KIDZ KAMP

Wow! I cant believe I’m already in Grade 7 and writing about my last prep school camp! Well, this camp sure made up its mind to be the best camp we’d seen so far.

It really didn’t seem like much when we got there after our boring 90-minute drive (we had to be at school at 6AM. 6, I tell you!!) to our camp- rocks and cow poo everywhere, some not-very-appealing looking buildings, a lapa and a pool. Before we went to cabins and got settled in, though, all the counsellors (CK, Spanner, Scar, Spoon,  the head counsellor Spud and Mufasa) introduced themselves to us. Mr Oosthuizen, our Natural Sciences teacher, told us how the camp was going to work. We were all grumpy and sure this was going to be a repeat of our (shudder) Grade 4 camp experience buuuttt... there is always more to a camp than what meets the eye!

We got to our cabins and got ready for being divided into one of the five groups, putting on sunblock and doing some minor grumbling/complaining and grabbing bunks. I shared a bunk with Dana, one of my BFFs. Once we got back to the lapa, we got divided into groups that no one was happy about. So, when the counsellors and teachers weren’t looking, me and another of my BFFs, Leora scooted over to Dana’s group! We were lucky we didn’t get caught but we knew the counsellors knew. They held their silence, though, and for that all us ‘swappers’ are eternally grateful. Straight after we were sorted into groups, the groups headed off to the different activities. Our group, Group 3, walked slowly in the hot sun to the ladder-building activity. Our group chatted away, happy to be with friends again. The activity was a small jungle gym, of sorts, with two wooden poles in the ground stuck firmly into the ground and secured to the structure. We had to use 6-7 planks of wood, noting the number of holes on each side and the number of holes in the two poles in the ground and push screws into the holes. Once it was sucure, we all had to climb up the ladder, walk over the platform and down the pre-made ladder on the other side.

Once we were done with that, we head down to the obstacle course our group chatted away, happy to be with friends again. Reade, one of my classmates from last year, was happy to be the guinea pig and ‘show us how it’s supposed to be done’ he did it quickly, then we followed, all 19 of our group members finishing it. I myself was dared to climb a net challenge by a boy in my group and I finished it faster than him, (Girls Rule!) after which he pretended he didn’t see (imagine three wooden poles forming a frame, then a blue net stretched over both sides so that it creates a small slope on each side. Then imagine it being about 2.5 meters tall.)We finished the course with no problem whatsoever, after which we headed to the mud bath;)

We had been instructed to have our swimming costumes on underneath our clothes, so when we got to the muddy bank of the Vaal River, we took off our outer clothing and started attacking each other with stinky mud from the banks of the river. Well, the girls did so for a bit while the boys in our group struggled to build a raft from two oil barrels, two ropes and two planks. While they toiled, we got our Afrikaans teacher, Juffrou Tolmay, to get into the mud and gave her a mud bath, then we posed for a picture with her. Then we took over from the boys, and our raft actually floated for like a minute before it sunk, dunking our tiny test subjects (and my ex-best friends) Misty and Marianna into the river. After that we had a mud fight then headed to the pool.

We were tired, muddy yet happy when we headed back to our cabins to get ready for lunch. Lunch was just a boerewors roll with potato salad and oh-so-sweet juice with no flavour except.... sugar.... After lunch, we went to our cabins for a short respite from our activities and the boiling heat. We then headed to the pool for two quick games before walking down to the riverbank for canoeing. We had absolutely NO clue that we would get wet again for the first activity! We had to pass a cup of water around the circle our group sat in without dropping ANY of the water. We soon found out what would happen when we dropped water when some boys got water sloshed all over them for ‘not passing the cup fast enough!’ We all got wet eventually and enjoyed it.

For the second activity, we played ‘murderer in the dark’ (I have no intention to bore myself in writing the entire explanation and you in having to read the whole thing, so I must politely request you to Google the game- if, of course, you want to) we only had time to play two rounds before we trotted cheerfully to the river for canoeing.

