Away From it All
By: Stitch
Part 6 - 'We're not going to the North Pole.'
Dale's Secret Diary (no peeking!)
The day after yesterday
Wowie zowie, what a cool day! And I don't mean it was cold, I mean 'cool' like it was good.
Everything went just like Gadget, Monty, Zipper and me planned it, too. I wish I could just jump right ahead to the end of the day, because just thinking about it makes me so happy! But I guess I should start at breakfast because otherwise you won't know what's going on.
It was easy to sneak out of the tent this morning without waking Chip up, because he stayed up half the night writing stuff in that little book of his (it's kind of like my diary, I guess, but he calls it a 'journal' and his doesn't have dinosaur stickers on it either). Anyway, Chip was out like a light when the sun came up.
Once I was outside the tent I put my shirt on, then tip-toed over to the fire pit where Monty, Gadget, and Zipper were already waiting for me. You know something? Being sneaky is fun! I felt just like it was the day before my birthday, all nervousy and excited while we fixed breakfast.
I made some flapjacks with chocolate chips in them while Monty and Zipper grated some cheese for those cheddar biscuits they always fix - not that we had much cheddar left to cook with because Monty kept getting that weird 'cheese' look in his eyes and holding the grater up over his mouth while he grated.
Gadget stood next to me at the stove and fried up some of that tofu bacon that everybody thinks I don't know is fake (I haven't told them I know what it's made of because if everyone knew I liked tofu they'd probably put me on a diet and make me eat bean sprouts too).
I asked Gadget if she was able to finish building her new thingamajiggy out of the leftover junk from yesterday's woodchopper doohickey, and she smiled and said, "I had to stay up an extra hour, but yeah, it's ready!"
"That's great! Where is it? Did you already get it set up?"
"Too right we did," said Monty while he spooned some dough into the muffin pan. "And let me tell you, six in the morning is no time to be dragging three pounds of hardware up the side of a tree!" He tried to sound all grumbly when he talked, but you could tell he was really enjoying himself.
Gadget walked up next to him and patted his arm. "Well, nobody else was strong enough to do it, Monty..."
Monty got all red in the ears and started smiling, then went back to fixing his biscuits only now he was flipping the dough in the air with the spoon and catching it in the muffin pan like one of those chefs on tv. I caught Zipper rolling his eyes behind Monty's back, which almost made me laugh but instead I bit my tongue and kept quiet.
We set the table up with all our breakfast goodies, which looked and smelled so good I really had to work hard to keep myself from just diving in. But we couldn't start without Chip, since he's the reason we were all up so early in the first place.
And speaking of Chip, I was just about to go wake him when I heard him moving around inside our tent. I couldn't see but it was only too easy to imagine him, all bleary-eyed and shuffling like a zombie while he tried to put his jacket on. He's always like that when he gets worried about stuff and stays up too late. I don't know how many times I've told him he works too hard and needs to enjoy himself more, but does he listen to me? (The thing is, underneath that 'I'm-oh-so-serious' front he puts up, Chip really is good at having fun... it's just that sometimes he needs a little help. Especially when he gets all gloomy like yesterday.)
Anyhow, it wasn't long before Chip poked his nose out through the tent flap and started sniffing at the air. I knew he wouldn't be able to resist my pancakes. Sure enough, he came out of the tent with his shoulders slumped like he was still asleep, his fur all scruffy and sticky-outy like mine gets when I sleep on the couch back home. He looked sort of confused, like he was wondering why everybody else was up so early.
Monty, Gadget, Zipper and I all took our places behind the table and waited for him while he walked up.
"Uh, g'morning, guys," he said. When he saw all the good stuff we had spread out his eyes got big. "Wow... what's the occasion?"
"The occasion is that we're on vacation and it's time for breakfast," I said as I walked around the table and scooted Chip's chair out for him. "Goda i vostri pancake saporiti del cioccolato," I couldn't resist adding as he sat down.
I put a whole stack of pancakes on his plate, then a bunch of tofu bacon next to that, two of Monty's biscuits, and poured him a cup of orange juice. Now, I know I don't usually serve breakfast to him like that, so it must have seemed kind of surprising, but you should have seen the look on his face! Maybe he thought he was still asleep and dreaming.
"Right-o... tuck in, everybody!" said Monty. Then we all sat down and did just that. Everybody scarfed their pancakes down in nothing flat, then went back for seconds (I actually had thirds, even though last night my belly was all wonky from eating too many marshmallows). Chip always pretends like he's really into healthy food like vegetables and stuff, but you should have seen him attack his pancakes! He's a chocolate fiend at heart, which is why sometimes I tease him about his nose looking like a little chocolate chip.
Anyhow, after we were done eating, and before Chip had a chance to start giving out his 'cleanup assignments', Monty and I cleared the table and took the dirty dishes over to the sink.
