Cool for the Summer

Chapter 15

George Washington found himself with an unexpected band of followers. They called themselves the Marshmallow Squad, for reasons that were beyond George.

"The inner bark of the spruce tree is rich in vitamin C, right, sir?" asked Alexander Hamilton, the most eager student of the ten. George was rather fond of him.

"Yes, son," he chuckled. He took out a Swiss Army knife and carefully sliced into the tree, removing a piece of its inner bark. "We'll boil this until it's soft before eating it."

"Can I eat it now?" asked Alexander.

Lafayette face palmed. "Non, Alex. Did you not hear what he said?"

George had noticed something interesting in Lafayette's speech patterns. The boy's English was exceptional, but he sometimes dropped a French word or phrase into his sentences at random. It was clear that Lafayette knew what the word for "no" was. He simply chose to say it in French.

"Out of curiosity, Lafayette," he began, "why do you substitute English words for French ones?"

"Oh," Lafayette rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I just like talking in French. It's my mother tongue."

"In summary, he does it because he feels like it," said Alexander, ruffling his hair.

"Hey!" Lafayette complained, attempting to free his hair from Alexander's grip. "It takes me a long time to style that!"

"Poor you," Alexander teased.

John pried Alexander away from Lafayette's hair. "Alex, leave Laf and his hair alone."

"Thank you, John," Lafayette huffed. "I put a lot of effort into my hair."

"It sounds like you had a pretty special and intimate relationship with this hair, and that losing it was almost comparable to losing a loved one," said Peggy in a pseudo-Australian accent.

"Did you seriously just quote Korg?" John high-fived her. "How long have you been waiting to randomly drop that into a conversation?"

"Ever since I saw Thor: Ragnorak," Peggy grinned.

"YAS QUEEN!" Hercules yelled.

Alexander looked up at George sheepishly. "Sorry if we're kinda weird."

George just laughed. "You're teenagers. You're supposed to be weird."

Then, just when it seemed things could not get crazier, the Marshmallow Squad received four new members.

First was a young lady called Theodosia. She was already an almost-member of the group, being a close...friend of Aaron's. George couldn't put a finger on the nature of their relationship. There was more than friendship there, from the way Aaron touched her shoulder to just to point something out, or the way she surreptitiously brushed her hand against his in passing. But what could George call them? Mutual crushes? Boyfriend and girlfriend? Somewhere in between?

Ambiguous relationship statuses aside, George had seen the two talking only minutes before. They had been quietly laughing before she went on some mission. Now she returned with her friend, Dolley.

"Guys, this is Dolley," she introduced. "She's a friend of mine."

"Hi everyone," Dolley waved.

George was impressed. She was completely at ease in a crowd of strangers.

"Nice to meet you," said James, extending a hand, which she shook. "I'm James."

A slight blush rose on her cheeks, and she smiled. "Nice to meet ya, too."

George didn't miss the exchange between Aaron and Theodosia.

"I told you," he mouthed.

She giggled. "I know," she mouthed back.

Lafayette, who George would come to know as the clumsiest boy alive, chose this moment to trip over a tree branch. He fell straight into the arms of a freckled blonde that George knew as Adrienne Noailles.

"Pardon," Laf mumbled in French.

"Ce n'est rien," said Adrienne kindly.

Their eyes widened in realization as they began to speak in rapid French.

The girl that had been walking with Adrienne, Elizabeth Sanders, raised her eyebrows.

"What are the odds?" she muttered to herself.

Hercules seemed to take an immediate interest in this girl.

"Why, hello there," he greeted in what he apparently thought was a smooth voice.

She smirked, obviously returning the sentiment. "Do you believe in love at first sight, or am I going to have to walk past you a second time?"

"Did you just--?" Angelica began, at a loss for words.

"Did you just outflirt Hercules?" Alexander finished for her, his voice filled with disbelief.

"I didn't know that was possible," John blinked.

Hercules was blushing wildly, a grin spreading slowly over his face.

"You're very forward," George observed.

Elizabeth shrugged, her smirk growing wider. "So I've been told."

"I don't mind at all," Hercules piped up. "What did you say your name was?"

"Elizabeth. Elizabeth Sanders," the girl's devilish smirk relaxing into a pretty smile.

And that was how the Marshmallow Squad received four new members. Surprisingly, the four girls knew each other. They were cabin mates that had become friends quickly after meeting. George hadn't realized this at the time.

Excitedly talking about the upcoming party, the Marshmallow Squad continued on their way. George entertained himself by listening to their chaotic conversations. He liked these kids. Yes, teenagers were weird, but that was why George enjoyed teaching them.