Episode 20: The Campout

Sarah and Chris's younger sister Amanda has had a supporting role in many stories throughout my series, but this is the first episode to center on her exclusively. Our new star heads for the forest to go camping with some friends, and ends up having even more fun than she expected! --The Author

And now, the story.

"Camping, we're going camping!" fifteen-year-old Amanda Beloit sang excitedly as she carefully placed a variety of basic camping items into her backpack. Amanda and several of her friends from school and from church were going on a weekend backpacking trip in the mountains near their home - and Amanda was the only one from her family who was going.

It had taken some persuasion for Mrs. Beloit to agree to let her "baby" daughter go out for a whole weekend without her, Mr. Beloit, or even Sarah along. But knowing that Mr. Benson, a sergeant in the local police and the father of Amanda's friend Ellie, would be going had calmed her motherly fears. Still, she nervously checked and re-checked with Amanda to be sure that she wasn't forgetting anything vital.

Amanda, on the other hand, was trying to minimize the amount of stuff that was going in the backpack, considering whose back it was going to be riding on! When she was finally happy with what she'd brought, she closed and tied everything up, and lugged the unwieldy pack over to the bathroom, where she set it down on the scale next to the bathtub. Forty-nine pounds, the scale read - not excessive for an athletic girl like Amanda, but still a bit more than she really wanted to be carrying. Maybe there were some things that she and Ellie could share, rather than each bringing separately. She produced her phone - from the pocket of her shorts, not the backpack - and gave Ellie a call.

"Hey Amanda, you almost ready?" Ellie answered with excitement.

"Yeah, just about!" Amanda replied. "But I was wondering if there aren't some things we could share instead of both taking."

"Oooh, that's a good idea," Ellie agreed. They found several items that they were both taking that they could share, and soon Amanda's pack was down to just forty-one pounds.

"Much better," she said to Ellie. Eight pounds doesn't seem like much, until it's on your back.

"Great, thanks for calling!" Ellie said. Then she added, in a mischievous voice, "So I hear that your boyfriend from the mall is coming..."

Amanda rolled her eyes, even though Ellie couldn't see her. "He's not my boyfriend! I've only seen him two or three times. He's just a buddy."

Ellie wasn't convinced; or at least didn't particularly want to be. "We'll see about that!" she giggled.

It was true that Brandon, a guy who Amanda had met in the mall a couple months earlier, was the only person Amanda had specifically invited herself. Still, they were just friends; that was all. He was a few years older than her anyway. She just hoped that Ellie and the other girls wouldn't make a big deal about it in front of him; that would be so embarrassing!

A half-hour or so later, Mr. Beloit dropped Amanda off at the Bensons' house, from which the group would leave on their wilderness adventure. Though of course he cared deeply about his youngest child, Mr. Beloit wasn't nearly as worried as his wife about Amanda going off alone with her friends. He knew she was a mature, responsible girl, and was proud to see her taking on some independence.

Mr. Benson, along with the father of one of the boys in the group, had the daunting task of keeping up with ten energetic teenagers - mostly girls from Amanda and Ellie's softball team. Before they left, he called the group together in front of his garage. He went over some rules of safety, and also encouraged them to stay together as much as possible. "We don't want anyone wandering off and getting lost!" he stressed.

Finally, after a short drive, the group arrived at the trail they would be hiking. Today, Saturday, they would be hiking nearly five miles into the forest. Then they would spend Sunday camped near a clear mountain stream, and head back out on Monday, the Labor Day holiday.

The backpack-toting group started out full of energy, and set a brisk pace as they started into the forest. Amanda and Brandon, hiking next to each other, chatted as they walked. It had been a while since they had seen each other, so they had a bit to catch up on.

Brandon had originally been attracted to Amanda by the adorable case of hiccups she had when he first saw her in the mall. However, now that he knew her, he had really come to enjoy her for her sweet, friendly personality. He hadn't seen her with the hiccups since that first day, but hiccups or no hiccups, Amanda was an amazing girl, and Brandon liked her a lot.

For her part, Amanda liked Brandon too. Never one to go for the more forward guys in her school, Amanda liked the fact that Brandon was a bit shy. "He's so cute!" she commented to Ellie at one point when he wasn't within earshot.

