18

The way I see it, now we're even. But if there's one thing I've learned about Rodrick, it's that he's still not gonna let it go. So that's why I'm not that eager to hole up in a tent with him for the weekend. Saturday Today me, Dad, and Rodrick headed off on our camping trip. I picked a place that had a lot of manly activities that you could do. On the way to the campground, the sky got dark, and then it started to rain. I wasn't all that concerned, because our tent is waterproof, and Mom packed ponchos for everybody. But by the time we got to our campsite, it was six inches underwater.

We were pretty far from home, so Dad decided we should just find a place to stay for the night. I was really bummed, because the whole point of the trip was for me to impress Dad with my camping skills, and now we were just gonna stay in some stupid hotel room. Dad found a place and got a room with two beds and a pullout couch. We watched TV for a while and then started getting ready for bed. First, Dad went downstairs to the front desk to complain that the heater was too loud, so I was alone in the room with Rodrick. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and

when I came out, Rodrick was looking out the peephole. Then he said something that made me freeze in my tracks. He said that Holly Hills and her family were out in the hallway, and they were staying in the room right across from us. I had to see this for myself. So I moved him out of the way and looked out the peephole. The hallway was completely empty. And before I realized it was a trick, Rodrick gave me a big shove, and I fell out the door.

Then it got worse. Rodrick locked the door behind me, and I was stuck in the hallway wearing nothing but my tighty whities. I pounded on the door, but Rodrick wouldn't let me back in the room. I was making a big racket, and I realized people in the nearby rooms were gonna start opening their doors to find out what was going on. nkledc. So I ran around the corner to save myself the embarrassment of

anyone seeing me. I spent about fifteen minutes sneaking through the hallways, hiding every time I heard voices. I was gonna go back to our room and beg Rodrick to let me in, but then I realized I didn't even know our room number. And all the doors looked exactly the same to me. I couldn't exactly go down to the front desk, either. The only option I really had was to try and find Dad. Then I remembered: Dad is a junk-food addict. I knew he'd eventually turn up at the vending machines, so that's where I camped out. I wedged myself in between the soda machine and

the candy machine and waited. I had to wait a really long time, but Dad finally did show up. You know what, though? After seeing the look on Dad's face, I kind of wished I'd just sucked it up and gone to the front desk instead. Sunday Well, after our camping trip, I'm pretty sure there's no chance I can convince Dad to change his mind about Spag Union. So at this point, I'm not even gonna bother trying. I realized there are only about three more weeks before I get shipped out, so I figure this is my last chance to make a play for Holly Hills. If I'm lucky, maybe I can take some good memories with me to