While only half our group actually took the canoe ride, the rest of us swam in the river and repeated some of the mud fight we had earlier. Mr Metzer, our technology teacher, brought to our attention the fact that we were swimming in the Vaal River, the very river that divides Gauteng from the Free State and if we swam or canoed halfway across the river we would pass over into the Free State. Worried by the obviously impending thunderstorm, our teachers instructed us to get back to our cabins. When we got there, most of us (myself included) headed straight for the showers. I had to get mud out of my hair because someone thought it was funny to dump mud in my hair (well, it was rather funny.... BUT STILL)

At night, after a dinner of mince, rice and the ever-present oh-so-sweet juice, we had about an hour of freetime in which me and my friends took over the foosball table (we are GOOD at it, believe it or not!), talked, sung a little and hung out in the lapa before the night activities. The night activity consisted of us in our respective groups coming up with a play on a topic of their choice (ours was ‘How the Ostrich Got Its Long Neck) and presenting it the next night in an occasion called ‘River Theatre’. We managed to come up with an idea for and improbable play in which four Australian scientists come to SA to study the wildlife and find the short-necked Ostrich. They then experiment on it, causing its miniscule neck to grow and grow and grow.

That’s all we did that night and we soon got back to our cabins to sleep. Needles to say, we actually slept well that night, only because we were so tired, muscles aching and stomachs growling from the.... food.

Next morning, I was woken up by the gals in my dorm ‘quietly’ chattering away.  It was already 7AM, so CK came to wake us up and saw that we were already awake. Then, she told us to get ready and put on a lot of sunblock and bring a hat to the lapa. When we got there, we were sorted into our groups and Mr Oosthuizen and the counsellors told us how breakfast would work. To our blatant surprise, they announced that we would cook our own breakfast on a fire built out of sticks we found around camp (one of my friends joked that this was their way of cleaning up the camp)

When we got to the clearing in which we would cook our breakfast, we dumped our sticks on our group’s large pile and then waited for our counsellor, Scar to come and build and light the fire. Many groups already had a fire, and we were the last, our counsellor only managing to make the fire after 15 minutes and only after Reade and Misty had tried their hand at it. 

Once we finally got the fire up and running, did we finally get to try cooking our food- first the veggie sausages, then the chicken sausages and finally, the scrambled eggs on the HUGE pan they provided us with. The sausages were cooked with no problem- the little mishap where the fire was so strong that the sausages in the pan caught on fire and were burned thoroughly within half a minute was funny and, instead of trying to put out the fire, we started laughing! The real problem was the eggs. We cracked them without problem, but then Marianna and Michael decided to start arguing about who got to cook the frickin’ eggs! They decided to do it half-half, but then the REAL trouble started! The eggs obviously didn’t want to be cooked, so we waited there for about 20 minutes, not allowed to eat any of the sausages or bread because our counsellor Scar said- ‘you can’t eat anything until the eggs are cooked’ We went on like that for a while before someone (me) realized that the fire had gone out like 5 minutes ago. So while we tried to get the fire going again, Dana decided to completely disregard the unreasonable demands of our counsellor and....... EAT A SAUSAGE! We were annoyed at her, of course, but she didn’t seem to care,At all.

In the end, we did get them cooked, but only after the other groups were halfway through eating their food and only after we had to use another group’s fire! CK mercifully pitied us and allowed us to eat our sausages and another group’s spare scrambled eggs while she cooked our eggs. Needless to say, our eggs were terrible in the end because our counsellor didn’t wash the pan after he cooked the sausages, therefore all the veggie sausage’s soya oil and the burnt butter got into our eggs.

After our “breakfast”, we went back to the lapa and were divided into our classes- 7C, 7R, 7A, 7W and 7F. My class, 7A, went to the ‘dam’ exercise. There was a small concrete dam in camp, filled with unsanitary-looking green water, with tree tyres in it. The tyres were somehow permanently fixed to the bottom, so we could not move them. It was quite complicated. So complicated, in fact, that we could not understand it even when we were there! I’m going to skip this part, then, and only tell you that it was wet, smelly, involved planks and ‘sacrifices’!

Our group, already wet, then went over to rope swing. There was a structure on the bank of the river, with a rope that would, if you held on right, swing you into the dam, making a huge splash, leaving you in the cold water to swim back to shore for yourself. Nearly all of us went to swing into the dam like Tarzan! Me and a few of my fellow of my ‘tall people’ tried and got dumped right near the bank, causing much hilarity between our short buddies. We persuaded our Afrikaans and Natural Science teachers, Juffrou Tolmay and Mr Oosthuizen to do the swing as well! It was hilarious to watch our usually serious teachers scream as they splashed into the lake! We were all wet after the swing, so our counsellor gave us some time to dry off before heading to the zipline. It was about 5 meters long. Me and a couple of other kids in my class managed to do the zipline before we were called to the lapa so that the counsellors could tell us the good news: we had about an hour of freetime before the next activity, which we would be doing as a grade!

