~ 2 days later ~
Veronica's POV
"Veronica?" My head snapped up, finding Carla. I nodded, already knowing what she was going to say.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," I assured her, grabbing the first bandana in sight. I flipped my hair upside down and folded the bandana into a headband, wrapping the strip of cloth around my head. As soon as I tied the ends into a bow, I flipped my hair back and patted it down.
"Okay, let's go," I finally said, rushing out of the cabin.
"We're gonna be late!" Carla exclaimed, catching up to me. We ran into the woods and past the opening, picking up speed. Once we passed the cafeteria, I slowed down a bit, turning to the left. Everyone was separated into four lines, indicating the four different cabins.
I quickly slipped into the 2nd line, noticing Calum in the front, and took a deep breath.
That was a close one.
"Good morning, everyone!" I stood on my tippy toes, catching a glimpse of a man standing on one of the wooden planks of the course. "Are you all awake?"
There were a few groans from some of the girls, but the others nodded, cheering. I just chuckled to myself, shaking my head.
I overslept just a tad.
"Well I'm just going to show you guys how to correctly complete this course and then we'll start, sound good?" Everyone cheered, the four boys screaming at the top of their lungs at the front of their teams.
The man ran closer to us and then spun around, crouching just before the white start line. A moment later, he took of sprinting up the wooden plank and dove through a hole in one of the padded walls. As he continued the course further, I watched carefully, taking in the specific things he did.
Slow down around the corners because they're sharp and you'll just slam right into the wooden wall which, in fact, will hurt like hell.
After the little demonstration, the majority of us nodded our heads, understanding what we needed to do.
"Whichever team completes the course the fastest will be rewarded the first point!" The man hopped off the wooden plank and moved to the side, out of everyone's way. I watched Calum jump up and down, getting himself ready.
"Alright, on your marks," the man paused for just a moment. "Get set," he continued, but then paused again for a bit longer this time. "Go!"
Calum took off just like Luke, Ashton, and Michael. I watched carefully as all four boys balanced themselves on the wooden beam and disappeared further into the structure. The last glimpse I had of them was when they dove through the hole.
As they finished the course, all of us chanted and encouraged our captain, waiting for them to crawl out.
Calum was the first to crawl out, much to our dismay, and clapped the girls hand that was next in line. She quickly took off and ran up the ramp without any trouble, disappearing through the hole. Luke was right behind her, crawling out and slapping his teammate's hand just like Calum.
I waited and watched as every one of my teammates completed the course, bringing me closer to the starting line.
Okay, I must admit, I'm kind of nervous.
Soon enough, I was standing in front of the line, waiting for Carla to complete the course. I rubbed my hands together and shook my shoulders in an attempt to calm myself down. I watched the opening closely and jumped backed a little, finally catching a glimpse of Carla. She easily crawled through the opening and ran towards me, slapping my hand.
"Go Veronica!" I heard a deeper voice yell to my left, encouraging me. I didn't look back to see who it was and just kept going, balancing myself on the ramp just like I watched my other nine teammates do. As I successfully made it up the ramp, I sprinted toward the hole, diving through it without another thought.
Next, I slowed down around the corner, reminding myself that they're sharp turns. Once I turned the corner completely, I took off again, running up the larger ramp provided. The walls guiding me through the course blocked what my vision from the other teams so I didn't know how I stood in the race which made me only run faster. I quickly leaped over a ditch and landed on the other side smoothly. Soon enough, after a few more twists and turns, the slide came into view which would bring me to the point I'd need to crawl. I dove head first into the slide and once I reached the bottom, started to move my legs and arms as quick as they could go. The dirt started to stick to me, making me cringe slightly, but that just made me go faster.
The sooner I get out, the sooner it's over.
Soon enough, I was crawling out of the cramped space and running to the end line, making my team jump up in excitement. None of the other teams were celebrating which made me question if I was the first one out.
As soon as I passed the line, my team raised their hands and screamed, some of the girls attempting to hug me. I shooed their sweaty arms away for me and looked back at the course, noticing two girls crawling out with disappointed looks on their face. The last girl finally appeared after a minute or two, looking completely grossed out and sweaty. Once she passed the end line, the man that started off the game blew his whistle.