Chip came over and stood beside us while I washed and Monty dried. For a few seconds he just stared at me. Then he reached his paw out and pressed it against my forehead.
"Um... hello?" I asked, not really sure what he was doing.
"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.
"Of course I am."
"Huh. No fever. How many fingers am I holding up?" He held his paw out at me.
"All four of them. Why?"
"You're cleaning up after yourself," he said, like that was the most amazing thing in the world.
I rolled my eyes. "I know. And you didn't even have to yell or anything." Of course he didn't get that I wasn't being serious. "Anyhow, which would you rather do, put dishes away or re-pack all the food?"
"I guess I'll put dishes away." He picked up a stack of plates and carried them away, still looking stunned. If it was anybody besides Chip, I would have offered to put the dishes away myself, but I know he's happiest when he's got some kind of chore to do and I wouldn't want to deprive him.
We'd just finished putting the last of the stuff away when Gadget reappeared. She was all decked out in a new jumpsuit that was green with darker green stripes, and with a backpack slung around her shoulders that had all kinds of weird things sticking halfway out of the pockets. "Golly, Chip, don't you want to get ready?" she asked.
Chip stared at her like she'd just stepped out of a Martian spaceship. "Ready?" he asked. "For what?"
"We were going on a hike, remember?"
"We..." Chip looked so shocked now that I was having a really hard time not laughing. "We were?"
"Too right, pally," said Monty. He walked over to us and slung his own backpack over his shoulder. Zipper buzzed along right behind him... he didn't have a backpack, just a stick that he'd tied a little red handkerchief to the end of. It looked like there was maybe half an apple core in there, but I wasn't sure. "Zipper and me are all set."
"B-but, gee, um," Chip sputtered. Then he scratched at the side of his head. "But I thought you guys didn't want to go hiking."
Gadget blushed a little. "Well, see, I got to thinking about that, and I decided that I wasn't really being fair yesterday. I guess I'm not too good at this whole get-back-to-nature thing, but I still should have been willing to give it more of a chance. We are on vacation, after all."
Chip finally broke into a great big smile. "Really? That's great... uh, I guess I should get ready." He spun on his heels and almost ran back to our tent.
"Hee hee!" I finally let myself have a little laugh. Then I leaned close to Gadget and whispered, "Thanks again for agreeing to come with us."
"No problem," she said while she twiddled a little dial on the side of her backpack. Then she shot me a dark look and poked a finger at my chest. "But if we get eaten by a giant bug or something, I'm gonna be mad."
"Now, Gadget, love, there's no need to worry. There aren't any bugs big enough to eat a full-grown mouse... not around here, anyway. Now, your giant carnivorous three-toed yellow bullfrog, that's a different story. I remember one time - " Monty didn't get a chance to finish his story because Zipper suddenly swooped in and clapped his arms over his mouth. Good thing he did, too, because Gadget was starting to go all pale around the eartips.
"Mmrf! Say, Dale," Monty said after he'd pried Zipper off his face. "Shouldn't you be getting ready too?"
He was right! I immediately spun around and dashed off to our tent. When I got inside I found Chip kneeling down on his sleeping bag with his backpack open in front of him. He was looking over the contents with his paw on his chin.
"What's up?" I asked him as I grabbed my own backpack.
"Just making sure I didn't forget anything. Hmm... water bottle, trail guide, rope, spare hat..."
That wasn't a bad idea, so I opened my pack and went through the stuff inside. "Rubber duck, mints, Rocket Badger decoder ring, ginger snaps, compass..."
He glanced up at me. "You're not really bringing that old compass, are you?"
"Why not?"
"It's huge! Besides, it doesn't even work right. Look," he said, pointing at the spinner thing, "it says the North Pole is located in the southwest. Why don't we just bring my compass instead?"
I don't know what the big deal was... we weren't going to the North Pole! But I decided not to argue about it and just took my compass out. Actually that worked out better because I had more room for cookies.
"Um, Dale...?"
I looked over at him. He'd buttoned his backpack shut and was sitting cross-legged on his sleeping bag.
"Hmm?"
He rubbed his paw against the back of his head and glanced down at his toes. "I, ah, just wanted to say 'thanks'. You know, for breakfast, and for coming on this hike with me."
"Oh, well... uh..." I was kind of surprised, because he isn't usually
so up-front with me about his feelings (except when he's miffed, of course).
For a moment I didn't know what to say. Then I found myself breaking into a
big smile that probably looked just like his did when he found out we were going
hiking. I was so happy that I nearly blurted out the best part, about the stuff
we had planned for later in the day, but fortunately I remembered not to at
the last second. "You're welcome," I said instead. "Come on,
everybody's waiting."