"Wow, is that our cabin?" Ashlynn asked, pointing at the majestic cabin in front of her and her new friends.
Cabin Up Da Creek was the first cabin they stumbled upon after crossing the bridge. Like everything else in Paperblank Village, it was a treehouse. A porch was under it. There was a picnic table and a few benches. To get into the house, people had to hike up a flight of stairs and cross another small porch. The cabin was much bigger than Evie expected. An additional extension with a small room was on top of it. There was a gap in the trees above, so the children could see the sky. The cabin also came with a perfect view of Paperblank Forest's gate.
Mateo answered Ashlynn's question. "It sure is."
Excited, Ashlynn grabbed hold of Evie's arm. She lugged her toward the cabin. "Come on, Evie!"
"Whoa!" Evie stumbled over her own feet. Ashlynn had quite a powerful grasp.
Tate, Amanda, and Emrys stayed close on their heels.
The tweens climbed the staircase, soon finding themselves in front of the cabin's door. Strings of white light were around both it and the windows. There were two rocking chairs on the porch.
The kids tried opening the door, but it was locked.
Ashlynn pushed it with her shoulder. "Heave! Heave!"
"Allow me." Mateo sounded quite amused. He squeezed through his group members and reached into his pocket. From it, he pulled out a golden key.
The children jumped up and down, even Emrys.
Mateo unlocked the door and opened it. Behind the first door was a screen-in.
His group members piled into their home away from home. A table with five chairs sat in front of an enormous window. There were two couches, a small bathroom, a bedroom, a little kitchen, and a loft. Up on the ceiling was a fan. The cabin was the perfect size for six people. Heck, it looked like it was big enough for even a seventh person. As expected, the group's belongings had already been delivered. They were scattered around the table. The children were going to sleep in the loft, but Mateo had been given the bedroom.
Evie and her new friends explored a little.
Ashlynn climbed the loft's ladder and said, "Whoa, Evie! Look at this loft!" The loft was one of the largest parts of the cabin. There were five mattresses in it, as well as another window.
Evie quickly joined her friend on the ladder. "Let me see! Let me see!"
Tate headed over to a chest that was next to one of the couches. He pulled it out and opened it.
Mateo took a seat at the table.
Tate found games and toys in the chest. They included board games and some Legos. "Whoa! Look at all this cool stuff," he said. "There are so many games."
Mateo chuckled.
Evie and Ashlynn glanced down at Tate from the loft.
"We have games?" Ashlynn wanted to know. She and Evie slid down the ladder's steps and joined Tate.
Amanda and Emrys snuck up from behind.
Evie tossed Annabelle onto the couch. She kneeled and started to dig through the chest.
"What do we have? What do we have?" Amanda questioned.
Mateo got up from his chair. Before the children got too comfortable, they needed to unpack. In a kind voice, he said, "Troops."
Only, the children did not listen. They were too busy pulling Scrabble, Chinese Checkers, Legos, and other games out of the chest.
Amanda's face brightened when she saw the Scrabble game. "Scrabble! Oh, I love this game." That wasn't surprising. Amanda most likely won all the Spelling Bees at school.
Emrys and Tate, who were huge fans of Legos, dumped out a bucket of them. They instantly started to build a spaceship.
Mateo did not like being ignored. "Troops," he tried again, "you can play later. We need to unpack."
The children still refused to listen. They were having too much fun. Amanda started to play a lone game of Scrabble, and Evie and Ashlynn whipped out a chess board.
To get their attention, Mateo raised his voice a little. "Niños."
"I'm going to beat you, Ashlynn. Just wait and see," Evie told her new friend. She unfolded the chess board and set it down in between them.
"Niños!" Mateo glared. He whipped out an orange whistle from his matador-like jacket and blew into it.
Tweeet!
All five tweens slapped their hands over their ears. They felt like they were on fire. Fear flashed across their faces.
Mateo lowered his whistle. He tapped his foot and pointed at the floor. "Put down your toys, and come here."
Evie and her friends stopped what they were doing. They rose to their feet and nervously approached their counselor. Evie, Ashlynn, and Amanda hugged each other.
Mateo hooked his fingers behind his back. He paced back and forth in front of his group like an angry grandma. "I'm going to go ahead and say this, niños... I may be young, but I'm not stupid. I don't put up with this behavior. When you are in my group, I expect you to listen to me. What just happened was very irresponsible for kids your age." His deep brown eyes bore into each child's soul. "I hate to say this, but I believe in discipline. For the next ten minutes, you're going to sit on the couch and not say anything."