"Good job, V!" I turned around, noticing Calum walking towards me. He gave me a wide smile and a high five, looking accomplished. "You completed pretty quick."
I gave him a confused look and rubbed my arm, "Did I?"
Calum nodded and was about to answer back before Ashton grabbed Calum in a headlock, taking him away from me.
"Oh," I pouted watching the two play fight.
"You were really good out there," I looked over to my right and noticed Luke standing there, face slightly red.
I blushed, adding a darker shade of red to my already red face. "Thank you! So were you, Mr. Longlegs," I teased.
"Hey!" He protested before giving me a stern look. "Th-"
Michael cut off Luke, jumping into the conversation and patted my back.
"Way to be, Veronica!" He fist bumped me and shook my shoulder. "I think you were faster than Calum which never happens!"
I looked at Luke for a confirmation, and he soon caught on and nodded towards me, "It's true, Calum is pretty fast."
"I heard Calum is pretty," I giggled quietly as Calum entered the conversation once again, dusting off the dirt that was sticking to his tank and athletic shorts.
"Pretty fast," Luke corrected him, making Calum pout. "But you're also pretty," Luke added, tapping Calum's nose. Cal batted Luke's finger away, making him laugh, and turned towards me.
"So you earned your cabin a celebratory day off tomorrow while the other cabins have to get up quite early, must I say, and clean the Cafeteria," I nodded my head at Calum's words, liking what he was saying.
"Do we have to get up, too?" I heard Michael whisper to Ashton, rocking on his heels.
"Yeah, you guys do," Calum answered him, smirking.
"I'll just wake up on my way out, then," Michael sassed back before leaving the group and walking back to his team.
"I'd better be getting back to the team, too," I bit my lip, stepping forward. "See you guys later?" The three boys nodded and made a path for me to get through.
Once I made it back to the team, and was standing next to Pauline and Carla, we all smiled at each other, liking how the day was starting.
________
"Want to go tubing?" Pauline walked over to Carla and I's bunk, dressed in a bikini. I tossed my phone to the side and nodded, liking the sound of that.
"As long as I get to drive the jet ski," I added, pointing my finger at her. She laughed before nodding, agreeing. "Alright, just let me get dressed real quick," I stated, grabbing a dry bikini from one of my drawers and walking to the changing rooms.
Once I finished changing and walked out, the three of us walked down the path and towards the lake. The walk itself really wasn't long, it just took a bit of time due to Carla's flip flop breaking.
"Stupid thing," Carla muttered under her breath, throwing the broken flip flop on the grass and slipping her jean shorts off. I followed her actions, not throwing anything though, and slipped off my clothes and sandals. As Pauline followed our actions, I walked away from the two and over to the jets skies which were sitting a tad bit too far from the water than I wanted.
"Can one of you guys give me a hand?" I called over, soon finding out the floating device was too heavy for me to carry on my own.
Pauline immediately walked over, looking at the jet ski for a moment before walking to the rear end of it. "I'll lift the back while you lift the front?" She suggested, grabbing a hold of the plastic where you place your feet.
Pauline's suggestion ended up working and we, very slowly must I say, eventually pushed the jet ski successfully in the water.
"Carla, can you grab a tube?" I asked, twisting the key into the ignition of the jet ski, making it rumble to life.
"Yeah, hold on," she held her finger out before turning around and grabbing a single tube, dragging it towards me. I watched her hook it onto the back before pushing it into the lake. Carla held the tube still as she slipped into it, grabbing a hold of the handles. As soon as Carla was settled in, Pauline stepped into the lake and took the place behind me on the jet ski.
"Let's get this show on the road," Pauline giggled into my shoulder, making me twist the handle on the jet ski. As soon as I twisted the handle the slightest bit, we took off into the large lake, making Carla scream.
Oh, this is going to be fun.
____
We ended up tubing for about an hour and half longer, taking turns on who was being pulled. After tubing, Carla suggested taking a shower in which I didn't protest against in any way.