Me and my friends stayed in the lapa for a while before going to our cabin to chill. When we were in the cabin, we chatted for a while before deciding to play a game similar to the ‘Riff Off’ in Pitch Perfect (if you don’t know what I’m talking about its not really important) where someone says a topic or a word and someone in one of the two groups has to come up with a song with that word in it or a song about that topic (it has to be a real song though) we played ‘the song game’ as we called it, until the counsellors summoned us to the lapa.

We found out that we would be going inside a ‘game farm’ in camp for what, we didn’t know yet. When we got to our destination, CK told us that the muddy watering hole before us would be the very ‘pond’ she told us we would be swimming in! We were all shocked at first, and between ourselves, we all questioned the sanity of the people who organized these activities! Gradually, nearly all of us got into the watering hole, splashing each other with mud and generally having fun! We then all sat down in a huge circle and played ‘Duck Duck Goose’, then had another mudfight, then we trudged our way to a ‘clean’ lake far away from our current lake. Muddy, very muddy, but cheerful and jolly, we trudged through the bush, cracking jokes as we went.

When we finally got there, we were happy to see clean-looking water and our muddy classmates washing themselves down, and literally ran to the lake, jumping in and rinsing the bulk of the mud off of us! After we washed down, we put our arms around each other in a giant circle and we and our Tech teacher, Mr Metzer, shared what we had learned from this camp and praised the whole group for being able to do all these things since we were, after all, ‘city slickers’ (Shamir- a guy in my grade’s words, not mine)! After a while, we trudged back to camp, all of us singing praise of the camp and all the experiences it had given us.

When we got back to base camp, I RAN, RAN I tell you, to the showers so that I could wash off the remaining dregs of mud!

We then changed into our warmer clothes for the ‘River Theatre’ and the highlight of our 2 ½ days spent at camp, THE BONFIRE! Long story short, we went to the lapa, divided into our five groups and started to practice our plays since we would be presenting that night. I really didn’t know that temporary school camp groups could have a hive mind, because apparently, we did! One unnamed person in our group was mildly injured and wasn’t able to come and practice, so our whole group excluding some of my friends and I who apparently weren’t part of the whole hive mind thing they had going on, so we tried to buck them up a little but nooooo! They just HAD to sit around moping! So the people in the group that actually had a brain cell or two only amounted to about six, so we left the lapa and tried to come up with a warcry, which was our second assignment and the least important, and we could have gotten somewhere if the unnamed person hadn’t “come to our rescue” within the first five minutes of the first useful discussion of the night. 

After he/she (I’m keeping that person anon) came, the Frankensteins in our group finally came to life and began.... thinking! We still didn’t get much done, though but our play got the most laughs from our four fantastic impromptu comedians who played the scientists! The other plays were also hilarious, and one especially (‘Save the Rhinos’ or something) had a funny dead rhino that made us laugh until our sides hurt! After that, we headed to the giant bonfire and enjoyed a dazzling campfire (With no marshmallows, unfortunately <-_-> ) and a ‘telepathy’ show that my friend Kika and I figured out the trick for easily!  We all fell asleep at like 11PM that night, exhausted from the days fun.

The next day, I woke up to the ‘pleasant’ sound of our cabin packing our suitcases at 5 in the morning, since it WAS our last day. We packed everything and went to the lapa to say thank you to all the counsellors and say goodbye before we left for........................

GOLD REEF CITYYYYYY!!!! For those of you that know this place, it is one of THE best amusement parks in SA! So, eager to get there, we ate our cereal and munched our toasted cheese sandwiches, said a heartfelt goodbye and thank you to the wonderful counsellors that made our Grade 7 trip so much more special! Then we quickly hopped on the bus and drove off into (not the sunset, more like into the sun) On the bus drive there, we played the song game for a while then we chattered about the different rides and which ones were fun and most importantly, which ones we would go on! evil laugh....

When we finally got to Gold Reef, we were so excited that we jumped around like crazy rabbits, smiling and laughing as we walked from the buses to the entrance of Golda Reefa Citya! (imagine saying that in an Italian accent!) We had to wait for a bit before the teachers got our tickets sorted out. While we sat down outside the gate, Tayla noticed that I had this huge bruise on my leg! I have seriously NO clue where it came from but I couldn’t care less.

