Chapter 5 - Freeze!
"Ahh, this is so relaxing," Becky remarked, lying on a towel drying in the sun.
"Yeah, in this heat it shouldn’t take long to dry," AJ said, lying on his stomach. "Maybe I’ll even get a tan."
"Good thing we found this clearing," Hazel added.
"This would almost be fun if we didn’t know there was some psycho keeping us out here," Ellie said.
Nick sighed. "You had to ruin the mood, didn’t you?"
"Yup!" Ellie replied brightly.
Brian started humming softly to himself. A minute later, Nick started humming a harmony to his melody.
"Um, you realize if you start singing, Tom will have to kill you," Ellie told them.
"He’s back at the campsite," AJ pointed out. He broke into the words.
The three BSB started singing "Back to your Heart."
Becky tried to contain her bliss as she lay next to Nick, listening to his beautiful voice.
Ellie was trying not to drool as Brian’s sweet voice drifted over her.
Wow, he’s got a nice voice, Hazel thought, listening to the smooth voice coming from AJ.
After a few minutes, the song ended.
"That was beautiful," Becky told them.
Nick blushed a little. "Arigatou."
"You guys like do your own harmonies . . . and melodies . . . and you’re not lip synching and . . . wow. I think I’m actually impressed," Ellie admitted.
AJ sat up, holding a hand to his chest. "What was that?! Be still my heart! Did you actually just -- gasp -- compliment the Backstreet Boys?!"
"Shut up!" Ellie said, hitting him. "I never said I didn’t like you. It’s not my fault if Tom makes jokes that are funny."
"Yeah, it’s hard not to laugh," Hazel agreed. "That song was really pretty, though."
"Thanks," Brian replied. "Kevin wrote it, actually."
"Cool," Hazel said.
"Well, I think I’m dry," Becky said. "We should probably get dressed and join the others." Her companions agreed and they went back to the campsite.
~~~
"Hey guys," Ellie said as they walked back into camp.
"Oh, you missed it," Sierra said. "We were talking about weird dreams we’ve had. It was fun."
"Well, I don’t remember my dreams, so I would’ve been bored," Ellie replied. "And Tom, you’re lucky you missed the mini concert by half of the Backstreet Boys."
Maggie shrieked, backing away from the BSB.
AJ hissed at her.
Maggie hissed back.
Brian put an arm around Ellie. "And Miss Ellie actually enjoyed it."
"You did what?!" Maggie cried.
"Wait, is that I blush I see?" Karen asked.
"Shut up!" Ellie shouted, having turned into a tomato with hair. She attempted to regain some composure as Brian released her shoulders. "Look, I appreciate the fact that they actually can sing. Karen, go stick your head in the lagoon."
"No!"
"Let’s do something else," Howie said quickly before war could break out.
"How about a game?" Hazel suggested.
"I wish we could play the paper game," Sierra remarked.
"We can play Freeze," Becky said.
"How do you play that?" everyone asked.
Becky explained the game. "Well, first everyone has to sit in a circle. Then two people stand in the middle in a position."
"What kind of position?" Tom asked suspiciously.
"Not that kind of position!" Becky cried. "Then the two people have to act out a scene based on the position their in."
"Oh, I’ve played this game before," AJ said, understanding.
"I have too," Karen added.
"So, they go along with their scene until someone in the circle claps. Then they change places with one of the people in the center and start a new scene." She paused. "That sound okay with everyone?"
Everyone nodded.
"Okay. I hate starting, so someone else can," Becky said.
"I will," AJ volunteered.
"I’ll start with him," Sierra said.
"Okay, who wants to put them in a position?" Becky asked.
"Me me!" Tom cried.
"No, Tom," Becky told him. "Brian, you do it."
"Heh heh," Brian said, rubbing his hands together. Sierra and AJ stood in the center of the rough circle the group had made. Brian made AJ get down on one knee. He then took Sierra’s foot and put it on AJ’s bent knee. "Have fun!"
"Go!" Becky cried.
AJ looked up at Sierra. "Well, hello there."
Everyone -- including Sierra -- burst out laughing.
"Well, are you going to polish my shoe or not?" Sierra asked, still laughing.
"Of course, ma’am!" AJ said, pretending to do so. "Wow, these are . . . really nice shoes you’ve got."
Everyone watching them was still in hysterics.
"There, that’s one done," AJ said.
As Sierra put her foot down, Ellie clapped her hands, causing the scene to stop. She proceeded to take AJ’s place.
"Go!" Becky told them.
"Sierra. Darling. Marry me. Be my love monkey," Ellie said on one knee.
Everyone collapsed into laughter again, including Ellie.
Once everyone had recovered Sierra said, "Are you implying that I’m gay?"
This, of course, caused everyone to re-collapse.
"If you don’t stop making everyone laugh so hard, we’ll never get anywhere!" Becky cried, halfheartedly.