____
"Hey, V?" I took a double stuffed Oreo out of the package that I was currently holding and looked up, spotting Pauline. I picked up the peanut butter jar that was sitting on the ground and dipped the Oreo inside it, raising my eyebrows.
"Yeah?" I answered back before biting into the covered Oreo, humming in satisfaction.
"Does that actually taste good?" I shot Pauline an outrageous look, not only surprised but also defended that she would even question my all time favorite dessert.
"It doesn't just taste good," I started off, grabbing a clean Oreo from the package. I lifted it up in front of my face, examining it. "You're describing the plain, dry Oreo."
Pauline giggled quietly, covering her mouth.
"But once you add the peanut butter on it," I continued, taking the plain Oreo and dipping it into the jar, getting as much of it covered as possible. "It turns from just good to absolutely divine," I bit into the cookie, finishing it in two bites.
I nodded before waving her over, patting my bed, "Here, try it." I held out the package of Oreo toward her, waiting for a response. Pauline waited a moment before shrugging her shoulders, picking out a single cookie. "Now dip it in the jar," I instructed, holding out the peanut butter in my other hand.
Pauline hesitantly lowered her hand into the jar, dipping it in but making sure not to get any peanut butter on her hand. Once she retrieved her hand, she slowly raised the Oreo to her mouth and took a bite out of it.
I stared at her expression for a moment before smiling, seeing Pauline light up.
"It's great, right?" I asked, taking another spotless Oreo out of the package.
"That was delicious!" Pauline exclaimed, taking another Oreo. Once I finished dipping mine in the jar, I held it out towards her in which she didn't care about getting any on her hand this time.
"Veronica, Pauline?" I looked over to the cabin door, chewing slowly on the Oreo as I recognized one of the girls from my cabin.
I think her name was Sydney, but I'm not sure.
"The boys are about to set off fireworks to announce the official beginning of the competition, or something like that," she explained, tapping her sides.
"Alright, we'll be out in a minute," I responded, sending her a shy smile. She nodded once before leaving, slamming the screen door shut.
I stashed my box of Oreo's and the peanut butter jar in my drawer and closed it, getting up.
"You ready?" I asked, walking over to the door. Once Pauline nodded, I opened the screen door and led the way. We soon spotted a bit of a crowd by the lake where shouting and laughing were in sync, making it echo down the path.
"Oh, there you are!" Michael shouted, spotting Pauline and I as we finally made our way to the group. I nodded and looked around for a spot, not noticing anything open due to the vast amount of girls. I rocked on my heels and backed up, moving to the back so I wasn't in anyone's way due to me standing.
I watched Calum run forward where Michael was setting boxes down. I laughed as I heard Michael drop a couple swear words due to one of the boxes falling over.
I swear, if that box falls over while it's being lit, I'll sue.
I watched the two boys for a bit longer before my attention was stolen when someone called my name. After searching for the source of the voice, I soon spotted Luke looking at me. I watched him signal me over, patting the vacant spot next to him.
He wanted me to sit next to him?
I stared at him, wide eyed, for a moment before moving my legs towards his direction. Once I finally approached him, I took a seat on the grass, leaning against the tree trunk, wordless.
After a moment of complete silence, Luke spoke up, "So did you have fun today?"
I nodded with a smile, "Yeah, we want tubing for awhile."
"I know, I saw," I looked up at him, due to the height difference, and noticed he was already looking at me. "The boys and I were in the swimming part of the lake," he informed me, chuckling. "I wasn't being a stalker, I promise."
I was about to respond, but Michael interrupted me, yelling loudly, "Everybody, shut up!"
"Hey, be nice," Ashton whispered not so quietly, slapping his back.
"Alright, the fireworks are about to begin so enjoy," and with that, he ran off to the side while Calum ran to the boxes and started to light them. Just as Calum ran off, the first streak set off, creating a loud screeching noise before blowing up in the sky.
"Wow," I whispered, craning my neck to get a better look.
"Wow's right," Luke replied, making me look at him. I smiled to myself, seeing the sly grin on his face and the amazement in his eyes.
"This is going to be one hell of a summer," I thought to myself, looking at Luke one more time before directing my attention back to the sky.
______