Page 87 of Class Clown

I held my head high and, with a sniff, led the way out of the cabin and up the walkway to the main Bearadise Lodge. Luckily, we didn’t pass anyone on our way to the small maintenance office, where I stopped outside the door and gave myself a quick pep talk before knocking.

“I have strength within me. I am fearless and bold,” I chanted under my breath.

“Ruby Jenkins, putting positive affirmations into the universe before facing her greatest foe, Maintenance Guy. How will he respond? Stay tuned, viewers,” Meredith said, turning her phone camera to face her and using a fake British accent.

I rolled my eyes and she grinned. “I hate you sometimes,” I grumbled.

She shrugged. “That’s fair.”

I faced the door again and knocked. Meredith and Aryn both fell silent behind me. I knocked again and when there was still no answer, I tried the handle. It was locked.

I turned to face my friends. “I’m not sure if I’m relieved or even more worried. That toilet can’t be clogged all day. There are five of us.”

Aryn played with her lip. “Maybe toilets are clogging all around the camp.”

“The septic system is a little wimpy,” I replied.

Meredith took more footage, with her fake accent again. “The plot thickens. Where is Maintenance Guy. Did he also hit a speed bump after feasting on last night’s tacos? Is he too forced to plunge his own . . . hey!”

I grabbed her phone, ended the video and put it in my pocket. “You’ve lost privileges. Since when do you act goofy, anyway?”

I spun on my heel and made my way back to our cabin, hoping a magical leprechaun had shown up to make it all go away.

“Brooks has been teaching me about finding humor in things,” Meredith defended as we marched.

They kept joking about the situation on the brief walk back to Funky Bunks and, honestly, I could have probably laughed myself if it wasn’t my life getting messed up.

I pushed through the back door of the cabin and there Nico was, hands on his hips, standing in the open bathroom doorway, observing something.

I stopped hard and fast, my two besties slamming into my back as I stood with my mouth open, letting the horrifying state of affairs wash over me. How had it gotten worse? Had I slipped into a coma at some point and all of this was a hallucination?

My friends shoved at my back until we were all inside, and he turned at the sound of us wrestling our way in.

“Oh, hey,” Nico said warmly. “I found Steve and he’s almost done here.”

He tipped his head into the bathroom with a smile and then focused back on whatever was happening in there.

“Who is Steve?” Aryn asked as she sidled up next to me.

“I have no idea,” I hissed.

“Let’s be glad he’s fixing things,” Meredith added, also quietly.

The three of us walked in a tight unit over to the kitchenette table and sat down, me and Aryn on chairs and Meredith on the table itself, her as we waited.

Sounds came from the bathroom, followed by some grumbling in an unfamiliar voice. Banging? Oh boy, was this Steve person having to literally rebuild the plumbing system? I put my hands over my face and leaned forward onto the table. I wanted to die here.

After what felt like hours, the most beautiful sound in the world happened. The toilet flushed. Meredith patted my shoulder and I sat up, face still red, but with hope in my heart.

Nico was talking to Steve. He had a smile on his face and backed up as a heavy-set man rambled out of the tiny bathroom. His coveralls and scowl were immediately familiar.

“Maintenance Guy,” I breathed.

He heard me and looked my way, his angry eyes bearing down on me. Looked like he was still angry about rat-a-geddon. I offered up the brightest smile I could muster.

“Thanks so much, S-Steve,” I said.

Steve opened his pinched mouth to reply, but Nico put a heavy hand on his shoulder and ushered him out with another thank you, and some conversation about other facility issues. He turned to wink at me as he followed Steve out the door and closed it behind him.

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