Boppingly!

Alright, so you couldn't get any hot drinks for free, but nothing can stop you! Instead, you grabbed two glasses from the Food Court and filled them with slightly warm water from the sink. So that they don't spill, and also stay warm longer, you've covered the top of the glasses with drink lids -- and then, for a bit of fun, you put a straw in each of them! For a second, it was also looking like you might've had to use the complimentary towels from the showers for blankets (which would've been fine!), but it's not so! You managed to bargain your way up to some recently-cleaned bedsheets from Darla. Well, it wasn't really bargaining, but you asked her nicely and she gave them to you. It's not quite the thick and fuzzy blankets you were picturing, but it'll still work out nicely!

You're wearing {if@ Time <4}your normal long-sleeved and long-legged pyjamas, and as you're rushing around the prepare your legs get a bit cold from the night air that sneaks up the pant legs. But that's fine! It just means that the warm water will feel even nicer to drink.{else}your uniform still, but you've also put on all of your dirty clothes from this week over the top, for extra layers and warmth. It's a bit stiff to walk around in, but that doesn't deter you! It just makes you giggle a bit.{endif}

In short time, after the sun's already set, you stand in a doorway facing out into the courtyard at the base of the buildings. All of your supplies are bundled up nicely under your arms, and you're making a conscious effort to not look up and spoil the surprise yet. Hmmm..... you could see if there's a way to get up to the roof? That'd be nice. But you're not sure how you could get up there -- or if you could. Besides, all your best stargazing memories have been lying on your back in the grass, warmly bundled up in stuff, and you're doing this to get that same experience. You won't risk it! Courtyard it is.

Keeping your eyes down on the ground, you shuffle your way over to the base of a tree, near to the Arena tent that apparently the students just leave up always. What if it rains? Does it matter if it rains on a tent?

You settle down into your spot by laying some of the white bedsheets on the slightly dewy grass and finding some stable ground to put each of your sealed and strawed warm water glasses on, so that they don't fall over. Okay, nice! You almost lie down on the bedsheets to get all snuggled, which would've had you see the stars already for sure, but you catch yourself! Not yet!

A little bit later (at the agreed upon time, you just got here early to set up), you hear Cameron coming from behind you. "Hey, Debbie!" You let out a small grunt of acknowledgement, keeping your head looking straight down. "Wow..... you can see so many from here."

What!! HE DIDN'T JUST LOOK, DID HE!

"CAMERON!" You bellow downwards, probably sending his hair flying back from his face. You're not quick to anger, but this is too much! You told him not to, right?! Or, wait, no, you only decided the rule three minutes ago, but still, he should've read the situation!

Your intense, raging calculations are interrupted as a crinkly paper bag is set down on your slightly-hunched forward back. Cameron steps past you, and plops down on one half of the bedsheets. He takes his time about awkwardly adjusting himself, too.

You're still a bit apprehensive about moving your eyes from the ground, but you do straighten up a bit to take off whatever he just put on your back. Oh, hey, it's really warm! What the heck, this is like proper hot! You lay down on the bedsheets as well (keeping your chin tucked, so that you're not seeing the stars yet!) and shove your hand inside. It's baked goods! Two warm croissants!

"I- sorry, I didn't check if you like them, or if you're.... allergic to wheat. If that's used in, you know, croissants. But some people at the Food Court were gonna throw them out because they didn't sell, so they were a really good price, and they let me use their microwave. You don't need to have one if you don't want, I just thought- you know, maybe."

"This is great!" You shout, yanking out one and letting it sit on your chest as you dive back in for the other. "Both for me?!"

"Oh, well- yeah, I guess if you-"

You chuck one of the croissants at his head. It bounces off and lands safely on the bedsheet beside him.

"Th-thank you." He says, picking it up and starting to nibble at its edge. Okay, it's time! You bundle yourself up in the rest of the bedsheets, by way of laying down in it at one side, holding that side, and rolling towards the other side until you're in an excellently crafted cocoon. You keep your eyes closed for the entire roll, so after it's done and you're facedown you need Cameron to put you back in place. You end up needing him anyway though, because within this cocoon you've been completely immobilised and you're starting to roll beyond your control. Cameron to rushes after you as you tumble around in the grass, eyes still shut, squealing with glee. Thankfully, he manages to grab you before you make impact with anything.

Cameron takes you back in a fireman's carry, to be set up in what he says is a good spot to look at the sky. Your eyes are still closed, so you make him confirm twice and promise to be super sure that this is gonna be perfect, before you're eventually ready to finally open your eyes and look at the sky.

.......

WOOAAAHHHHH!!!!

There- what the heck! There are so many here! And they're not even all just white spots, they've got all sorts of different colours that you've never seen before for stars! There's a red one that's kind of bigger than the others, a lot of yellows, mostly blues -- but the best part, surprisingly, isn't even the stars. It's the rest of the sky. It's not the black night sky that you're used to, it's a sort of dark teal colour at the edges that turns into a smooth navy at its centre. There are some absolutely gorgeous gashes of clouds in the sky, shaped like disturbed mud in water, that are much darker than the rest of the sky behind them but also have this brilliant backlit quality about them, where white light spills from their edges as they drift slowly across the sky. Wow.......

You just breathe in and out as you take it up. After a bit of wiggling, you manage to free one of your arms, which you put to use crunching down on your warm croissant. You set it down atop your wrapped torso when you want to readjust the sheets or take a drink from your sippy glass.

"Know any- constellations?" Cameron asks you, breaking the many minutes' silence, but not his staring gaze up at the sky.

"Nope." You reply.

The two of you lie there in the grass for a good while longer. Surprisingly, despite the cold night air and the limited supplies you were able to scrounge up, you're kept pretty warm! It's really really cozy, and really really pretty, and in short time you've drank up all of your tapwater and eaten up all of your hot and slightly-hard croissant. You stuff your arm back down your bedsheet bundle, because it has served its purpose and is actively approaching redundancy.

"Thanks, Debbie."

Hm? Oh, did Cameron say something? Yawwwnn. Man, this was so cool, but you're starting to drift off. It might be time to call it pretty soon. But not yet! It's so so pretty to watch, you just want to stay here forever watching the clouds bounce around in the big lit up sky. You're not sure how much longer you held out, but a short time later you passed out into a very comfortable and satisfied sleep there protected from the dewy grass.

Zzzzzzz......

.........Ahhhh, that was a good sleep. You sit up and stretch. Oh, hey, your arms are free. And you're back in your room again! You're still feeling pretty tired, and you can tell that it's still nighttime when you look out the window. Your mouth's a bit dry. You must've woken up because you're thirsty.

{if@ Bed = 1}You sit up from your bed{elseif Bed > 1}You sit up from your (BIG!) bed{else}You sit up from where you lie on the floor{endif}, warmly (but less tightly) wrapped in the bedsheets. Cameron's asleep over in the corner of the room, curled up in a little ball with one of the bedsheets over him. Did he carry you back? Yeah, he must've. You smack your lips together. Oh, that's right! The stargazing! You rush over to your window again to try get another look at the sky, and see how it looks now that it's later, but the angle's all wrong and you can't get a good view of it. Aw, man. Another time, then!

You briefly wander through the halls, still wearing {if@ Time <4}your pyjamas{else}all of your layers and walking like an astronaut{endif}, to grab yourself a drink of water. Soon after, you're back in your room, fully hydrated, very sleepy, and ready to turn in again. What a successful way to end the day, huh?

You snuggle back into your bedsheets, and drift off quietly back into dreamland......