Spin the Bubble

The silvery moonlight shone down on the circle of campers sitting around a fire. The sounds of the waves crashing on the nearby shoreline provided the only soundtrack as Lucy continued her ghost story. Each camper waited in rapt attention as she drew closer to the climax.

"And then, the door opened to reveal... that none of the fruit was organic!"

Not a single gasp, not even from Pepper.

"Wow, really?" Alexa asked flatly.

"What? We've told ghost stories every night for the last two weeks!" Lucy argued. "I'm out of ideas!"

"Babies."

Every camper around the campfire jumped in surprise as Susie appeared behind them, giving them the first legitimate scare all night.

"Oh man, do we have to go to bed already?" Max asked as the other campers groaned upon realizing who had startled them.

"Relax, I've actually had quite a bit of coffee today, so it's not lights out yet." she replied, casting a chair on the ground and plopping down in it. "I heard your predicament, and I've come with a suggestion."

Susie crossed her legs and put her hands behind her head. "It's a game called spin the bubble."

The campers gasped. "S-spin the bottle?" Hedgehog repeated wearily.

Susie rolled her eyes. "No, Hedgepig, Spin the BUBBLE."

She produced her wand a bottle of soda appeared in her hand with a flick of her wrist. "Granted, this game does share some things with what is possibly the most awkward game in existed besides twister." She popped the cap off the soda and guzzled the whole thing down in a few seconds.

After a loud belch, she extinguished the fire and made the room in the center of the ring of campers.

"So, here's how it works: a player spins the bottle, and whoever it lands on gets stuck in a bubble with the first player," Susie explained. "Now, in order to make it out of the bubble, the two campers have to resolve any hidden issues or grudges they may be hiding before the spell is broken."

The campers nodded as Susie smiled to herself. 'This game always stirs up some trouble!' Susie thought to herself as she continued. "If two campers have no issue with each other, then the bubble will pop in a few seconds."

Susie looked around at the kids in her charge. There was a certain tension in the air that sent a tingle down her spine.

"Well then, if there are no questions, who's going first?" Susie asked.

No one was quick to volunteer before Hedgehog spoke up.

"Why don't you go first?"

Susie couldn't help but chuckle. "Because it'd be sunup before I made it out of the first bubble with any of you." Susie turned the bottom of the bottle towards Hedgehog. "Since you're so eager, take it for a spin."

Never one to back down from a challenge from Susie, Hedgehog put her hand on the center of the bottle. Before spinning it, she quickly glanced around at the other kids in the circle. Did she have any grudges against any of them? What if someone had a secret beef with her? The idea of someone not liking her for some reason sent her heart racing.

"While we're young, Hedgehog," Susie chastised.

With a hearty twist, she let the bottle spin. It felt like an eternity as she watched the glass go around and around, aiming at every camper.

As the bottle slowed, it came to rest pointing at Alexa. They locked eyes from across the circle. Hedgehog swallowed nervously. Though she couldn't think of anything off the top of her head, but what if Alexa felt wronged by her in some way? What if she accidentally took the last of her favorite snack at the convenience tree? Or accidentally missed her when she was wide open for a three on the basketball court? Or–

"Alright you two, stand in the middle." Susie instructed.

Hesitantly, they both stood up and approached the center of the circle of kids.

Each exchanged a polite smile as Susie waved her wand. A large bubble cascaded over them, wrapping them both in a light pink, transparent enclosure.

Hedgehog carefully poked the side of the bubble with her finger. It had the texture of a kickball, certainly nothing either of them could force their way out of. The walls of the bubble rippled in response to her touch.

"Alright babies, no one can hear you outside the bubble, but I can speak to you in it." Susie's voice echoed into their small but semi-private confessional. "Since you're both still in the bubble, I suggest you get to work, I'm not sure how much air is in one of these things."

With that in mind, Alexa and Hedgehog looked back at each other.

"So... I guess one of us has something they need to say," Hedgehog said quietly, neither of them knowing which one was guilty, or if it was both of them.

Alexa looked away, scratching her arm.

"Uh... well..." Alexa began, her face beginning to flush.

Hedgehog mentally breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like the onus was on Alexa.

Onus being on Alexa or not, Hedgehog had a new issue; Alexa had a problem with her!

Her throat almost instantly dried up and her heart pounded in her ears. It was so loud, she wasn't even sure she'd be able to hear Alexa speak.

"Okay, so I'll just come out and say it... You're a ball hog." Alexa blurted, preferring to rip the bandage off quickly.

While it wasn't as severe as Hedgehog's overactive thoughts led her to believe, it was still news to her.

"And the way you say 'crab buckets' after every. Single. Basket! Like, what does that even mean? Why wouldn't you just say 'buckets' or 'good' or something?" Alexa sighed, having gotten her annoyance off her chest. "I hope you're not mad, but we apparently aren't getting out of here unless we do this."

While it wasn't a flattering assessment, it was probably not without its merit. Alexa was a pretty straight shooter.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't kill me to pass it more...and no, I'm not mad." Hedgehog replied.

"That's a relief," Alexa sighed.

The two of them looked around the bubble, waiting a few seconds and still finding it intact.

"Well, that's all I have, I guess it's your turn?" Alexa said, nervously playing with the end of her ponytail.

Hedgehog feigned a pause before speaking her piece. She knew what she wanted to say the moment the bubble didn't burst.

"I think you should be nicer to Oscar." Hedgehog began "I know he can be a goof and clumsy, but c'mon, do you and Max really need a tracker in the mess hall to count how many times per day he hits his shin on the table?"

Alexa looked away, a blush creeping across her face. "Yeah, I guess it is kinda mean... and we haven't really updated it in a while." she regained eye contact with Hedgehog. "Ok, I'll take it down tomorrow."

With that admittance, the bubble burst, freeing the two girls.

"See?" Susie said. "Simple concept that should bring all you babies closer together. Or not..." she mumbled with a subtle grin.

"Alright, Alexa, take her for a spin," Susie instructed.

The young horse girl took hold of the bottle and gave it a twist. It twirled around until it landed on Lucy.