Private Finished Secretly Sorting... Competitively

Cam burstead out laughing at both Kal's answer to Cam's jab and Skye's reaction, and he had to take a break from packaging to get most of the giggles out. Ernesto merely looked between Kal and Cam, looking a bit confused. But using the slight distraction Ernesto reached for the lemonade and tasted some. Deeming it drinkable the man kept sipping the drink looking gruff, and Cam wiped the corners of his eyes, grinning at Kal.
"Yeah, just water, sure. Or mostly, at least."
Cam said the last part silently enough, so just Kal heard, and he snickered a bit before resuming his packaging. He had wanted to make a reference to holding hands, like in the story Kal had told, but somehow Cam wanted to keep that a secret only he and Kal shared.

Cam was facing the other way when Kal shot some water his way and couldn't dodge the small sprays of water that hit the back of his bare neck. Cam flinched a bit, almost dropping the shell in his hands, turned and narrowed his eyes at Kal.
"I think there's a stain on your aura. It's called cheating. Is that one of your features?"
Cam stuck his tongue out at Kal, and grinned a bit. He was just kidding, naturally, but sure hoped Kal would give him a headstart next time he sprayed water. For the shells' sake.

Cam's body had gone on an autopilot on the organizing and his hands moved systematically and steadily. He picked up a shell, wrapped it thoroughly and set it in a bin, repeated. But his mind was focused on the chatting going on, and he tilted his head to grin at Kal over his shoulder.
"That sounds awesome, I'll join in a heartbeat. Though I've got so many morning lectures this term, maybe some weekend. I can blind you with my kickass surfing skills, only amateurs need rainclouds."
Cam snickered and winked at Skye playfully, signaling that he was only joking. Cam had naturally considered the possibility that there could've been something between Skye and Kal, but he had brushed it aside as none of his business. But mostly the thought ached too much, so Cam didn't want to think about it. He wasn't the jealous type, and he didn't chase after anything, or anyone, that was already someone else's.

Cam grinned and turned to face Kal a bit more, one hand perched on his hip and shell on other hand.
"Triton? Now you're just showing off your shell knowledge. And I'm not parched..."
Cam smiled charmingly and posed a bit, able to keep a straight face when he finished his sentence.
"I'm hot."
But after saying that Cam burst out laughing and finished wrapping the shell he had been holding and set it in its own bin.
"On the cowriery(contrary), I should be making you parched."
Cam snickered at his terrible pun, it was stretching it but Kal wasn't the only one knowledgeable about shells. Though Cam only knew three shell types, triton, cowrie and conch. But at least he knew something. Cam saluted Kal with the cowrie shell he was holding before smirking and packaging it in its own bin.

Surfing in the sunset was somehow such a dreamy picture that Cam slowed down his packaging to imagine it for a moment. Or more like he remembered it, Cam had once before surfed during a sunset in Australia. It had been amazing. Cam sighed a bit and turned to return Kal's grin with his own.
"That sounds amazing, just give me a time and place and I'll whip out my wet suit. Though you have to lend me a board, or I'll rent one."
Cam really had his own wet suit, he had brought that with him from home. But he regretted now that he hadn't brought one of his surfboards with him.
What was the logic of bringing a wet suit but no board anyway? Damn, Cam sometimes really couldn't understand how his own mind worked.

Cam looked disappointed when Skye said she couldn't come, but saw the wink she sent his way. Cam raised one of his brows a bit but smiled and winked back when Kal wasn't watching. Skye was sharp, although that made Cam worried whether he was being too obvious.
"I've been called a ray of sunshine more than once, I bet I could shine through that storm cloud no problem. Shame we can't test it though."

Cam hadn't even realized how much time had passed, that was a common ocvurence when he was with Kal, and he observed the pile of packaged shells on his side of the room. Cam looked between his and Kal's pile, it really wasn't discernable which one of them was winning.
"You were right and wrong to challenge me into this. Right as in Lyrseir will flip her top in a good way because of my amazing organizing skills. Wrong as in I'll receive my first victory thanks to my amazing organizing skills."
Cam tried to look smug but failed, as all he said all that jokingly and chuckled a bit, picking up his pace a bit.

Cam had been worried the joke about him being hot had gone too far, Cam tried to always make it obvious he was joking when he praised himself. He wasn't narcisistic or anything. But Kal seemed fine, and continued joking along, and Cam chuckled, partly out of relief.
"Oh no, anything but lukewarm seawater."
Cam said in a monotone voice and grinned at Kal. He also made a mental note that he should tone down with the jokes. Bad puns were fine, but no more jokes on the expense of his good looks.