"But, but, Mr. Mateo!" the children moaned.
His eyebrows narrowed further. "No buts! If any of you try to backtalk me, I'm going to take the toy chest away for the rest of the day."
That got the kids to listen. Mateo definitely reminded them that he was the adult and they were the children.
Evie, Ashlynn, Tate, Amanda, and Emrys sat down on the couch where they found the toy chest. Each child shivered like they were cold.
To make the situation even more uncomfortable, Mateo dragged a chair out from the table. He slid it in front of his group and sat down again. The young man brought his suitcase to him. He took a book out of it and crossed his right leg over his left knee. Mateo pretended to start reading, but it was all too clear he was watching his group like a hawk.
The children gulped. Sweat trickled down their temples. Five minutes passed, and it looked like Mateo was reading. He seemed engulfed in his story.
Emrys just naturally assumed he could get up and use the bathroom. He rose to his feet, tiptoeing forward, but Mateo asked him, "Where do you think you're going, Emrys?" He did not look up from his book.
Emrys froze in his tracks. "Just to the restroom," he shakily answered.
"I don't believe your time-out is over."
"But, Mr. Mateo, I really need to go."
Mateo licked his finger and flipped to the next page in his book. He still refused to make direct eye contact with him. "Please, Emrys, it's not my fault you ate one too many burgers at lunch."
Evie, Ashlynn, Tate, and Amanda choked on their spit. All four children burst out laughing. However, they quickly shut up when Mateo glared at them.
Emrys turned red from his heels up. He returned to the couch and sat next to Tate.
Five excruciating long minutes later, the children's time-out was over.
Mateo slapped his book shut. "So, let's try again. What are we going to do first?"
"Unpack," his group shakily answered.
"Can I use the bathroom now?" Emrys wanted to know.
Mateo stood up. "It's 'May', Emrys, but yes."
"When's dinner?" Amanda said. Her tummy rumbled.
Mateo winked at her in a friendly way. "We'll head down to the banquet after we get settled." He pushed the top of his suitcase up with his foot and tossed his book into it. He kicked it off to the side. Underneath him, his feet started to move in a tap dance-like fashion. "So, until then, let's have some fun," he told his campers.
They warmed up to him again.
Evie was quite impressed by the way Mateo moved his feet. She wondered if he liked to dance.
He headed over to a stereo in the corner of the room. It was black and rectangular and had two silver speakers. Mateo pressed the on button. Spanish-like music played from it.
Evie and her friends grinned. They bobbed their heads to the music and unpacked their things. The good thing about having a young counselor was that he was not boring.
It definitely looked like Mateo was interested in dancing. He moved his feet the entire time he worked with his own clothes.
Evie and her friends dragged their sleeping bags out of their suitcases. One by one, they climbed up to the loft and made their beds. Amanda, Evie, and Ashlynn stayed close together, but the boys kept their distance.
Evie set up her bed first. Her sleeping bag was light-weight and blue, and her pillow was white with blue trimmings. She propped Annabelle up against it. While Amanda and Ashlynn set up their own beds, Evie dangled her legs over the loft's edge. She pressed her hands into the wooden floor. It was a perfect recipe for splinters, but Evie didn't mind. She liked watching Mateo.
He picked up the toys she and her friends dumped out of the chest and put them back. The Spanish-like music continued to play from the stereo. Halfway through a Flamenco song, though, he stumbled. The pain in his tummy... It came back. Mateo bent over and clutched it. He clenched his teeth and collapsed to his knees. He tried standing up, but the pain was too great.
Nervousness flushed through Evie's body. "Mr. Mateo, is everything all right?" she inquired.
Just hearing her, her friends stopped what they were doing.
Mateo did not want to worry them, so he told Evie, "I'm fine." Yet, he struggled to his feet and slipped into his bedroom.
Amanda and Ashlynn appeared next to Evie's arms.
"What happened?" Ashlynn asked.
"Ma-Mateo," Evie shakily explained. "He just keeled over. I'm going to make sure he's okay." A horrifying vision of the pebble attacking her and he played in her mind. As an aspiring Pinta Park Ranger, Evie had to look after her colleagues. She prepared to climb down the ladder.
Emrys pulled a camera out of his bag. He said in a sarcastic voice, "Better not get him upset."
