One Boy. A Thousand Feelings | Duncan

~ Chapter 22 ~

Author's note
Now time for Basic Straining, my favorite episode lol.

That Monday morning, the camera optically captured Duncan carving into the cabin's hardie plank sidings with his pocket knife. He implemented his and Armana's initials inside a heart, only to be interrupted during his down time by an angry Harold.

"Ok! Whose made s'mores out of my underwear?!" Harold insistently requested in an open ended demand.

He held up pairs of his underwear sandwiched in melted chocolate between graham crackers. Duncan was brought crouching over his knees in laughter along with Geoff, indicating who was the culprit. Harold cringed in disgust at their malicious practice of something funny, testily pulling out a pair to inspect it. It was completely soiled with chocolate, ultimately deduced to be useless/unwearable by the ginger. He neglected it to the side which just so happened to land in front of Armana's walk path. She shrieked in horror, recoiling—what would've been her next foot forward—to compress into her body.

"Harold!" Armana petulantly moaned his name.
"Sorry, I didn't mean for that to land in front of you." He responsibly owned fault for.
"Ok, just don't leave your stuff lying around."
Seeing her walk in the opposite direction, Harold scolded them, "Idiots."
He shut himself into the cabin from the amused boys.
"Sometimes he just makes it too easy." Geoff attested.
Duncan agreed, "I hear ya man."

Suddenly, the PA system squealed in feedback after picking up a brusque voice for the morning's announcements.

"Listen up you little cockroaches!" He commanded. "I demand for all campers to report to the Dock of Shame in all nine hundred hours."
(9:00 A.M.)
Everyone looked at each other for reference of what he meant, only to share confusion.
"That means now soldiers! Now!"

They all scrambled with a sense of urgency to the destination. Alongshore, the teens were intermingled with either of their teams, standing in a single file row as a disciplinary manner. The co host, Chef Hatchet substituted Chris for the week's challenge as a drill sergeant; dressed in an olive green attire with black combat boots, shades and donned a matching hue of green campaign hat. Hatchet pulled out a red megaphone and a telescopic pointer to check everyone's posture.

"You call this proper formation?!" He interrogated.
"Feet together!" He whacked Geoff's legs.
"Arms down!" He hit Duncan's folding arms to be at his sides, only for Duncan to cross them again after Chef's back was turned.
"Eyes forward!" DJ turned and straightened his head to look in front of him.
"Chin up!" He lifted Heather's head up.

He continuously slapped Harold with the metal rod, designating there was something all wrong in the way he stood. Furthering down the line, he yelled at Gwen through the megaphone for speaking without instruction to.

"What did you say to me, soldier?!" He aggressively questioned her, her hair blowing behind her.
"Nothing." Gwen answered in fret.
"And you'll continue to say nothin until I tell you that you can say somethin."
He then paced back and fourth the platform.
"Today's challenge will not be an easy one. In fact, I do not expect all of you to come out alive."
He undertook his task solemnly to enforce practical preservation of good order and discipline. As well as procedures in customs and practices of military life, physical fitness, in the proper execution of military drill, and willingness to obey all lawful orders given by the superior.
Owen chuckled in light of the situation, earning a harsh strike on his back.
"Aww! That hurt!" He complained.
"My orders are to make sure that none of the babies in front of me drop out of boot camp (.step one. The last one standing wins immunity for their team."
"Uhhh, what happened to Chris?" Heather asked, possibly transferring aloud what everyone else was thinking.
'Probably having a spa'
"Rule number one; you will address me as Master Chief. Do you got that?"
"Yes Master Chief." The teens responded in unison.
"You will sleep when I tell you to sleep. And you'll eat only when I tell you to eat. Is that clear?"
"Yes Master Chief." Geoff replied in the reflection of Chief's lenses after he spoke authoritatively, exclusively to him.
"Rule number two; when y'all ready to give up, you walk to the end of the dock and ring that bell. Which brings me to Rule number three; without getting a quitter at the end of the first day, that day will not end until someone drops out. Now get your butts down to the end of the beach soldiers, now!"