By the time the group reached the last mile of their hike, their pace had slowed considerably. Amanda herself was doing fine even though she was tired, but some of the other girls were suddenly wishing they had packed a lot lighter! Even Brandon was feeling it, breathing heavily and occasionally taking short breaks. He and Amanda didn't chat nearly so much now, as they simply concentrated on the trail ahead of them. Finally, though, they arrived at the wilderness campsite, and gladly removed their heavy packs.

They would need to get started setting up the tents soon, but for a few minutes everyone just relaxed and caught their breath. Amanda found a log to sit on, and Brandon, Ellie, and a couple of the other girls joined her.

Amanda hadn't been sitting for even a full minute when, while laughing at a funny comment one of the other girls made, she felt herself hiccup silently. A few more silent jerks of her body followed, and finally a rather strong hiccup came out, right at a lull in the conversation. The other girls giggled at the loud "*hyuk*" sound it made.

Amanda blushed a little. "Hiccups..." she said simply. Then, turning to Brandon, she quietly apologized, "I'm so *hmk* sorry! I swear it's like every *hmk* time we see each other, I *hic* have the hiccups!" She actually hadn't had them in front of him since she met him at the mall, but that was harder for her to remember than it was for Brandon!

"It's ok," Brandon assured her. He wanted to tell her she was adorable with the hiccups, but was too afraid to, especially in front of all the others.

Despite her embarrassed apologies, Amanda did nothing to try to cure or even quiet the hiccups, and they continued to jerk her body sharply every few seconds as she began setting up her tent. A tiny, backpacker-style tent with a protective rain-fly fitting tightly over it, the tent took her only a couple minutes to set up.

Brandon pitched his tent close to Amanda's, and although his was also small, rather than a rain-fly to keep it dry, he produced a huge clear plastic tarp from his backpack. As he worked on using ropes and tall sticks to set up the large piece of plastic over his tent and some of the surrounding area, Mr. Benson walked by. "Hey Brandon, isn't that a bit too big?" he laughed, looking at Brandon's tent, dwarfed under the tarp. "It's not even supposed to rain this weekend!"

"I know," Brandon admitted. "It's what my dad uses when we go camping; we put the firewood and all our stuff under it."

Mr. Benson was impressed. "That's not a bad idea. We should put some wood under here, in case it does rain."

Amanda and some of the others soon came over to see Brandon's production. "It's like a big front porch!" Ellie laughed.

Brandon didn't mind the teasing from the others. He had camped in rain enough to appreciate having as large a dry space as possible. Amanda also understood. "That's really *hmk* cool, Brandon," she complimented him, while still hiccupping.

"Thanks!" he replied. "Man, that girl is so cute," he thought to himself as Amanda wandered on to check out the next group of tents.

By dinner time, Amanda's hiccups were gone, and to Brandon's dismay, they didn't return the rest of the evening. Maybe it was just as well, though. Everyone went to bed pretty early, exhausted from the day's long hike.

* * * * *

Morning came bright and early at the little encampment. After breakfast around a roaring fire, the group had some time to relax before they headed down to the creek for some fun in the water. It wasn't long, though, before everyone decided it was hot enough to get down to the creek. Not wanting to be left behind, Amanda climbed into her tent to quickly change into her bathing suit. She had liked the little bikini that she and Brandon had seen when they were at the mall with Sarah so well that she had gone back to get it just a few weeks ago. It hadn't been easy to convince Mom to let her buy it, but somehow she had. She really did look amazing in the little green bathing suit, and got compliments from many of the others when she emerged.

When Brandon saw Amanda, he had a hard time saying anything at all! Finally, he managed to breathe, "You look gorgeous, Amanda!"

"Thanks!" she said with a smile.

"Isn't that the bathing suit you liked at the mall?" he remembered.

"Yeah!" Amanda answered excitedly. "I loved it so much that I talked my Mom into letting me get it!"

As much as he enjoyed swimming, Brandon would have been perfectly content spending the day just staring at the beautiful girl in front of him. Amanda's face was radiant, and her beautiful light-brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that hung just below her shoulders. Her body seemed flawless. Her skin was slightly tanned from time spent in the sun; her stomach was flat and toned; the tight fabric of the bikini showed off the shape of her attractively-developed breasts; and even her legs were smooth and athletic.

Just as she had at the mall, Amanda noticed how entranced Brandon seemed. She knew she looked hot, and though she wasn't at all conceited about it like many girls, she also didn't mind the fact that Brandon noticed it! She playfully snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Wake up, boy!" she giggled.