We got in, the teachers reminded us that our rendezvous point was the Wimpy’s and we quickly dispersed into the park, laughing and chatting all the way. (I’m not going to describe the rides as that would take waaay too long!) We went on a total of eight rides in about 2 and a half hours, which MUST be some type of record! We would have gone on more, but we stopped for ice cream at Milky Lane  and that took a while. We went on: The Golden Loop, The UFO, The Dream Boat, The Jozi X, The Raging River Rapids (twice!!), The Runaway Train, The Tornado and The Log Ride! It was really fun and I hope we get the chance to go to Gold Reef again with the whole grade.

My whole trip was an absolutely fabulous experience and no one could ask more of the tour. (except maybe comfortable beds. That would have been nice.) I loved this tour a lot and I’m sure my friends did too. We came out of this tour as a team, not a grade. A family, not a school.

     BASTILLE IN                     JOBURG!!!!!!!!!!!

 Scenic Emmerentia Dam’s peaceful, quiet atmosphere was broken by popular South African artists Matthew Mole, Beatenberg and Bed on Bricks and then, the main event, BASTILLE!!

The day started off with the relentless sun beating down on the beautiful venue, forcing many of us to the shady refuge of leafy trees on the sidelines. The crowd was huge, it may have been almost half the size of the regular stadium concert crowd, but we, Bastille’s fans were out in abundance and enthusiasm to support Bastille(my second favourite British band) in their first South African tour! So enthusiastic, in fact that we all lasted the five hours until Bastille’s set.

But we were thankfully entertained by some of South Africa’s best artists, Matthew Mole, Beatenberg and Bed on Bricks. There were endless stalls selling their delicious fare! One of them, in fact was the official merchandise stall. I managed to snag myself a band cap, that I am now guarding fiercely from my beat friend Leora who couldn’t come to the concert but still loves Bastille!

Halfway through Bed on Bricks’ set, the heavens decided to pour down on us, causing many people to leave, but most of us die hard Bastille fans (and some bored parents) stayed, taking shelter under trees and huddling up under umbrellas. The ‘hosts’ from 5fm, the organisers of the event, came out and apologised and started preparing for Bastille’s set.

It still was nearly an hour until we finally saw Bastille, and when they came on, we screamed, shouted, yelled and whistled for the long- awaited band! They were AMAZING, with Dan Smith belting out song after song, only taking breaks to go retrieve his sunglasses, technical difficulties and to tell us that he and Bastille’s guitarist, William Farquason were cousins and his parents were.....

South African!!!

 We cheered at that and screamed even more when Dan jumped off the stage into the crowd, with his hoodie up to protect his hair from crazed fans! They played all our favourites – ‘Flaws’, ‘Laura Palmer’, ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’, ‘of The Night’ and of course, ‘Pompeii’! They also played two new songs- ‘Blame’ and another song.

It was an amazing experience and I will be going to more concerts this year and after because this was my first concert and it was more than satisfactory! It was a lot different from stadium concerts- it was more family-friendly and easier to get into!

This was an amazing way to end off my school holidays after relaxing enormously for the first few weeks, then driving to Durban, then Bastille and then school camp with my besties tomorrow! And then, right after that..... testsL 

VOORTREKKER MONUMENT

Our long wait on the bus while we rode all the way to Pretoria was worthwhile,because once we reached the Voortrekker Monument,we forgot all the tiredness of last week’s exam and the tedious two-hour ride from Johannesburg to Pretoria.Tall and imposing stood the grand Voortrekker Monument far above us as we gazed in awe up at the ancient structure.

Our guide gave us an amazing tour around the fascinating Monument that left us all with a thorough understanding of how the Voortrekkers left the Cape Colony  to find new land for themselves,away from British rule and,unknowingly ,start South Africa’s long,epic  struggle to become an independent republic.

First,our guides explained to us that some of the Monument’s feature were not only there to enhance the already splendid grandeur of the wondrous structure,but also to represent a memory of the past.For example,the iron gate around the Monument symbolising the gate that the Zulus used for protection in the time that the monument was built.

