There were many things Cal was learning from Arden--shampoo and conditioner should be separate things, clothes didn't all go in the wash together, for the love of everything you have to wash both the top and bottom parts of your body because the soap running down your body wasn't enough--but the concept of outside clothes and inside clothes was still a little new, so he hadn't had much time to buy new inside clothes on the trip (which might not even count because they hadn't been washed?) but there would be time to argue about that later. For now, he was just going to bask in the accent for a moment.

"These folks are going to be so glad when we're gone," he said, snickering. "But as for escaping you, that was never on my mind. Being around you is never a situation of being trapped." Cal took Arden's hand again and gave it a squeeze. "I always like spending time with you, and I hope you feel the same?"

Cal's backpack started vibrating, and he gave it a nudge to encourage BD to stay cool.