We leave Zoe's car in a layby on the main road, five minutes away from the retreat. The road is quiet but we go through the trees anyway, talking over the plan one last time. When we see the bright white of the retreat through the green foliage, we fall silent.
Zoe leads us to the door through the car park which is full of expensive-looking cars. We walk along the grass verge, hoping that the cars shield us from the receptionist's view. I roll my eyes when I hear the guys 'oooh' as we walk past an especially nice car.
We creep around the corner of the building, reaching our secret entrance. It's propped open with a cardboard box full of toilet roll. As we huddle behind the door, the faint sound of classical music and smell of delicious food fills the air around us.
Zoe glances at her watch. "OK, it's five-thirty. The banquet starts at six. Cassie, you're up. Follow the route we talked about; it'll take you right to the hall. Find Ryan, keep him talking, he's the most likely to recognise us. We'll give you ten minutes then we'll drift in one by one," she whispers.
I nod my head as the boys offer me a salute. I give them a weak smile in return, butterflies filling my stomach. Taking a deep breath, I walk as confidently as I can through the door. There is no turning back now. The corridor is short and when I reach the end I turn right, avoiding the reception area.
The new corridor is wider and when people file out of the lift laughing and talking, I join the group silently to make myself less inconspicuous.
Around me, everyone is dressed to the nines. The men wear suits and the woman fancy dresses and awfully big, obnoxious fascinators. The kids wear stylish dresses or shorts and shirts. I fit in easily, although I still feel completely underdressed.
But the most worrying thought in my head is Crash, he'll stick out like a sore thumb for sure. He could blow our cover, but then, if he does get recognised and thrown out, we'll still have Tyler; he's the one who is going to start the food fight, we're just here to watch the chaos unfold.
The group filters through huge double doors into a room easily the size of the counsellor's camp twice over. I break away from the cluster of people and take a moment to let the reality set in. I lean against the wall and take some deep breaths. How the hell am I supposed to find Ryan Jefferson in here?
I stare across the room, through the two walls made completely of glass and watch the lake glisten in the sun. In the distance, I can just see camp and the bright yellow logo of the flag as it flutters lazily in the breeze.
I'm doing this for the camp. For Aunt Jen.
I push off the wall and force myself into the crowd. By the right-hand wall is an orchestra playing something light and summery. In front of the glass wall is a long white table, on a stand so that it's slightly higher than the circular tables dotted around the furthest half of the room. It's got to be for the Jefferson's and I cringe at the whole situation.
The people around me are in groups; hugging, talking, laughing. I feel out of place and I must look it because a few people raise their eyebrows at me. I retreat back to the edge of the room and pluck a glass of what looks like champagnes from a waiter's tray when they aren't looking. I'm not going to drink it, champagne tastes awful, but it helps me feel slightly more at ease, and hopefully makes me look like I belong.
I watch the room carefully, looking for anyone who fits Ryan Jefferson's description, as vague as it is. Short brown hair and brown eyes was all the others could think of. Crash offered a 'stupid smile' as well but I have no idea how to tell if a person's smile is stupid. Something notable, like a scar across his face, would be really helpful right about now.
People are swaying by the orchestra, others are talking in the big groups I tried walking through, and some, mostly older people, have already taken their seats at the circular tables. I decide to stand closer to the Jefferson's table, in the hopes that they'll be sitting down soon, when a low voice comes from beside me, making me jump. "It's your first time here, huh?"
I turn towards the voice and smile slightly. It belongs to a boy who could be around my age. He's slightly taller than me and his skin is starting to hint at a tan under the soft blue of his shirt. He has a brown crew cut; the longer hair on the top is gelled back, while the sides are short. He has brown eyes too, but I don't get my hopes up; brown hair and eyes has got to be a pretty common combination.
"How'd you know?" I ask. Maybe this guy knows where I can find the Jeffersons.
"You're looking at the room the same way I did the first time I saw it. I had to stop in the doorway and take it all in."