Ellie was laughing so hard, tears were running down her face.
A few minutes later, everyone was sufficiently calm again.
"Does this mean you won’t marry me?" Ellie asked as she stood up and put a hand to her heart.
Becky clapped her hands and took Ellie’s place.
"Do you mean to tell your own mother that you -- my only daughter -- married a hamster?!?!" she cried.
Everyone again proceeded to die laughing.
"What was that about not getting anywhere?" Ellie asked.
Sierra put a hand on Becky’s shoulder. "I know it wasn’t what you always dreamed of, Mom."
Becky shook Sierra by her shoulders. "But how will he provide for you? What will your father say? What will the neighbors think!? What will your children look like?!"
Tom clapped his hands and took Sierra’s place.
"Oh God," Becky muttered.
"Just start shaking me again," Tom told her, smiling mysteriously.
Becky shrugged and started shaking his shoulders.
"I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Don’t hurt me!" Tom cried. "I won’t make fun of the Backstreet Boys again, I promise!"
Becky started laughing and tried to smother it. "Well, good. Maybe now you’ve learned your lesson." She let him go. "Now get down and gimme twenty push ups. Then we’ll be even."
"No way!" Tom cried. He grabbed her from behind and started tickling her.
Becky squealed, trying to pull away.
Nick and Maggie clapped their hands at exactly the same moment. Nick and Becky blushed madly as silence fell over the circle. Well, silence and some smothered grins.
"Um, you go ahead," Maggie told him.
Nick got up slowly and took Tom’s place, putting his arms around Becky’s waist. He could feel her tense up as he did so. After thinking for a minute, he picked her up and held her in the air. "Can you see them yet? Can you see them?"
Becky squinted. "No, I don’t see anything yet."
"Keep watching! The Backstreet Boys will be here any second! You’ll be able to see them over this screaming crowd."
"Wait! I think I see them! There they are! I can see them! Wow, they’re all so handsome!"
The scene caused another round of hysterics in the circle.
"They’re going into the building now," Becky said through her laughter.
Nick let her down. Before he could remove his hands from her waist, Brian clapped his hands. He proceeded to take Becky’s place.
Everyone in the circle tried desperately to keep their giggles to a minimum as Nick put his hands around his friend’s waist.
"Why, Nick, I never knew you felt this way," Brian started.
Needless to say, everyone cracked up. Again.
Nick tried not to laugh as he continued. "Brian, all it took was one glance at your sweet face to know I was in love."
Brian pulled away, putting one hand to his head melodramatically. "But, no. This cannot be. Not when we work together."
Nick was laughing too hard to continue. Karen clapped her hands to save him the trouble of trying to go on. She traded places with him.
"No no no!" Karen cried. "You’re doing this scene all wrong. You’ve got to do it with more feeling, real feeling!"
Brian pretended to get all choked up. "I’m doing the best I can, ma’am."
Karen laughed, then quickly recovered. "You need to feel the character’s emotions. How would you feel if you’d just found out your long lost brother was a transvestite?"
This time it was Brian who burst out laughing.
"Now, try the scene again," Karen told him when he’d recovered.
Brian nodded. "You’re a . . . no, you can’t be!" He fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands. "Why, God?! Why not ME?!"
Howie clapped his hands as everyone collapsed in hysterics.
When everyone had recovered, he took Brian’s place.
"No! My autographed Vanilla Ice CD! You broke it! How could you?!" he cried.
"Because he sucks," Karen answered, laughing at the same time.
Howie stood. "That didn’t give you the right to take away my most prized possession!"
"Get over it," Karen told him, trying to be serious.
"No! You will pay!" he shouted, running towards her, his hand raised.
Kevin clapped his hands and quickly took Karen’s place. He cowered away from Howie. "No! It doesn’t matter what you do to me! I won’t talk! I won’t tell you my secret brownie recipe!"
Howie burst out laughing. After recovering, he put on a fake German accent. "You vill tell me vat I vant to know or else . . ." He looked around, then grabbed Hazel. "Or I’ll be forced to torture your little friend!"
"No! Not that! Leave her out of this!" Kevin begged on both knees.
Howie put an arm around her throat.
Hazel squealed. "Kevin, save me! Please!"
"Hey! Is he allowed to bring in another person?" Ellie asked.
Becky shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"
Maggie clapped her hands and took Howie’s place. This made things interesting since Hazel towered over her.
"My Hazel! She’s mine! You can’t have her!" Maggie cried.
"No way!" Kevin cried, standing up and grabbing Hazel’s arm. "She’s mine! I saw her first!"
"Mine!"
"Mine!"
"Guys, I don’t see why you guys couldn’t share . . ." Hazel said.
Maggie and Kevin glared at each other. "NEVER!"
At that, everyone was physically on the ground laughing.
"You know, I think we’ve burned more calories playing this game than if we’d run a mile," Ellie said.
~~~