It was an ordinary Saturday, and I had been lazing around the house pretty much all morning. I was laying down spread eagle on the couch in the living room staring bleary eyed at some boring cartoon re-run when Mom came in. I barely budged at first, expecting her to simply breeze past or at the very most ask another one of her rote questions about whether or not I had done my homework, but instead she said something that made me jump up to attention as if I'd been shocked with 200 volts of electricity.
"Cooper, honey. Your friends are here."
I yipped like a startled fox. It was almost 2pm, but I was still in my pajamas! Plus, I wasn't just in any pajamas - that morning I had been wearing a particularly childish dinosaur themed set that my Mom had picked out in preparation for the weather turning colder. I hadn't been at all pleased at first, especially when I saw on the label that they were technically a size 6-7, but I had to admit that the tight fitting cotton was cozy. Peeking up bashfully over the back of the sofa, I saw that the whole troop had already filed in behind her. Zach led the way, stalking confidently into our living room with his arms crossed confidently over his chest and the kindies trotting officiously behind him like a pack of swaggering yearling pups parading behind their leader. It wasn't a beaver day, but they were all in their uniforms, purposeful looks on their faces.
"Um... Hi!" I squeaked as I covered myself up with a nearby blanket, trying to look as if nothing were amiss.
"You're still in your Pajamas!" Zach remarked disapprovingly, furrowing his eyebrows in frustration.
"It's probably nap time." Alex giggled. "Cooper's always getting sleepy."
I gave a sheepish grin, trying very hard not to yawn. "I'm not." I denied in a croaking voice, taken off guard as I was suddenly thrust into the conversation. "I...was just watching cartoons."
"Well get dressed." Zach commanded, pointing instructively to a red plastic basket filled with my freshly folded laundry. Mom had just taken it out of the dryer, and it was still warm. "We're going out."
I found myself obeying almost on instinct, hurrying over to the basket. I felt a rush of excitement, wondering what on earth could be so important that Zach and the Kindies would just turn up unannounced. I grabbed a pair of plain jeans and a striped blue and white t-shirt, so excited that I almost pulled off my pajama bottoms right there and then - before I remembered that I wasn't wearing any underwear.
"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.
"The jungle gym!" Laurie answered at once.
"The one in the woods, at the end of the path by the lake." Zach clarified "We're gonna make sure the trail is clear. For my Earth Badge. But hurry up, we don't have much daylight left!"
I gave a hurried nod, looking down at my pajamas again - and then looking awkwardly towards the stairs that led up to my bedroom. "What are you waiting for?" Zach demanded. "Get dressed!"
"I'm...um...not wearing any undies." I revealed in a shy voice.
"Who cares!" Alex shouted, adding to my sense of urgency "Just put them on!"
Startled into compliance, I did as I was told, hurriedly yanking the jeans up over my pajama bottoms before pulling the t-shirt over my head. I took a moment to glance at my reflection in the window, seeing that I looked rather ridiculous. The pajamas had long sleeves, but the t-shirt didn't - the silly dinosaur patterns not at all blending in with the rest of my outfit. I didn't have time to contemplate any further however before Charlie grabbed my beaver vest from its place on a hook by the door and threw it into my arms.
"Ready?" Zach asked, not waiting for a reply. "Let's go!"
***
The clouds rumbled threateningly above the tree canopy as we stood at the edge of the trail by the lake, watching Zach cutting back the unruly undergrowth with his red pocket knife. He stepped back, looking rather pleased with himself as he pointed at the simple yellow arrow on the tree marking the trail. "There." he announced proudly. "Now you can see it."
"You could see it before." Alex commented wryly. It was true. All Zach had really done was cut back a single fern leaf that had been drooping vaguely in front of the trail blaze.
"Well now you can see it better." Zach insisted.
Charlie frowned, looking up at the black swirling clouds merging together in the sky above like the murky surface of a foul inky lagoon. "Maybe we should go back," he suggested. "They said there's meant to be rain later."