Inside,we were awestruck by the intricate friezes that surrounded the interior of the Monument,depicting the story of the Voortrekker’s trek across difficult terrain,facing insurmountable odds.The tenacity by which these people faced this great challenge,served as a humble reminder of the hardships that had to be overcome.

FREEDOM PARK

While we waited for the third group( which had mysteriously gone missing),we had an impromptu picnic on the Monument steps,enjoying our packed provisions and discussing different facts we had learned.When the third group finally turned up,we set off to explore the wondrous Freedom Park.

The very first thing we noticed about the modern structure was its walls that seemed to reach up to the ( thankfully)blue skies far above us.When we entered the buildings,we were led into a large room that had one glass wall that looked upon the shallow lake and the large hill that had several benches  that served as the audiences’ seats when there was an event.In particular,we were drawn to the Eternal Flame,that is always kept burning,in remembrance for all those who fought during the struggle .Our guide told us that when there was an event,the water from the lake was drained  and a stage could be constructed over the lake.We then ran to the top of the hill , where the guide pointed out a terrific view to the Union Buildings.

We then progressed further don where we saw the walls that bore the names of the South African who ha perished in any war they fought in.We spent some time looking at the endless rows of names and it is unfathomable to think that so many lives had been lost due to war.We moved onto the Gallery of Leaders,where we could gaze upon some of the most prominent and celebrated men and women that helped in the struggle for humanity,human rights and freedom of mankind.

After that,we had to endure a struggle of our own: getting back onto the busses,sitting through traffic and returning home!

The trip was an uplifting and inspiring experience that not only taught us about the people that shapped South Africa to become a free country where we can all live in peace and harmony,but also a lot about ourselves  and what we are capable of,if only we try.

( This  was published in Crawford 2013 magazine )

Seafood, music and family..... My perfect birthday celebration!!!

Mmmm.... Who would’ve ever thought that oysters, escargots (snails, for all you non-French speaking types;) ), kingklip and a whole lotta sushi would leave your tastebuds spellbound? Coupled with amazing singers belting out my favourite tunes, my twelfth birthday celebration was, to put it simply,SUPERB!!!

 Oh, the sushi, oh, the oysters, OMG, les escargots! Long-lasting is my family’s love for seafood, and forever shall the exquisite taste of the succulent oysters remain in my mouth.... (Not that I didn’t brush my teeth or anything.....) My dad says that he shall  forever remember the Kingklip Tempura, for its  ravishing taste and excellent presentation. Me and my mom, however shall evermore sing praises of the sushi chefs of Tsunami, even when we lie in our graves. 

Best of all was the Sakura Maki and the tasteful, beautiful, simple Prawn Nigiri, which we drooled over in our excitement. Recently diminished, was my mom’s sushi passion, a few months ago b­y bad sushi, but, revived byTsunami. My favourite, however, of the delicate, delectable, delicious dishes, has got to be the Tempura Oyster. Nestled in a sparkling, shiny, shimmering seashell, the crumbed sea-dweller left my refined tastebuds stunned! Overall, the entire experience was AMAZING!!! 

Exorbitant thanks go to my wonderfully thoughtful dad, who booked us the table for the meal of our lifetime, and my remarkable mom, who booked us the seats for the Barnyard Theatre, aka my next topic....

KIDZ ROCK!! 

And so did the energetic cast of Kids Rock, as they belted out famous songs from Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, P!NK and of course...... ONE DIRECTION!!!!!!!! The Barnyard Theatre is classily decorated and built to look like the theatre is built inside a barn. With wooden floors, walls and seating areas, the modern stage looks very out of place in the spacious, clean, well-kept entertainment area. With an entertaining side-story focusing on four of the main ‘characters’- Drew, Lea, Sarah and Josh, the songs were cleverly fitted into the story and, if you knew the songs previously, made perfect sense in relation to the story.

 Of course, it helped that they were all spectacular singers, and fantastic actors, and sung the songs so well, especially Sarah, who sung two Adele songs seemingly effortlessly. The two dancers were simply awe-inspiring, and performed stunts I would never attempt. All in all, the show was delightful, and I left the theatre smiling, as did my mom and dad.