"Oh, that's great. I should get my boards brought here. I hav- Watch out!"
Cam noticed Kal almost dropping the conch shell, and was already moving towards Kal in a vain attempt to catch it before it fell. There was few meters between Cam and Kal, there was no way he could've caught it. But Cam moved mostly out of reflex. Thankfully Kal caught the shell before it fell, and Cam sighed a bit from relief. Right before the shell he had been holding slipped from his grasp. Cam played hot potato with his shell for almost 10 seconds before he caught a proper hold of it. Cam's heart was pounding and he let out a slight shocked laugh.
"That was too close for comfort, geez."

Ernesto was observing the slight chaos the slipping shells had caused and shook his head a bit. These young ones, always in too much hurry to really slow down and concentrate. He rested his eyes on their finished work and enjoyed the sight of neatly lined bins. He almost smiled, which was rare.
Cam noticed the look in Ernesto's eyes, and the slight change in his aura, and smiled a bit. The old gruff was always in a nasty mood, it felt like an achievement whenever he showed positive emotion. Cam grinned at Skye and pressed his other hand on his cheek, looking innocent.
"My head is in the clouds? Well of course it is. I'm the sun, my place is in the clouds."
Cam snickered and kept on packaging shells. But Skye was right, in his head Cam was already on the beach, sitting on a board in the water, looking at the sunset, Kal by his side...
Cam's pace had quickened during this small fantasy and his arms and fingers were getting a bit tired. But he barely even noticed.

Cam raised a brow at the amazingly horrible, and horribly amazing, shell pun and laughed a bit. A for effort, it had been almost as bad as Cam's cowrie pun.
"Bring it on, muscles. I have a conch(hunch) that you'll make an exshellent opponent."
And Cam hits with double pun! Can Kaliyan answer this challenge?!

Cam nodded at Kal's words and carefully packaged the shell thay had almost met its maker. Cam hadn't had any experiences with angry dragons thus far, but judging from the full volume dragon roar he once heard Cam was pretty sure Lyrseir could at least give them one hell of a talking-to. And if she got it in her head to contact Cam's parents in any way he was going to get an even more ruthless talking-to from them as well. Just the thought made Cam shiver.
"Yeah, want to avoid that. My prosthetic was pretty expensive."
Cam grinned a bit at the prosthetic joke, it had just come out without thought.
"But I'm looking forward to it too much so I could manage to surf with one leg."

When Kal answered Cam with a barrage of puns Cam clucthed his chest dramatically and pretended to stagger back a step, falling to his knees. All the while he kept packaging and when he fell to his knees Cam set the bin on the ground and started a new row. And before Kal.
"Ruthless, absolutely ruthless."
Cam hopped back to his feet and packaged shell after another his narrowed eyes never leaving Kal.
"It's shelless to slap me in the face with your seashell knowledge like that. We shell sea which one of us emerges victorious from this battle, my good sir."
Cam tried to keep his face serious, but his lips quivered and he started snickering when he said the word sir. Was that joke ever going to die? God, Cam hoped not.

Cam observed his process, feeling quite satisfied despite him looking to be pretty much evenly matched with Kal. Cam always enjoyed it when things were in place.

Cam sent Kal a confident grin, when he said Cam would probably find a way to surf no matter what and Cam flexed his pathetic noodle arm and chuckled. He appreciated the fact that Kal's smile was honest, he understood Cam.
"You know it, I'm not missing it even if I lose both my legs."
Naturally Cam had no plans to lose even his already missing leg.
When Kal said that if needed he'd even carry him Cam turned to look at Kal a bit surprised, but the guy had turned away and was arranging bins. Cam smiled a bit and also turned away to keep packaging, his cheeks were just a tiny bit flushed.
"Be careful, I might actually make you carry me if I get too pooped."
Cam said jokingly and snickered.

Cam couldn't help himself and did a small bow towards Skye when she clapped, and blinked innocently when she reminded him this wasn't a drama challenge.
"But the drama lives within me, I cannot contain it. Do you tell fish not to swim, or wind not to blow?"
Cam took a dramatic tone, and though he made elaborate hand gestures he kept wrapping and packaging shells at the same pace. But Cam burst out laughing after this drama act and resumed packaging in a normal manner. Or as normal as Cam could get.

Cam was all out of seashell puns and just using the word shell over and over got old quick, so he lifted his arms as a sign of giving up and grinned.
"This one time I shell spare you some mercy."
Cam turned back to his work, chuckling, and glanced at Kal over his shoulder. Cam tried matching his pace and maybe go bit faster.