him! This was a trip with his friends! They were gonna ruin his reputation.

"There aren't any bears on this side of the town." Lena added, throwing her clothes in her backpack, not even ordering her stuff. She was gonna take those things off anyway, so why bother?

As the time to go came closer, Lena wondered what she could do to play a prank on her brothers. She had to reclaim her place as the most brave and cooler of them three. An idea came to mind: Horror stories. As cliché as it could be, she knew her brothers and was sure that at least Gary would call her mom in tears later that night. The problem was Jeff. He was stubborn as mule. What kind of story would scare him enough that he couldn't sleep? She thought of that time she "accidentally" left him in the attic with the lights off, right after they saw the tv special of It. He yelled and cried a bit and she was punished that night. No dessert. Totally worth it. And that memorie gave her just the perfect idea. She laughed to herself as she was a villain in one of those cheesy old movies. And her dad gave her a concerned look.

They traveled in Rodrigo's dad van. He played Pedro Infante songs all the way. They were nice but they weren't exactly songs they could all sing to. Not that they needed to, because they spend the whole time talking (screaming) and laughing like crazy, joking around. Jeff fell asleep after a couple minutes. It always happened to him, the moment he was on a car he just knocked off.

When they arrived, Lena saw the place was a bit dark, twilight coming close. There were a lot of trees, obviously, it was a big place. The air was clean and there was a lot of bugs. She loved it. Rodrigo's parents showed them the way to the place they were camping. They had to install the camping houses and bring some food from the van. Gary already looked like he was about to cry. "There's so much green." he complained when Jeff wasn't listening. Lena laughed, but didn't payed much attention to her brother's complaint. She was entertained climbing trees and throwing small rocks to Jeff, who was most definitely regretting this.

When the night fell, Lena looked at her victims. Jeff's group of friends, all loud and tall like him. And Gary. And Rodrigo's parents, but they didn't count in her mind. When they were roasting marshmallows she saw the perfect time for her plan to come alive. "This is so nice." she exclaimed to gain attention. "It reminds me of a little story." when all eyes were on her, she began. Always exaggerating, her tone kept all people interested in the story. "This is a real story." she warned. And so the tale began. One by one, everyone started to look a bit scared. By the time she was finished, poor Gary was trembling and ready to call his mom. Jeff looked like he was fine, but Lena knew him better and saw he was sweating. Rodrigo's parents made a joke, trying to calm them, but it had the opposite effect. When they entered their camping house, the kids remained in a circle, looking at the stars.

And they heard a strange sound.

Gary screamed. Lena took that moment to touch Jeff and made him jump in fear and scream just like his brother did before. She laughed so hard she fell. And she kept laughing, that little devil.

Gary swore to himself he would get his revenge and clean his name. No more Gary the coward.