Summer Camp; unBuddy System

It's summer camp, and the cadets are sent by bus to the wilderness to practice survival skills. Since they are police cadets, it's a little different from normal students. Jacques and Charles are both 14 at this time, and Instructor David still hasn't received a good report from Charles about why Jacques was able to catch the criminal while he wasn't. 

Instructor David wants to help Charles become a better cadet, but from the papers Charles has written, it seems he needs to see Jacques in a more respectful way. He needs to appreciate what Jacques can do without just calling it luck, blaming the simulation, or focusing on any bias toward Jacques for doing things that might risk civilians. Instructor David believes that if Charles can understand Jacques's strengths and learn from him, he could become a great detective. It's not because Jacques is the best cadet, but because Jacques has something that Charles doesn't. And Charles needs to figure it out himself.

That's why Instructor David has decided to pair Jacques and Charles together.

Of course, neither of them is happy about it.

"Getting out of here, I'll be a robot for real," Jacques groans. "Why can't I be paired with someone more fun?"

Charles stays quiet, but in his head, he agrees. He also wants a partner who is smarter and more capable. Yes, he admits Jacques could become a good cop one day because he's kind-hearted. But being kind isn't enough. Jacques would only make a good traffic cop, not a crime detective. He's too risky when it comes to catching criminals, sometimes doing anything—even putting civilians in danger—to get the bad guy.

"You dare complain about my decision, Cadet?" Instructor David gives Jacques a hard stare.

Jacques's eyes widen; he did not expect that Instructor David would hear him. "Uhh...."

The next thing Jacques does is run around the camp's lake, doing three laps up and down the steep hills and jumping over wet puddles. The view is amazing, and he can't get enough of it.

When he gets back to the camp, Charles has already set up their campsite. It's neat and well-organized. Charles's attention to detail really shows here. When Jacques arrives, Charles is already preparing dinner, peeling potatoes.

"Procure water, as the onset of darkness is imminent." Charles says, pointing to the three empty water buckets.

"Huh? What?" Jacques tilted his head, panting from the run. His clothes were drenched in sweat, and his hair was soaked as if he had just come out of the pool. "Oh, whatever! Let me rest for a while," Jacques dug through his bag to grab a towel and his water bottle, drinking deeply.

Charles decided to do it himself, grabbing all the water buckets and walking away toward the nearest lake. It was a good distance from their camp—he could barely see the other campers at the other side.

"So this is it. I'll be stuck with an imbecile for a week!" Charles filled all the water gallons, each of which could hold about 5 liters of water. When they were empty, they were easy to carry, but when full, Charles could only carry one. He couldn't leave the other two behind! Luckily, Jacques was there to help. He lifted one gallon onto his shoulder and carried the other one on his side.

"Let's go back," Jacques smiled, receiving nothing but a cold demeanor from Charles. Charles swore that Jacques was such an idiot; the more he showed kindness, the more he looked like a dumb person.

The first night passed quietly. After dinner, they both entered the camp and slept side by side. At some point, Jacques's foot had landed on Charles's side. Charles smacked him with a pillow. "Please refrain from encroaching upon my designated sleeping area, as such actions are inconsistent with mutually agreed-upon boundaries."

Jacques , of course, woke up suddenly from the hit and saw Charles glaring at him. He wasn't sure what Charles was actually implying, especially because he was half awake. So, Jacques just turned his back without saying anything and went back to sleep. Why bother? It wasn't worth a fight; his leg had just landed in the wrong place.

The next morning, the two of them unpacked the tent because they had a mission from the instructor: to find a "treasure" hidden somewhere in the mountain. Many people had gotten lost on the mountain trail, but it was no longer an issue since each cadet carried a GPS tracker, making them traceable if they got lost.

After unpacking, they both walked together to follow the treasure map.

"We're already 14. Why are we still playing kids' games like this?" Jacques groaned. "What treasure? It's not like they buried gold in the mountain."

"You are advised to allocate your energy toward more productive endeavors and comply with the task requirements. *pants* Achieving the highest score *pants* will result in a proportional enhancement of our overall *pants* evaluation metrics." Charles kept walking behind Jacques , sweat all over his body.

It took Jacques 3 minutes to understand that his partner was actually saying, "Don't waste energy complaining. If we succeed, we'll get a high grade."

"Hands up! You're under arrest! My grade is A when I was cadet, so you have to cooperate!" Jacques sarcastically responded, not even breaking a sweat.

Charles stopped walking and wiped his sweat. He found a big rock, sat on it, and drank water from his tumbler. Jacques noticed that Charles was no longer following him, so he turned back and walked down to stay by his side.

"Hah, tired already?" Jacques teased, only to be met with Charles's death glare.

"Ugh, come on... not another death glare...." Jacques pinched Charles's cheeks with both hands and pulled them up and down. "Why is your face always frowning? I wonder how it'd look upside down. I bet it would look pretty, just like when you sleep."

Charles finally managed to free himself from Jacques's pinches by slapping his hands away. "Your actions continue to violate basic behavioral expectations, which directly contributes to my facial expressions."

"Maybe if you stopped speaking like a robot, we could finally appreciate each other. I mean, is it so hard to say 'don't do that!' instead of 'your actions blah blah blah'? Why do you have to use so many words?" Jacques giggled.

"Anyway, could you clarify your previous statement? Are you indicating that you engaged in observational activity while I was asleep under your bunk?!" Charles asked, feeling a bit violated.

"I didn't mean to, but I was on the top bunk, and sometimes I wake up earlier than you. I can't help but see that pretty face finally at peace. Don't blame me, I'm not the one who choose the top bunk."

"Your lack of adherence to basic hygiene protocols is the primary source of my stress!" Charles pushed Jacques's chest.

"Ei, don't push me, or else..."

"Upon return to our unit, I hereby insists a reassignment of bunks, with immediate effect. You will vacate the top bunk, and I will assume occupancy of said position, while you will be relegated to the lower bunk, in accordance with established sleeping arrangements!" Charles angrily pushed Jacques even more.

Jacques caught Charles's wrist and, with a smooth move, suddenly had Charles on his back. "I've been thinking that if I carried you like this, it would probably save time and conserve your energy too from being angry all the time. Let's go!"

"Release me immediately, Jacques ! This is an unauthorized transport, and I do not consent!" Charles struggled, but either Jacques was too strong for him or he was too weak to resist. It had no effect on Jacques , who started climbing the uphill path.