THANK YOU SO MUCH MAMA AND PAPA! MY BIRTHDAY WAS AN ABSOLUTE SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! O

S.O.F.T CHAPTER 6

Chapter 5

Escape

2:30 (Paris Local Time)

La tour Eiffel (The Eiffel Tower)

“Je voudrais un taxi á la tour Eiffel, sîl vous plait!” Mike, exasperated by the ongoing feud between the members of his team, had taken it upon himself to arrange their transport. While the rest of his team had been bickering like bumbling baboons, Mike had crept away, but only after he had comforted the sadly sobbing Mel. He was the bilingual kid. Knowing how to speak, understand and even read a little of a total of six languages, Andy had forgotten that Mike knew French. So, carefully reading the signs labeled ‘Information’ in French, Mike ran all the way to the Information Desk, where he asked the lady behind the counter for a taxi to the Eiffel Tower. In the airplane, when Carrie and Andy had thought that the other four were asleep, Mike was still awake. He had heard them whisper about meeting Olivia at the Eiffel Tower.

Hoping their plans hadn’t changed, he had asked the woman to get a taxi to wait for them outside the airport, thanked her pofusely for the assistance and raced back to the spot where he had left his team and arrived just in time to hear Andy reveal that it wasn’t only his mom they had to rescue, but their aunt as well.

“Mike.” Carrie whispered to her friend. “Where WERE you? I was so worried you could have been kidnapped by Madame Divvela’s henchmen or something!” now Carrie was angry, but Mike put a hand on her shoulder and whispered back, “Hey, calm down, Carrie! I’m fine, and no one kidnapped, brainwashed OR replaced me! I just went to arrange transport!” Carrie gave out a loud sigh, and then, it hit her. “HEY! I thought you didn’t know French!” Mike responded with an easy chuckle, “I can speak six languages. French is one of them. Andy may have forgotten that, though!”

Carrie let out a nervous laugh. “Soooo, where are we going?” “Ya, where ARE we going, Mike?” It was Andy. Mike was nervous for a second, but then he saw the amused twinkle in his friend’s eye. “How about the Eiffel Tower? The cab’s outside sooo, follow me, madame et monsieur!”  

S.O.F.T Chapter 5

Chapter 5

C’EST PRAQUTIQUE

1 :30 (PARIS LOCAL TIME)

The Charles de Gaulle Airport, France

‘Ok, Andy, you’re telling me that we’re stuck in Paris, without any money, a desperate lack of any French-speaking capabilities, no clothes, equipment or contacts that we know of since we lost ALL of our luggage, all because of a certain young spy...’ Debbie broke off from her rant to shoot a pointed glare at Mel, who shrugged, looked guilty and said, ‘I’m sorry, ok? It’s not my fault that I can’t read French and instead of collecting it, I sent it over to Russia! I thought that ‘Russie*’ meant ‘rush’, not ‘Russia’! I didn’t learn French at school!’

 Mel was close to crying now, but Carrie, ever the caring bestie, comforted her by wrapping her arms around her and rubbing her back.

 Mike and David knelt by the sobbing Mel, glaring at Debbie, angry at her for hurting their friend. Debbie was a great friend, but sometimes she lost focus of how sensitive Mel was and said things that the others would take as a joke, but Mel took as an emotional attack.

 Andy sighed and turned to Debbie, ‘Look, Debbs. I’ll lay down the facts here: We’re broke, but I remembered the ICC (International Currency Card) that my mom gave to me before our first mission. We don’t have any contacts, but,’ Andy smirked at the simmering Debbie, and continued. ‘My cousin, Olivia, is an agent for the Diplomatic Association of France and, just before we left for the airport, I called her. Cassie and I haven’t seen Olivia and Auntie Desiree since we all were about six, so she was most happy to play as our old friend that we came to ‘visit’ in Paris as a cover. Essentially, that is correct, since we are old friends and we are, in part, going to visit them. The sad thing is, along with mom, Aunt Desiree was also kidnapped. We had been lied to this whole time. Mom wasn’t on a solo mission. Mom AND Aunt Desiree were on that mission. A-and they were both kidnapped. Together.’ 

By now, all the young spies had turned to Andy and Debbie, watching the one-sided exchange in quiet awe. Carrie, who had obviously heard this all before, Mike and David were watching Debbie’s face turn from angry to shocked.

Andy was right. He had never let them down. And he wasn’t about to start now.

