When Carl had learned to clean toilets by the cleaner, it was his turn. And it was the worst moment of his life. The water splashed on his face and clothes while he cleaned them and it didn't feel better when he wiped away water from the face with some hand wipes from the WC. He could literally smell and taste the water. When he was done cleaning, he got out of the door and took a deep breath. He was hoping that no one would see him because he was ashamed of his punishment. He heard footsteps and closed his eyes, scared. But it was just Courtney. Carl suddenly looked relieved.

"Let's go somewhere else."

Carl dragged Courtney to the corridor, fast. He picked up the Kleenex pack from his backpack and wiped his face with a paper towel. Simon saw what happened from a corner. He walked to Carl and smiled, evilly.

"You look like you've cleaned the toilets", he said loudly, so everyone around could hear him. They stared at Carl and some of them started to laugh. Carl tried not to blush because of the embarrassment. Courtney walked to Simon, looking at him, angrily.

"What's wrong with you!? Can't you just leave poor Carl alone?"

Simon stared at Courtney.

"This isn't over..."

He walked away from them and Courtney went to Carl again. Everyone looked away from them and started doing what they were doing before. Carl smiled at Courtney.

"Thanks, Courtney. You were a big help."

"No problem, Carl."

After school, they'd decided to go to the cinema and watch a movie called "Couple". They sat on two cinema chairs beside each other, waiting for the movie to come. When it started, romantic film score music started and the movie faded into a man (Michael) and a woman (Karen) who sat on the same bus, in front of each other. Karen smiled.

"Where are we going?"

"We're traveling to a place with a lovely beach."

Karen lit up, surprised.

Carl and Courtney arrived at the beach. Courtney pointed at the water. They saw a shark there. Carl frowned at the shark and picked up a spear from the sand.

"I don't fear you, shark. But YOU should fear ME!"

He threw the spear so it got stuck in the shark's teeth. Courtney clapped her hands.

"You're ADORABLE, Carl."

"You too, Courtney."

Trent came towards them with sunglasses on and a teasing smile. He held a red rose bouquet behind his back, then he showed it to Courtney.

"You are worth these roses."

"Thanks, Trent!"

Carl looked angrily at Trent. He took the rose bouquet from him and threw it in the sand. Courtney and Trent looked shocked at the roses. They were full of sand grains.

At the end of the movie, Carl breathed a deep sigh of relief. The movie had a happy ending. After everything that Michael had been through, he and Karen got together again.

"I hope the bad things never happen to us."

"It won't. Promise."

They made a pinky swear with their ring fingers crossed. When they came out of the cinema, Carl noticed that Courtney still carried around the empty popcorn bucket. He pointed at it and Courtney looked at him like she was about to laugh in any minute. Carl also looked amused. Courtney went to the trash can outside the cinema and threw it. They looked at each other, giggling. It was the first date for both of them. And they both loved it. Before walking home, they kissed outside the cinema.

The next day was a Saturday, which meant no school. Carl and Courtney could hang out the whole day. But everything changed when Carl heard from his parents that the family would camp in the wilderness. Ross had packed tents, flashlights and such things while Wendy had packed books, comic magazines and food. They knew that Carl was afraid of snakes, tarantulas, mud pits and so many more things that belonged in the wilderness. They just wanted to train him to like it. Carl called Courtney. She picked up the phone from her jeans pocket and answered it.

"Hey, Carl", she said with a smile.

"Change of plans. My parents want me to camp in the wilderness with them."

"Oh... I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah... See ya... tomorrow."

"Bye", they said in unison.

Carl packed clothes in a suitcase. Ross came in.

"We won't have anywhere to change. We'll use the same clothes today as tomorrow."

Carl put the clothes back into his wardrobe.

"Isn't that filthy?"

Ross shook his head.

"No. Not if you change when we're back home again."

"Sure..."

They traveled to the place with a bus. When they got out of the bus, Carl looked around. The only thing he saw was a huge, boring wasteland. It never seemed to end. He couldn't believe people actually wanted to be there. And even worse, sleep in a tent there.
His parents walked ahead but when they noticed that he wasn't following, they waved at him to come. Carl shook his head. Wendy grabbed his arm and took him with them.

"It's going to be fun! We can look at cute animals and sit in our tent, doing what we want."

"Like what?"

"Read, eat, sleep, looking at the view through the tent window..."

"I brought my phone with me..."

"There's no mobile network coverage when we arrive. And no chargers."

Carl stared at his mom, his mouth wide open.

"What!?"

Wendy nodded. Carl put his phone in his jeans pocket, reluctantly. He remembered the last time they camped. It was in the woods. Carl got bitten on the leg by a snake. They were forced to cancel the camping and an ambulance drove him to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, he was laying on a bed and his parents were sitting on two car seats. They walked pretty far into the wilderness before they decided where to set up the tent.