"I'll try," Evie said. She began her journey to the ladder's base. Each step was quick and precise.
In the meantime, her friends returned to setting up their beds.
Mateo dragged himself to his un-made bed. He passed a bookshelf, closet, and balcony. A window was parallel to it. It sported tan curtains and blinds. The room was square-shaped, similar to his room back home. While it wasn't the biggest thing in the world, Mateo felt safer just being there. He kept his hands on his belly and fell onto his mattress. He rested on his front, with his head facing the window. He tried to sleep, but Evie knocked on his door.
"Mr. Mateo?"
"Ugh," groaned the young man. Would he ever get a rest? For the love of Pete, he was getting married the week after camp got out.
Evie got straight to the point. "Are you okay? You keeled over."
"I'm fine, Evie. Can you just leave me alone, please?"
"But I'm worried about you."
"Evie, I'll come out in a few minutes."
Evie did not want to stress him further, so she left his room.
Her friends glanced at her from the loft.
"Well, how did it go?" Ashlynn wanted to know.
"He kicked me out."
Ashlynn chuckled. "Aw, don't let it bother you. Men are stubborn."
Emrys and Tate glared at her, clearly a little offended.
Ashlynn glanced at them. "I meant 'grown' men," she corrected.
"Oh." The boys relaxed their faces.
In his room, Mateo pulled his pillow close to him. He craved a five-minute nap, so he shut his eyes. Except, before he could doze off, the device from his pocket beeped. Mateo lost his temper. "Seriously?" he yelled. But then he took a deep breath and rubbed down his face.
Evie heard his remark. "Mateo?" she said.
"I think that boy has anger issues," Ashlynn observed.
Evie poked her head back into Mateo's room. She paused when she saw him on his device. Evie recognized it. That was the device that, that...! What was he doing carrying one around?
Mateo's back faced the door. He looked through the blinds to the outside world. He sometimes wondered why he liked his job so much. Inhaling, he said, "Uh, hello, Headquarters. This is Anthony Mateo Brook."
Anthony Mateo Brook? Evie's jaw dropped so quickly; it was as if a rock weighed her down and sank her to the bottom of the ocean. She fell onto her backside. Anthony? Evie thought again.
Professor Eryx's face took up the screen of Mateo's device. "Hey, kid. The Ranger Union just wants to know the status of your mission."
Ranger Union? Evie could not believe what she just heard. She knew Mateo had a secret! She leaped to her feet and shut the door to his room. Without warning, she rushed around the cabin and called, "Guys! Guys!" over the music. She looked as if she had just lost her mind.
Ashlynn had just finished setting up her own bed. She told her friend, "We're up here, Evie."
Evie whirled around. She hurried to the loft and jabbed her finger at Ashlynn. "Ashlynn, Mateo!"
"What about Mateo?"
Evie climbed the loft's ladder like a monkey. She jumped into the room and grabbed her friend's hands.
The others, also curious about Evie's sudden excitement, joined them. They sat on their knees, with their hands over their thighs.
Evie's heart beat like crazy in her chest. To Ashlynn, she explained, "Mateo. He's a ranger."
Instantly, Ashlynn burst out laughing. She sounded like a hyena.
The other children also laughed.
Ashlynn smacked her hand over her lips. "Oh, that's a good one. You're funny, Evie."
Evie blushed, but she kept on talking. "I'm serious. I just saw him talking with the Union. He had one of those... things rangers use. The device! Get this, though. He's not just any ranger. He's Ranger Anthony."
The children laughed even harder.
"Stop it, Evie!" Ashlynn finally snapped. "Ranger Anthony is much older than Mateo. Only a veteran ranger can do the things he's done for the country."
"How do you know?" Evie argued. "Have you seen him?"
"Well, no, but even if Mateo was a ranger, he would have graduated from the Ranger School merely two years ago. Rookies do not go on too many missions their first few years."
Amanda couldn't help but agree. "It's true, Evie."
"Oh, just shut up, y'all," Evie fought. "I'll prove it to you. I'll prove to you that Mateo is Ranger Anthony."
A voice behind her caused her to jump. "What about a ranger?" Mateo had just stepped out of his room. He stood at the base of the loft's ladder.
"Yipe!" Evie twisted her head to look at him. "Nothing. I'm just goofing around."
Mateo placed his hands on his hips. "Is there something we need to talk about?"
Evie immediately shook her head. "No, sir. All is good."
Nevertheless, Mateo looked beyond suspicious.