At the creek, each person had their own way of dealing with getting into the cold mountain water. Some slowly inched their way in; others jumped straight in from the rocks around the deep swimming area; still others waited on the shore until the air got warmer.

Amanda, not surprisingly, was among those who faced the cold water head-on. She quickly clambered to the top of one of the rocks and, plugging her nose with her hand, jumped into the chilly water. It was cold, no question; but she knew she would quickly adjust to it. But when she came back to the shore of the small natural pool, she noticed that the shock of the cold water had given her the hiccups again. She just looked sheepishly at Brandon and rolled her eyes. "Hiccups *hmk* again," she laughed.

The vigorous exercise of swimming and climbing on the rocks along with the alternating cold water and warm air quickly worked Amanda's hiccups into a rather fierce case. Every couple seconds she hiccupped sharply, and there was no keeping them quiet. Each one jerked her body powerfully, and though most were just a more exaggerated version of her usual *hmk* or *huck*, some of them made extra-loud *hic-ulk* sounds.

Waiting at the top of the highest rock while a couple others jumped ahead of them, Brandon had a chance to talk to Amanda. "This is a pretty fun place, isn't it?" he commented.

"It's *huck* awesome!" Amanda exclaimed breathlessly between rapid hiccups. "This is *hic-ulk* sooo much f-*hmk* fun!"

Standing as he was, partially facing Amanda, Brandon had a clear view of just how strongly the hiccups were affecting her body. Though she was having way too much fun to hardly even notice them, Amanda's hiccups were quite violent! With each hiccup, her bare, flat stomach would suck in so hard that one could probably have noticed it from the other side of the creek, and her breasts would bounce a couple times. Her neck seemed to cave in, and even her head was thrown back, almost as if she was downing a shot of a drink. Despite how bashful he was about the hiccups, Brandon had to comment, "You have some crazy bad hiccups, Amanda!"

Amanda laughed, clearly unconcerned. "I know! *huck* I think it's from th-*hic* the cold wa-*hic-ulk* water!"

The girl waiting in front of Amanda, hearing the exchange, turned to her and asked, "They sound terrible, don't they hurt?"

Amanda shrugged. "Not *hic* really. They're *hic* not bothering me. *hmk* I think *hic-ulk* these are like *hic* the worst hiccups I-*hic* I've ever had, though! *huck* I'm glad we're n-*hmk* not in school!"

The other girl laughed. "Yeah, Mr. Burnett would kill you!"

"Oh God, *hmk* he would!" Amanda agreed. "Hey, it's *hic* your turn now!"

"Oh yeah! Here I go!" With that, the other girl leapt from the high rock, splashing into the water below. Now it was Amanda's turn. "Hey, *hmk* you want to *hic* go together?" she suggested.

"Sure!" Brandon agreed.

"OK, ready? *huck* One, two, *hic-ulk*" They both burst out laughing as the hiccup came perfectly timed instead of her count of three. "THREE!" she finally yelled, and they jumped into the cool water.

The group had a marvelous time, spending hours playing in the mountain stream. Amanda had the hiccups the whole time, and Brandon felt like he was in heaven. As they swam, no one noticed that dark clouds were forming over their heads. The shady canopy of trees over them hid the fact that the clouds had already covered the sun, filling the sky with a foreboding gray. Finally, one of the guys, sitting on the rocks beside the stream, happened to glance upward toward the sky. "Wow, it's looking really stormy," he commented. "Ooh, it is," Ellie noticed. "Did I just feel a drop of rain?"

Rain was indeed starting to fall; and when the rain starts from a mountain storm, it isn't long before it's a raging downpour. A rumble of thunder alerted everyone to the urgency of the situation. They were already wet, so the rain didn't matter, but everyone knows better than to be in the water during a lightning storm.

"Let's get back to camp!" Mr. Benson called. The group quickly pulled themselves from the water, slipped on their shoes, and scampered up the hill to their campsite. At the campsite, now already in a driving rain, they scattered to their respective tents. Lightning flashed all around them, and the thunder was deafening.