Yeah, sure, let's go with that. I'm definitely just taking in the pattern chiselled into the high white ceiling, the fairly modest chandelier in the middle. I'm definitely not trying to find anyone to distract them while my friends sneak in to watch a food fight that they are the master planners of.
"It's a nice room."
"Wow. I've heard people talk about this room a lot, but I've never heard an 'it's nice' before. You're not from this world are you?"
Classy comment. I dislike this guy already, but I need him so I change the subject before I can spit out an answer. "So where are the Jefferson's then?"
"Why?" he asks, raising an eyebrow at me.
"I always like to know who my hosts are; wouldn't it be embarrassing if I was talking to one of them without even realising?" I offer a small, and hopefully convincing, smile.
"Yes, I imagine it would be," he smirks, clearly mocking me, then points to a group of people on the far side of the room.
The woman's short blonde hair is curled around her face and she's wearing a stunning white satin gown that pools at her feet. She has her arm wrapped around the man's next to her as they talk with another couple. He's wearing a navy suit with a purple paisley tie and pocket square. Elegantly understated, I never would have thought those two would be Jeffersons.
"Lousie and Steve Jefferson. Their daughters are probably running around outside, despite being told not to ruin their new dresses." He clears his throat and my stomach drops, that's oddly specific. "And then there's me."
I stop smiling. He's got to be having me on, surely, because of what I said. It's a good joke, I'll give him that, but I don't have time for it. "Are you making fun of me because of what I said?" I ask quietly, trying not to sound as annoyed as I feel.
"No, I'm being serious." He holds his hand out, grinning. Ah, stupid smile, I see it now. "Ryan Jefferson."
I look at his hand and then look up at him again, confused. From the corner of my eye I spot something familiar moving, Robbie comes into my vision, gives me the thumbs up and then moves into the crowds to find Tyler. It's all I need to begin my role of distraction.
"Eleanor Hepburn." I beam, shaking his hand more enthusiastically than I should. Damn adrenaline, play it cool, Cassie!
"Like Audrey Hepburn?" Ryan raises an eyebrow, clearly interested.
"Yeah. I think she's a distant relative or something. Let's dance," I babble, taking his hand. I leave my glass of champagne on the table by the door and pull him towards the orchestra. If there are any questions about me tonight I just have to deflect them or ask about him instead.
"Er, OK," Ryan replies from behind me, bemused.
"So, tell me about this room, it truly is amazing," I say as we find a spot between the other people who are swaying along to Ludovico Einaudi's Nuvole Bianche.
"Well, it's from the original building that was here before we bought it. It used to be the reception area for a small hotel before us." Ryan launches into a full description of the purchasing and remodelling process, and I nod along as if it's the most interesting thing I've ever heard.
I remember the hotel that was here before, family-owned too, just nowhere near as fancy as this place. It had twenty rooms and the family were so lovely, they used to come over for our campfires. It was a hotel focused more on the outside than the inside; they had trails like us and an agility course that they let us use all the time. Jen was so upset when they decided to sell, I think she liked the extra adult company more than anything. But, we weren't surprised; it was never full, even in the summer. Much like the camp now.
"So, yeah, that's basically everything that I can think of about the retreat, neat, huh? I mean where else can you use a hot tub one second and go out swimming in a real lake the next?"
I feel my cheeks flush as I hold my tongue. I mean, did he just hear what he said? God, if only he knew I was from across the lake.
"What brings you to Jefferson Lakes then?" he asks after I don't respond. At least my silence doesn't knock him back. He's still, for some reason, interested in me.
"Oh, I'm here with family. Just a few nights before we head to a friend's," I reply because I can't exactly dodge that question without seeming weird, but I keep it vague.
Ryan steps closer, almost closing the sensible distance I put between us. I guess we do look sort of weird, everyone around us has their arms around each other. But I can guarantee they all know each other, and Ryan Jefferson is Enemy No.1.
"What about you? Do you spend all summer here?" I ask, trying to shift the conversation back to him.
"Pretty much. I quite like it though. And if my parents aren't forcing me into any child labour, I like to explore the forest outside." He shrugs like it's no big deal. I stop swaying and look up at him, seeing a new side. "What?"