"But we haven't got to the jungle gym!" Laurie whined, stomping a little booted foot in frustration against a nearby tree branch. The littlest Kindie had been very patient, but he was understandably frustrated. The playground site was only about two miles down the trail, but we'd been walking it for almost an hour and a half - Zach insisting on stopping in front of every trail marker to neaten up the undergrowth.
"We'll be fine." Zach assured us. "The rain's not meant to start until after sundown."
As if on cue, there was a loud crack of thunder - the sound of the gentle pattering of droplets on leaves first alerting us before a few spittings started to shower down on our heads. Alex giggled derisively, as much amused by the irony of Zach's comment by the sour look on his face. Laurie's face scrunched up at the prospect of his canceled trip to the playground.
I held out my hands as if to try and catch a droplet of rain. "We are going to get wet." I stated matter-of-factly. Even if we ran home now, it was a long way off from the trailhead and we still needed to walk through the subdivisions after that.
Zach stood up tall and folded his knife away. "We should go." He acknowledged, causing Laurie to let out an annoyed harumph.
"I love the rain!" Alex chimed and took Laurie's hand, pulling him out from under the cover of the tree. "There will be puddles soon and we can jump in them!"
Laurie seemed to perk up at once, looking up in wonder at the water pitter-pattering its way through the leaves and running down rocks, moss, bark and branches towards the ground. The rainfall was already getting much more intense, the sound of the droplets drumming, squidging, plopping or rat-at-tatting in all sorts of timbres against the different wet wild textures of the forest, slowly combining and crescendoing into the single unbroken clamor of a brewing storm. Laurie's high-pitched innocent giggles cut through the sinister symphony, the little boy jumping up and down in delight as he playfully stuck out his tongue - catching the raindrops.
"Look, Cooper!" he squealed at me, though with his tongue still lolling out of mouth it sounded more like 'Ewhk Coowah!'
I had been staring straight ahead, looking broodingly past the faster and faster streams of water dashing across my vision and feeling the pounding rain splattering down on the long arms of my soft pajama top - the little spots of wetness spreading out and congealing together like an army of converging ants clinging and crawling all over my skin. We weren't very far from home, but all the same I began to feel a sinking sense of unease. It was really coming down very fast now.
"Look Cooper!" Laurie demanded again, pulling demandingly on my arm and shaking me out of my anxious stupor. He gave me a big smile as he pulled me down to his level so that our noses were almost touching, pointing at the tip of his tongue and letting out another musical giggle. "It tastes like forest!" he observed in a hushed reverent tone. He would have almost sounded like a wise, practiced sommelier sampling a priceless vintage - if it wasn't for his tongue sticking out. 'I' tafe 'ike foweft!'
The silly comment finally coaxed out a smile from me. I couldn't help but laugh an enthusiastic, giggly, childish laugh, my worries blotted out by an overwhelming playful energy. I stuck out my tongue just like Laurie, tasting the earthy woody flavor of the droplets running off the leaves.
"Bet I can stick mine out further than you two!" Alex suddenly challenged, bouncing down skillfully from atop a gnarled old root already slippery with rain water and clamping down one hand on either of our shoulders. She leaned down beside the two of us, sticking her tongue out unnaturally far and making us both cringe back in disgust.
"Eww!" Laurie objected with a snort, instantly retracting his own tongue. "Why's it so long?"
Alex smirked, shrugging her shoulders. "Raccoon's have long tongues." she said sagely. "I can even lick my nose. Look!"
She did so, making me and Laurie let out another series of sprightly guffaws - even as the rain continued to pound down harder around us.
"I can do it too!" Laurie insisted, sticking out his tongue again, but it soon became apparent that he couldn't. He was still wincing in concentration, just barely managing to wet the top of his philtrum, when Alex darted quickly forward and licked it for him! "Hey!" the little boy objected through another breathless guffaw. "What was that for?"
