Not a Happy Camper

It was midnight, when the symphony of the night was at its best. All the sounds of crickets, frogs, and owls mixed together with a small howling of the wind created such wonderful peace and harmony. The grass was freshly cut and comfortable. The sky was black, with twinkling stars scattered sloppily across; some stars were clustered while others were spread far apart. The leaves on the trees rustled slightly and the first leaf of autumn fell gently to the ground. The air was crisp and chilled just enough to make you shiver with satisfaction. This was truly nature at its best.

Daisy enjoyed every second of it. Like her name entailed, Daisy had a very close connection to nature. She loved the outdoors and wanted to be as close to it as possible. The bustling city life just wasn't for her, which is why she insisted that her friends should join her on a little camping trip. While spending the day with her friends sitting around a fire pit and catching up on old times was fun, Daisy liked observing the world around her alone. It was easy enough to see that everyone had a good time, and if her friends were having a good time, so was she.

By evening, the fire had died down and the tents started to look rather cozy. Peach and Daisy shared a tent while Mario and Luigi shared another.

Once Daisy was certain everyone was asleep, she crawled out of the girls' tent and back over to the fire pit. All that remained were ashes. Daisy sat close to the camping area and simply sat and thought. It was nice to just sit and think, especially with such lovely ambiance. With the mood set, and a far-off look in her eyes, Daisy kept her legs close to her chest and her head on her knees. Silence was all she wanted now.

But the silence was soon interrupted. The crickets stopped chirping abruptly after a twig broke. Daisy looked around and didn't see anyone. She rolled her eyes. Whatever caused that was gone now, she supposed.

The bag by the fire pit started to rustle as if someone was searching through it.

"You're outta water," Daisy sniffled, "I got an extra, though."

The person continued to search the bag. "I'm looking for something else."

Daisy turned around, "What are you looking for?"

"Bug spray," Luigi said sheepishly.

"Bug spray?" Daisy snorted, "What's so bad about a few bugs?"

Luigi looked at her with slight annoyance. "They have germs and carry diseases and it's just not . . . sanitary."

Daisy giggled. "In all my years, I don't think I've ever met a boy who was," she raised her hands in air-quotes, "sanitary."

"There's a first time for everything," Luigi sighed.

"You couldn't find it?" Daisy smirked.

Luigi shook his head.

"Well, come on down," Daisy signaled for him to sit next to her, "The bugs won't get you here."

Luigi walked over slowly and sat down next to her.

Daisy tossed her arms over her head and fell back. She let out a great, tired sigh and smiled, looking up at the stars.

"It's so cool how the stars stay in the same place every night." Daisy looked around the sky, "I read somewhere that we see the same stars every night, but the sky never stays the same . . . or something like that."

Luigi let out a small hum of agreement.

"I bet if Rosalina were here, she would be interested in what I'm saying." Daisy huffed. When Luigi didn't respond, Daisy lightly slapped him on the arm. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding."

Daisy finally spoke up after a few minutes of nothing passed, "Something one your mind, Luigi?"

"Sort of," Luigi's voice was small, but Daisy heard him.

"Like what?" She sat up a little bit, "Is it about you not getting all the glory and about how Mario has everything given to him on a silver platter? Didn't we go over this before or something? 'It's okay being second best. The world doesn't revolve around him. One day he'll need you. Be yourself.' Yada, yada."

Luigi chuckled and looked over at her. "That was really touching, Daisy. I'm crying."

Daisy laughed, "Yuck it up, plumber boy."

"No, it was an amazing speech."

"Hey, I speak the truth."

". . . But, that wasn't really on my mind."

"Then what was?"

Luigi turned away and sighed loudly. Daisy sat up fully. "Luigi, is something wrong?"

The symphony of the night seemed to gradually turn pizzicato, everything getting quiet and faint. The world just seemed to stop and the almost-silence was nerve-wracking. Luigi gulped.

"Do you remember what Peach said before, about having another party or something?"

Daisy snorted. "Peach is always going on about parties and stuff. There always has to be some kind of social gathering on her schedule. Grambi forbid it if there isn't. And they always have to be somewhat romantic. Of course, her highness is hitting the prime of her life. Bleeech. Not to mention the 'everyone has to have a date' rule. It's just so degrading."

Luigi tapped his finger on the ground next to him. All he could let out was a squeaky "Oh." But it was that squeaky "Oh" that made Daisy instantly regret what she just said. She turned back to him, "Were you thinking of going, Luigi?"

He shook his head quickly.

Daisy nodded. "Thank Grambi that it's not mandatory, either." The Sarasin culture had praised Grambi for over two-thousand years. Like Daisy's father and his father before him, they kept the religion alive, although many had turned away from it in recent years. "I mean, I would be truly embarrassed if I had to go there and actually participate in something. And when I do get there, all I do is sit and watch everyone dancing around. They all look fancy and I look like an idiot just waiting to be swept off her feet–"

"I like you."

"- with nothing better to do but. . . What?"

". . . I like you."

The remark came out of nowhere, but Daisy responded. "I like you, too."

"Really? Oh wow. I did all that mental preparation for rejection for nothing, huh?"

Daisy's smile disappeared, "Rejection?"

"Yeah, but it's not a problem because you like me back."

"Yes, but as a friend – a good friend, even - but not as a romance interest."

Luigi let out another squeaky and uncertain "Oh."

"Listen, we've known each other for a good while now and I know that everyone knows of our inevitable romance sometime in the near future, but I'm just not ready for it. We're both young adults and we still have a good portion of our lives ahead of us. Instead of focusing on who we'll be calling our partners, we should just live for now, I guess." Daisy scooted closer to him and smiled, "But like I said, 'inevitable romance', it's bound to happen."

"I guess I shouldn't have just said that," Luigi tried hard to make the entire charade sound like a joke.

"It's fine, plumber boy," Daisy rested her head on his shoulder, "It's fine."

Funny thing is, I've never gone camping. I heard it's fun.

So, I don't know what to think of this. I don't like it, but this is probably the most detailed I've ever been in my writing. So . . . yay? If you like it, feel free to favorite.

Criticism or not, all reviews are appreciated!

- Great Mistake