Amanda crouched in her little tent; both her body and her towel were dripping wet. The cool air that the storm had brought along made her shiver. On top of that, though she hated to admit it, she was a bit scared. She knew that of all the places lightning could strike, her tiny tent was one of the least likely, but still, she had an inexplicable fear of storms. She still had the hiccups, but thought nothing of them as she huddled, shivering as a small pool began to grow from the water that dripped off of her. Wondering how bad the storm was, she lowered the zipper on the door of her tent just a tiny bit and peered through the small hole. The wind whipped through the trees, and the rain fell in sheets. A flash of lightning made her jump. Looking to her left, she was shocked to see Brandon, sitting calmly in his camping chair, in the shelter of his "porch". Wrapped in a towel, he looked comfortable and seemed to be enjoying the spectacle of nature.

Another bolt of lightning struck off to Amanda's right. She was terrified. Finally she decided Brandon's shelter seemed too inviting. Leaving her soaked towel on the floor, she zipped open the tent, crawled out and after quickly closing the tent, dashed toward Brandon's campsite.

Arriving, dripping wet, under the shelter of Brandon's giant tarp, she simply asked, "Can I *hmk* sit here with *hic* you? I'm sc-*hmk* scared."

"Of course!" Brandon agreed. Amanda started to pick up one of the pieces of firewood to sit on, but Brandon offered, "Here, you can sit in the chair."

Amanda looked at Brandon, sitting comfortably, and said, "Aww, *hic* no I can't t-*huck* take your seat!"

"No, really, it's ok!" he assured her, starting to stand up.

"Actually, *hmk*" Amanda began cautiously, "Would it *huck* be ok if I s-*hmk* sat with you? I'm *hmk* cold."

She certainly didn't have to ask twice. Brandon scooted to the back of the chair, and Amanda, soaked as she was, sat down halfway on the chair and halfway in Brandon's lap. Brandon instinctively put his arms around her, his hands meeting on her still-bouncing stomach. She leaned back; being held like this felt pretty nice! She didn't feel so afraid of the storm any more.

"Oh here, would you like the towel?" Brandon offered, more than happy to see Amanda's mostly-bare body, but realizing she still might be cold.

"No, you *hmk* keep it, I'm *hic* a lot warmer now," Amanda assured him.

Now that Amanda was leaning back onto him, Brandon could feel her hiccups both in her back, pressed against his chest, and in her stomach, on which his hands still gently rested. They felt just as strong as they looked. This was possibly the most amazing feeling he'd ever experienced.

"I'm sorry *hmk* about taking your *hic* space like this," Amanda apologized sheepishly. "I was *hmk* just so scared, with *hmk* the storm."

"Don't worry about it; I don't mind!" Brandon said, in the understatement of the day. "I'm glad you came."

"Me too, *hmk* this feels good!" Amanda giggled. Her giggle was interrupted by yet another loud hiccup. "But it's gotta *hmk* be pretty weird for you fee-*hic-ulk* feeling my hiccups like *hmk* this," she laughed, looking down at how each hiccup made her stomach bounce Brandon's hands up and down. "I promise *huck* I don't have them *hmk* ALL the time!"

Brandon chuckled. "Yeah, your hiccups are so strong; I can feel them really hard in your stomach, and in your back too."

Amanda blushed. "I haven't r-*huck* really minded them *hmk*, but I do feel kinda *hic-ulk* stupid having the h-*huck* hiccups all day," she admitted. "I must *hmk* sound like such a *huck* dork with them!"

Brandon figured this was as good a time as he was going to get to tell her he liked her hiccups. "Nah, not at all," he began. "Actually, your hiccups are really cute, Amanda. You sound adorable."

Amanda laughed. "I *hmk* wouldn't say that!"

"I mean it!" Brandon pressed.

She shook her head, but she realized he was serious. "Do you *hmk* really like hiccups?" she asked.

Brandon felt a bit awkward being asked that so directly. "Well, I don't know, they're cute," he said in a non-answer.

"I should *huck* have known, the *hmk* way you've been a-*huck* acting!" Amanda said with a grin.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Brandon admitted. "I hope you don't think I'm weird."

"Well, *hmk* weird maybe," she teased. "My brother *huck* loves his girlfriend's *hic-ulk* hiccups too, though, so I *hmk* know what you m-*huck* mean."

As she said that, Amanda noticed Mr. Benson crawling from his tent, even as the heavy rain was still falling. "Hey look, *huck* what's Mr. Benson d-*huck* doing?" she asked. He had produced an umbrella, and began to go from tent to tent.