"Looked like you needed some help, Tic Tac." she giggled, effortlessly slipping into roleplay mode. She grinned from ear to ear, holding up her hands up in two claw-like grips imitating the paws of a raccoon as she turned on me. "I can do Rascal too!"
I rapidly shook my head, though I was still smiling too. "No way!" I objected through a half-horrified, half-delighted snigger. Alex didn't listen however, sticking out her tongue again and starting to bare down on me with her hands stretched forward. I let out a musical chortle of glee, instantly turning on my heels and scampering clumsily around a nearby tree to evade the feral racoon-girl, splashing through a shallow puddle that had already formed in a small recess amongst the roots. Laurie soon joined in, chasing after Alex in turn with his own tongue sticking out - hungry for revenge.
"Guys!" Zach shouted authoritatively over the sound of the rain, but we didn't listen - feeling much too giggly and silly to calm down now. He changed tactics, reaching out and grabbing his little brother by the scruff his collar and showing him a mischievous smile. . "Was that your first kiss?" He mused to him, making the little boy's eyes go wide.
"What?" Laurie squealed, his cheeks growing rosy as he looked back at Alex. "That... that's not it."
Zach snickered some more at his abashed brother "We have to go back." He explained to us.
"It's fine!" Alex shouted back defiantly, momentarily stopping in her tracks. "It's just a bit of rain." Before she could argue any further however, Laurie made a fresh lunge for her, and she nimbly side stepped out of the way - going back to the chase.
Charlie was similarly unsympathetic to our antics, crossing his arms disapprovingly over his chest and standing up straight next to Zach. "We're going to get wet." he stated dryly, effortlessly adopting the role of the chiding big brother.
"I'm already wet!" Laurie pointed out, though in truth he was only a little damp - the tree still providing a decent amount of cover, and his mop of golden curls sopping up the rest.
"Cooper." Charlie tried instead, stepping out in front of my path as I ran past him and grabbing hold of my beaver vest - holding me still. I went limp like a kitten scooped up by the nape, though I was still letting out excited breathless giggles, wearing a stupid smile on my face that I couldn't make go away. "You're being silly." he said gravely. "You're meant to be in Grade Five!"
My smile instantly fell into an ashamed frown, infinitely embarrassed to be scolded by the eight-year-old. I tried to say something, but the words wouldn't form - just leaving me opening and closing my mouth like a fish caught on a hook.
Alex came to my rescue, putting a pause on the game as she came skidding up to my side with Laurie hot on her heels. "You can't boss Cooper around, Charlie." she said with a mischievous smile. "He's eight, remember? Just like you!"
I felt a stab of panic, fearing momentarily that my various conflicting lies might finally be found out and the truth discovered, but I needn't have worried. Evidently, Zach had already heard the 'secret' I'd put about at camp - and he wasn't convinced. "He's not eight." he said with a roll of his eyes and a derisive snort. "He's five. Just like Laurie."
"He is so eight!" Laurie countered. Clearly, this was a discussion they'd had before. "He told me so!"
Zach shook his head. "If he was eight, why would he be a brown tail?" he testified. "He's just tall...and freaky smart." He dropped the topic - pointing instructively back the way we had come. "Enough messing around. We have to go back."
Laurie let out a little whine of discontent. "Can't we stay? I wanna keep playing!"
"No, Laurie. You're gonna get soaked!" Zach lectured.
The five year old looked cowed, meekly lowering his head, but Alex could not be so easily tamed. "That's dumb." She stated matter of factly - jumping ahead on the trail again and grabbing hold of my beaver vest to pull me forward. "Tag! You're it!" She told me, suddenly letting go and pushing me playfully backward towards the trees.
Taken unawares, my sneakers tripped threateningly against a sleek skid of mud. "Argh!" I exclaimed in horror, stumbling backward - my eyes widening in horror as I realized I was headed straight towards a big muddy puddle in the ditch!