I jump up at the sound of the door unlocking. The door swings open to reveal the camp instructor that Maddy mentioned, along with Ms Beats.

"Gwyneth, tell me what happened." Ms Beats sits me down on the bed and I tell her everything, including my rebuttal to Abbott. "Oh, you girls make quite the pair." To my surprise, she doesn't look mad at us. She looks rather amused. So is the camp instructor. They're up to something.

"Alright, follow Chase, he has a job for you." Ms Beats gets up to leave the room and I follow her, waiting for the instructor (Chase) to close the door behind me.

"Gwyn, this way." Chase starts off in the opposite direction that Ms Beats is walking in. I follow him till we come to a clearing in the woods.

"What are we doing here?" I find a tree stump and it down on it, taking in the fresh air.

"This, young lady, is your punishment for fighting with Abbott." My jaw dropped open. I manage to close my mouth when I realise that I am looking like a complete idiot since Chase bursts out laughing.

"What?! I wasn't the one who locked my roommate in the cabin for hours." What is Ms Beats thinking? I stood up and protested, placing my hands on my hips.

"Well, either way, you're helping me collect firewood."

"Firewood for?"

"Unless you want a freezing cold bath tonight, I suggest you start grabbing some logs."

I groaned but started looking around for logs. An ice-bath doesn't sound very pleasant tonight, especially with Abbott.

After about half an hour, not that I was checking my watch every five minutes, Chase called for a break.

"Finally!" I throw the log onto the pile and sit back down on the same tree stump while Chase hands me a granola bar and a bottle of water. "Thank you." I finished the granola bar in a heartbeat and drained half the water, saving some of it for later.

Chase is sitting across from me on the ground, leaning against the stack of logs I started.

"So," I start. "Chase, how old are you?" He turns to me.

"You're asking me?"

"No. I'm asking my pillow pet called Chase."

"Alright, no need for that. I'm 20. You?"

"16. And you're old." He just shrugs it off.

"Let's get back to work." Chase puts his water back in his backpack and pulls out a pair of gloves. I throw my hair into a quick bun and roll up my sleeves, transforming my t-shirt into a tank top. Lugging logs around requires more muscle and movement than I'd like.

The two of us fall into a pattern. I put down the log and step away and Chase chops it and clears the work area (basically a stump from a larger tree). I place the last log onto the 'desk' and sit on the ground cross-legged. I've never felt this tired and hungry before. I want food, and I want it fast. Looking up at the sky, the sun is about to set. I let my hair down and un-roll my sleeves. I stretch out my arms and legs and I can't help but think how nice a hot bath would be right now.

"I must admit, you did pretty good." He takes off his gloves, shoving them back into his backpack. I curtsied in reply.

"I will be accepting awards in the form of hot bubble baths and chocolate bars."

He walked with me back to the meeting point, where Ms Beats and Abbott were already waiting for us. The two of them sit across from each other, looking just as tired as I do. I look up at Chase.

"Oh no, I am NOT talking to her right now." I turn back but he spins me back around and nudges me forward. "Please?" I look at him again but we reach the table before I can escape the lecture so I sit down next to Ms Beats. Sneaking a glance at Abbott out of the corner of my eye, her hair's a mess and her makeup is all gone. I almost feel bad for her but I don't let myself. Why should I feel sorry for her?

"Right. You both know why you two were punished today." I and Abbott glared at each other and turned away. "However, since you two aren't eight anymore, I'm not going to force you to apologise. I'm going to trust that you will acknowledge the fact that you both secretly love each other like sisters." She pauses and stops to study the two of us. "You girls are free to go wash up. You have a little over two hours before dinner. Meet us back here at 7:00 on the dot."

I get up after Abbott, letting her lead the way. I have no plans to speak to her anytime soon. Before I made it to the stone path, Chase stepped in front of me.

"Here, in case you guys decide to stay mad at each other. Don't let her know that you have it. If she finds out, don't tell her it was me." He hands me a key chain with two keys dangling from it. I take them and hide them in my back pocket.

"Thank you." He steps aside and I walk up to the room. I find Abbott already taking a shower. Typical. I change out of my clothes, which are now covered in sweat and dirt. I throw them in some bin bags that I bought for used clothing and wrap a towel around me. Searching through my suitcase, I pick out a crop top, a new pair of jeans then decide on a plaid jacket to tie around my waist. I look at my hair and sigh.

"It certainly makes a statement, I'll give you that." I jumped and turned around to find Abbott, all ready for dinner.

"Are you done with the bathroom yet?"

"It's all yours."

I grab my wash bag and the change of clothes and walk into the bathroom and close the door. Setting my clothes on the dresser, I notice that the shower here is different. It's not a showerhead, more like a large water tank with a shallow bowl to scoop the water up with. I debate on whether I should ask Abbott how to use the new shower then settle on not asking. I'm not letting her have the satisfaction of making me feel like she's better than me.

Opening the wash bag, I pull out my shower gel, shampoo and hair conditioning. Some girls might not bother with conditioning their hair when they're in camp, but I go crazy if I don't do it. After a few tries, I master the tank and bowl shower method. The cold water is refreshing, so I get used to it after several splashes.

I get dressed in the bathroom and dry my hair as best as I can with the towel then put it into two dutch braids.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I hear Abbott yelling at someone in our room. I rush outside to see who it is.

"Seeing if my best friend is still alive." Maddy pushes her way past Abbott and sits on my bed.

"Maddy!" I run and pull her into a big hug. "What did you guys do today? I missed everything."

"We'll get to that in a second. Where the hell were you?!" In one big huff, Abbott storms out of the cabin and slams the door shut.

"It's a long story." Maddy sighs.

"Actually, save it. You can tell me, Charlie and Luke at dinner. They'll be pissed when they find out."

Happy New Years folks! I haven't updated in a while so here it is. I am currently on Christmas break so hopefully, I'll post again before Monday. Have a lovely new year and don't forget to vote and comment (if you'd like) and add this to your library/reading list if you think it's worth giving a read :) Happy New Years! (again)