"Maybe he's checking on everyone," Brandon suggested.

Sure enough, he soon made it to Brandon's tent. He looked a little surprised to see Brandon and Amanda cuddled up in the chair. For a moment he considered chiding them - after all, the parents had all demanded that he ensure the kids didn't start getting physical with each other! But he had talked to Brandon a bit on the hike in, and felt like he was an honest, trustworthy guy. So instead, he just looked at Amanda with a knowing smile and commented, "What would your mother say?"

Amanda looked to the ground, afraid that Mr. Benson would get her in trouble.

"It's ok, I won't tell!" he assured her. "Y'all look too cute to break up, anyway," he laughed.

She smiled, and gave him a wink. "Thanks, Mr. *huck* Benson."

"Now I see why Brandon built this porch," Mr. Benson said. "What a storm this is!"

"I know, it's awesome to watch," Brandon agreed.

"That's *hmk* why I came over *huck* here," Amanda explained. "I was *hmk* scared."

"I don't blame you!" said Mr. Benson.

"Yeah, *hmk* storms scare m-*hic-ulk* me."

Mr. Benson nodded. "By the way, girl, can't you do something for those hiccups?" he added with a chuckle.

Amanda shrugged. "I *hmk* can never cure my h-*huck* hiccups. I think the *hmk* cold water gave them *hic* to me. But Br-*hic-cup* Brandon likes them, so *hmk* I guess they're *hmk* ok," she giggled.

Now it was Brandon's turn to blush. Mr. Benson just laughed. "Well as long as they're not hurting you."

"Nah, they're *huck* not at all."

"Well, you two be good," Mr. Benson admonished, "I'm gonna keep checking on the others."

After Mr. Benson left, Brandon and Amanda sat quietly for a few minutes, watching as the rain slowly grew lighter. There was still an occasional rumble of thunder, but the storm was clearly almost gone.

Finally, Brandon spoke. "Amanda?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you so much for inviting me to come here with you all. I've had so much fun being with you."

"I'm so glad you *hmk* could come! *huck* I'm having a great t-*huck* time too," Amanda answered.

"You're an amazing girl; you know that?" Brandon said quietly.

"Awww *hmk* thanks," Amanda answered, beaming. Then she laughed, "You sure *hmk* that's not just cause of *hmk* my hiccups?"

"I'm positive!" Brandon assured her. "Your hiccups are adorable, but you're so beautiful, and such a sweetheart."

Amanda didn't really know what to say. She just turned toward him - which was a little awkward to do while sitting in his lap - and threw her arms around him.

They stayed cuddled together in Brandon's chair for quite a while longer, as the other campers began to emerge from their tents. By the time she finally got up to go get changed, Amanda's hiccups had stopped.

* * * * *

That evening after dinner, Ellie pulled Amanda aside. "Did he ask you?" she whispered excitedly.

"Ask me?"

"Ask you to date him, silly!"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ellie, you know I'm not into all that drama."

"Ok whatever, but are you his girlfriend?" Ellie pressed.

Amanda sighed. "You don't give up, do you? Well, I can tell he wants to but he's too shy to ask me."

"What a loser."

"He is not a loser!" Amanda argued. "I like it just as well this way, anyhow. Being official and all just makes more drama, and it's not going to change who we are or how we feel about each other."

"So, you're dating but neither of you want to admit it? What are you going to tell your Mom?"

"Look, we're like best friends, ok?"

"You don't cuddle up in a chair with your 'best friend'! He practically had his hands on your chest!"

"He did not! They were on my stomach the whole time. And you don't think I'd cuddle up in a chair with you?"

"But that's different. He's a GUY!" Ellie exclaimed.

The frustrating conversation never did come to a definite conclusion, but in the end, official or not, it was clear that Amanda and Brandon's relationship had changed. That night as everyone sat around a campfire, Brandon had his arm around Amanda, and she laid her head on his shoulder. She had the hiccups again, and though they were much softer than before, Brandon could still feel them gently bouncing her body next to him.

"You have the hiccups again," he whispered in her ear.

"I know; *hmk* hope you like them," she whispered back with a smile.

"I do; you're adorable, Amanda." With that, he held her closer.

Amanda smiled. Whatever their relationship was, she was perfectly happy with it.