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"Cookies! Ensure that you've taken all your belongings. We won't be coming back to the campsite."

All the Cookies were on the playground in neat lines according to the teams they were in. Some were happy to leave, and some were not; some missed their families, while others dreaded the day they'd have to return.

"Before you leave, we want to say a few words to you all," the male instructor stepped up to speak, "I won't accompany you all on the tour bus back."

"Me neither," the female instructor added, "the guide Cookie you saw on the first day will accompany you back to the station where your parents will pick you up."

"We've seen all of you grow and improve your skills in the past five days."

"And we're really proud of you all. No matter what happens, remember to not give up."

"So, with that, it's the end of this camp."

A round of applause was heard from all the Cookies, grateful for the experience.

"Thank you so much for being here, and we hope you learnt something from these few days!"

~~

"Hey, Roguefort, are we going to meet up on Sunday  to see the book at Buttercream Choco's house?"

"Yeah, why?"

The Cookies were all on the tour bus -  Almond and Roguefort were sitting together, just like the day they came. All the other Cookies had their own things to do: whether it was to add all of their teammates' phone numbers or to catch up on sleep that they didn't get during the camp.

"I don't know why, but I have a hunch that I won't be able to go," Almond muttered, looking down at the badge they created in his two Cookie hands.

"That's weird...I have the same feeling too, god knows what our parents will do to us back home."

"You won't hate me, right? No matter what they do to you?"

"Of course not. You'd still be my friend even after 10, 20, 30 years."

"Promise?"

Roguefort turned over to look Almond in the eye, and what he saw was fear. Almond was terrified; he was scared for what his friend's family would do to him, and he would lose his only friend.

"Hey, it'll be fine," Roguefort consoled Almond, patting his shoulder, "we can still hang out once they give us a bit more freedom."

"Won't they find out?"

"We can just hang out with the Blackberry team! Calm down, it'll be fine."

"B-but..."

"It'll be fine. I'll be fine, we're all going to be fine after we find out what's in that ancient book. We can solve this rivalry. It's like our families are two islands, and we can build the bridge that connects them again, okay?"

"Thanks, Roguefort."

Despite Almond to seemingly have calmed down on the outside, his fear never left him, like a shadow that towered over him. But he knew he had to be strong; Roguefort didn't even look scared, so he knew he had to trust his friend.

"Cookies! We are 5 minutes away from our destination!" the tour guide announced through the mic in a cheerful voice, "pack up if you decided to unpack on the bus!"

Almond glanced around to find that due to the huge amount of seats, many Cookies had taken out their video games to play on other seats, connecting to the USB ports on the bus. A more detailed look and he figured that he and Roguefort were the only ones that only occupied one seat and sat next to another Cookie.

It reminded him of the start of the trip when he had asked Roguefort to introduce himself.

Roguefort's phone buzzed. The Cookie took it out, saw what popped up on the screen, and let out a deep sigh before shoving his phone back in his bag.

"What makes you so disappointed?"

"Family. Obviously they're not coming to pick me up. I should've known..."

"My mom and- nevermind, my mom's going to pick me up."

"Almond, don't stress yourself out about what's going to happen to me. Worry about yourself, alright? You'll have a lot to catch up at home." Roguefort consoled the Cookie.

"Alright."

"Oh, and you should probably pretend to not know me after the bus comes into your parents'- I meant your mother's view. Your mother probably hates me and knows who I am."

"Thank you, Roguefort. For being my friend."

"Hey, it's not like you're going to Crumble if you don't see me. Chill, we're just momentarily going back to our normal lives, it's not like you're going to die!"

"Alright," Almond chuckled.

Roguefort, after staring at the window, heaved his bag over his shoulder before wobbling over to a vacant seat just a few seats in front of Almond.

"See? Now we don't know each other." Roguefort shouted.

The bus suddenly came to a screeching halt, slightly scaring all the Cookies, especially those who were half-awake after the guide Cookie's broadcast.

"We are here! Make sure to take all your belongings from the bus. See you again soon if fate allows!"

A glance out the window and Almond saw a sight he didn't want to see.

Yes, they were at the station, but his mother was standing in the back of all the excited moms and dads who were desperate to see their sons and daughters again. Huge black loops were around her eyes, and her posture showed that she probably didn't sleep ever since...

Almond did not want to think about it. Trying to distract himself, he made eye contact with her, and her eyes lit up a bit as if she was seeing a small candle in infinite darkness, a small sliver of hope.

All the Cookies were getting off the bus, many jumping into the embrace of their parents and loved ones, welcoming them back. Almond's seat was in the back, so most of the Cookies had gotten off until Almond appeared.

As he made his way through the crowd, people gave him pitying looks. He didn't dare to look at them for fear of another sudden attack of the sort, but he did overhear some of their words.

"Isn't that the descendant of the Nuts?"

"I feel bad for the poor Cookie, not even able to say goodbye..."

"He just lost his father..."

Almond sighed. It was quite impossible to get his mind off his father after all. Everyone knew of his death, and when it was all over the news, gossip was sure to come...

Nevertheless, he hurriedly made his way through the crowd, approaching his tired mother.

"Almond, sweetie, are you feeling good?"

Cashew Cookie's voice was hoarse; she seemed extremely fatigued. Almond's worry was intensified when Cashew stumbled a bit.

"Mom, we have to get home, you look so tired, let's get home and get some sleep!"

"I'm fine, let me carry your backpack for you, it must be heavy."

"You have to get some sleep! I can carry this, no problem. Your health is first. I'm calling our driver, let's get all of us home."

"He's here. Just across the street."

"Then let's get home."

As Almond and his fatigued mother reached the traffic light, Almond looked back to the crowd, and Roguefort was nowhere in sight.

~~

[Originally published May 09, 2020]

And they're back at the city..but Cashew looks dead inside and Roguefort has to get to home himself.

Someone give Almond a virtual hug-

Will Roguefort...not die in his parent's clutches?

Is Almond going to be able to bear the mental stress that he couldn't say goodbye to his father?

Is Cashew going to be okay?

Drop your predictions in an inline comment here!

I hope you enjoyed, drop a vote if you want, and see you next chapter!

Also, sorry for disappearing for a bit D:

Next chapter:

Roguefort hid a disgusted look from his face. His sister thought that someone, who was the mother, a wife, a friend to other Cookies, dying was good news?

~~

Gouda looked Roguefort in the eye, and she had a...mischievous twinkle in her eye?

"You said you didn't want to harm anyone, did you?"

~~

Almond's eyes widened in shock; it was his father's handwriting.

~~

"Yeah, I'm back home, why?"

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net