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"Okay. So like, I had an idea."
"Uh oh."
Dustin mock-glared, shoving Shane over onto the grass outside Ninja Ops as Tori snickered. They'd been evicted by Cam earlier for being 'too wound up to stay out of the way and stop distracting him'. "Dude, I'm serious!"
"Aren't you always serious about your ideas?" Blake wondered.
Hunter raised his eyebrows skeptically. "And don't a lot of them end in 'Uh-oh?'"
"Okay Dustin, what's your idea?" Tori soothed as he glared at them.
He blinked at her, sidetracked, then brightened. "Oh! Well, Cam's been working like, *super* hard overtime, right? I mean, that's why he did the whole ... CyberCam thing," he handwaved. "So I was thinking that we should do something to help lighten the load, y'know? But Cam won't let us help out in Ops or fix the Zords right, 'cause they're like, his babies or something, which is *totally* unfair by the way, because seriously, I could help if he'd just *let* me, and I haven't broken any of the bikes at the shop in weeks - "
"Dustin. Your idea?" Tori prompted.
He blinked again. "Oh, right. I was thinking we should do the grocery shopping for Ops."
The others stared at him.
"Well, we eat there a lot, right? And dude, it's not like Cam has time to go shopping right now with everything he's got going on. So we should do it for him." He beamed at them all, bouncing on his toes expectantly.
" ... With what money?" Shane asked, looking skeptical. "Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad idea. But can any of us afford to go shopping for Ops?"
Dustin gave him a funny look, pointing at himself. "Employed, dude. I can spare some money for food."
Tori bit her lip, looking uncertain. "Well ... I guess I could use some of my allowance ... I mean, we do practically live here."
Blake looked at Hunter, shrugging. "She is right," he wheedled. "And we really do owe Cam for today."
Hunter sighed. "Yeah, yeah, we're in," he muttered.
Dustin grinned widely. "Awesome, dudes! To the - "
"For absolutely the last time, Dustin," Tori interrupted, "You are not naming my van 'The Torimobile."
"Okay, first of all, The Torimobile is an *awesome* name. And actually I was thinking now that we're all Rangers, we should start calling it 'The Ninjamobile', 'cause like - "
"No, Dustin."
****
"So like, what does Cam eat?"
There was an awkward pause as they made their way slowly through the front of the store. Dustin was the one pushing the cart, but only because Tori had glared at them all before anyone could even suggest it, Hunter and Shane were too busy bickering over who should have to, and Blake had eyed it with a look that clearly showed he didn't want to be the one stuck with it. Dustin had initially rolled his eyes, but now he seemed almost content with it.
"Vegetables?" Shane suggested. "Like, stir-frys and stuff? I mean, he likes to eat healthy, right?"
Hunter frowned at him. "Dude, that's stereotyping."
"No, it's not."
"Yes, it is."
Shane stopped at the front of the produce section, giving Hunter an exasperated look. "Cam obsessed over training as a ninja," he countered, counting off on his fingers. "He obsessed over becoming a Ranger. He won't let anyone touch his computer, the Zords, and he gets twitchy when we even get near them. He's OCD, dude. Why *wouldn't* he obsess about eating healthy?"
Hunter made a face, but nodded reluctantly. "If you say so. But like, what kind of vegetables? Salads and stuff?
Blake leaned over, casually tossing a head of lettuce into the cart. He shrugged when they looked at him. "You said vegetables, right?"
Tori looked amused. "Are you saying we should just randomly throw stuff into the cart?"
He shrugged again. "Anyone else got a better idea?"
There was another long moment of contemplation as they all looked at each other.
"Ranch dressing," Hunter said abruptly. "Ranch dressing goes with everything."
"Tomatoes," Tori suggested, grabbing a plastic bag. "They can go on sandwiches too." She paused, suddenly looking worried. "Does Cam have any food allergies?"
"Who knows, dude?" Dustin shrugged a shoulder, unconcerned. "It's not like we won't eat whatever he doesn't."
There was another pause.
"We should get some chips and stuff," Shane said quickly. "Just so like, we don't eat all of Cam's food."
"Hot dogs." Blake looked eager. "They're pretty filling, right? I mean, just for a quick snack."
"Drinks," Hunter put in, glancing at the frozen section. "Just a few sodas, for when we need the caffeine boost."
"Ice cream," Shane added, seeing where he was looking. "Sugar boost for when our metabolisms start running low."
Another long glance, and everyone scattered, leaving Tori and Dustin alone with the cart.
She looked at Dustin, rolling her eyes. "So. Vegetables?"
He grinned at her. "Well, we do still have to feed Cam, don't we?"
****
Cam stared at the pile of grocery bags decorating the tiny kitchenette that served as his cooking space in Ninja Ops and the five exhausted teenagers looking at him expectantly. He decided not to ask why Dustin was limping. "So explain this to me again ... *How* did the five of you manage to spend two hundred dollars in food for Ninja Ops?"
"Well, see, I had this idea," Dustin began.
"Uh oh."