S.O.F.T CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 4
VIVA LE EXPRESSION
1:30
POP (MEL'S TV ROOM): NEW YORK

"...." After about five minutes, David spoke up "I'm really sorry, guys. I would say more, but you know how I am when it comes to words: I just can't figure out the puzzle....". "It's fine, David," Carrie smiled at her large friend, who gave her a shy smile. "And Mike, I know you didn't mean it. I'm sorry, I was a bit too harsh on you lot." "Don't worry about it, Carrie. Just remember we're all here for you, all the time, all the way!" Mike smiled at a grinning Carrie. "Hey, Carrie, you know I would like to slap myself a couple of times! I was a stinking jerk! I'm really sorry, eh, gal? Seriously, give me a slap or two! I'll feel MUCH better, and I'm sure you will too!" Blurted out Debbie, looking like a news forecaster on a gloomy day: down in the dumps.
Carrie gave out a short giggle, followed by the whole room erupting into laughter. "What? Was it something I said?" Debbie still had a serious expression on her face. "Y-y-your FACE!!!!" cried out the hysterical twins. All the young spies in the room had tears rolling down their red faces. "O-o-k! Guys, calm down a little!" Gasped a breathless Andy, wiping away his tears.

 Carrie was holding onto Mel, otherwise she would have toppled onto the floor, rolling on the floor in laughter. Mike was lying on the floor, along with David.

Andy helped the two boys to their feet, while Debbie handed a tissue to her two best friends to wipe their tear-stained faces. Debbie still had a confused expression, she sighed, went up to Andy an asked, "Ok, I've got two questions. One: Have you two forgiven me yet?" With this statement, she looked at the twins. "Yes, we-" "have!" Carrie started the sentence, and Andy finished it, grinning at her, then at each other. "Classic!" muttered Mike, before stretching and turning to the four kids who had, until recently been shaking with laughter. "Can I tell her now?" asked Carrie.

A chorus of "Yeah's," "Sure's," "Go ahead's" and a "This, I have to see!", that came from the giggling Mel. "Well, your facial expression when you apologized, it was..." She gestured towards the bystanders. "Priceless" "A one-time thing" were among the overzealous replies to her simple question. "Ok, OK! Guys, can we PLEASE concentrate on Andy's plan now?" exclaimed a red-faced Debbie.

"Ok, so, my plan is simple. The last place, before the Himalyas, of course, that Agent Cathy was spotted, was none other than the USPSS (The United States' People's Secret Service) base in Paris, France. Cathy was there a few months ago, investigating the disappearance of the city's gâteaux (cakes, for all you non-French speaking types) We'll go there and see if we can talk to General Posenhigger and maybe he can help us find some clues. Ok, that's pretty much it! We leave at 9:00 PM, New York Time, at the JFK International Airport. We'll land in Paris at the Charles De Gaulle Airport at 1:30 PM, Paris local time. Ok? Oh wait, I almost forgot! I took the liberty to inform your parents, they have all agreed. I also bought our tickets, one-way, because we don't know when or where we'll be going from there. We have exactly-" he broke off momentarily to check his watch "-six hours to pack and make any last-minute purchases, as we need to be at the airport at 8:00 PM. we'll board at 8:30 PM. Any questions?" He looked at the five very confused secret agents staring at him. "Woah woah woah! Hang on a minute!" exclaimed Mike, catching everyone's attention, "you're saying we have SIX HOURS to pack for a-God knows long- trip to France, then to Nepal, to the Himalayas, and then to whichever other place you decide to drag us to? This is crazy! And we're going to need Euros! How-?"

 Andy cut him off "I'll explain later, on the plane! Just pack, guys, I've got it covered, don't worry! Have I ever done you wrong before? Trust me, guys!"

The room nodded silently. Even Mike seemed a bit bashful. "Ok then! Scram! Vamoose! Shoo! Get packing! Move it!" Shouted Andy. He really loved being in charge.
-------------------------------\\\6HOURS LATER///---------------------------------

THE JFK AIRPORT: NEW YORK
"All passengers for France Airlines flight FR0831 to the Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris, please make your way to Gate 3, Terminal 3. Thank You."
15 minutes
SEATED IN THE PLANE TO PARIS
Andy had managed to book them the special six-seater in first class, so the girls sat together in half of the six-seater. The boys did the same thing, but Carrie and Andy ended up sitting together, which neither if them minded, as they were brother and sister and strategic partners so they could work on what the would do once they got to Paris.
Needless to say, it was a very uneventful flight as they were tired out by the long day and needed the sleep.