"Oh, no, I just thought that kind of thing was, you know, forbidden," I say, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible while still taking a dig at him and the retreat.
"We're not at Hogwarts," he snorts. I get it, the Forbidden Forest, but it's not that funny. "No, I mean it's not against the rules, but the kind of people who come here don't really come for the outside." He sighs, almost angrily.
I'm about to ask him why he likes exploring so much when the orchestra starts to quieten and there is a loud pinging sound. We turn towards the front of the room where Steve Jefferson is smiling in front of a microphone, holding a champagne flute and a spoon. I roll my eyes.
"If you could all take a seat, please. I'd just like to say a few words before we start the banquet." His voice is smooth but authoritative.
"Maybe I'll see you again before you leave?" Ryan smiles.
I don't reply because how can I? My job is over, I don't need to act interested anymore. I give a small smile and then hurry over to a table on the back row with a spare chair. Ryan joins his mother and three other well dressed girls at the table behind his father.
I spot Crash at a table with other people who are fairly brightly dressed. I'm impressed that he's managed to blend in. He winks from across the room and I roll my eyes. Zoe is sat further up the room at a very business-y looking table. One of them even has an earpiece in and is typing away on his phone. I almost don't spot Josh, but I manage to make out his awful beard a few tables over. Robbie is the bravest out of all of us, sitting only one table back from the front row.
At the table next to Robbie's a boy with bright red hair starts whispering to the child next to him and Robbie nods at them slightly. As Steve Jefferson begins his speech, waiters bring plates around the tables, placing them carefully in front of us. Lamb shank, new potatoes and veg, with gravy. I almost laugh at the food; minimal, but laid out perfectly across the plate. How much more over the top can they be here?
"Like every year, I just want to start by saying how lucky my family and I feel that you've chosen to spend, maybe another summer with us. Maybe it's your first time at Jefferson Lakes. Either way, we love having you here, seeing this room full is such a humbling feeling."
I hold back my laughter. The people here are lining your pockets, Mr Jefferson, there's nothing humble about that.
"I'd just like to thank you all for choosing Jefferson Lakes and let's raise a glass to a wonderful summer." Steve Jefferson smiles, holds his glass up and then takes a drink from it. The rest of the room follows his lead, but I keep my hands firmly in my lap. "Without further ado, let's eat."
Just as he turns to walk to his seat, the little red-headed child I saw earlier stands up on his chair and yells, "Food fight!" while launching a new potato directly at the Jefferson's table. The potato lands on Mrs Jefferson's plate, splashing her white dress with gravy and meat juice. I gasp just as she does. The youngest girl next to her clamps her hands over her mouth and tries not to laugh.
There is a beat of silence and then kids all over the room start to laugh, and it doesn't take long for food to start flying. A green bean lands in the hair of the lady sat next to me, she jumps up immediately and shrieks. I can hear Steve Jefferson faintly in the background trying to calm everyone.
People are up and shouting, some are trying to stop their children, while others are running to the safety of the hallway. Crash jumps up in the midst of it all and I see him launch a corn on the cob at the front table. It lands in Ryan's drink glass and I can't help but laugh.
Zoe runs up to me, laughing the whole way. "Quick, before they call security." She grabs my hand and leads me back the way we came, running in between the crowds now trying to get out of the room.
We run down the corridor and out of our secret entrance, struggling to breathe from laughing so hard. The boys follow a few minutes later, practically falling out of the door. Josh is somehow missing half his beard and it's all we laugh about for the next five minutes.
"Can you believe Tyler launched that potato right at the front table? I can't stop seeing it." Robbie laughs, wiping his eyes.
As we walk back to the car we talk about the funniest things we spotted during the food fight, while trying to wipe clean our own clothes. When we reach the car we all fall silent, the reality of what just happened settling in.
"They deserved it, you know one lady spent ten minutes lecturing me on my outfit of choice!" Crash announces from the back of the car.
"Well, I mean, as great as you look, you also look like you just finished lifeguard duty from the '80s." Zoe points out as she indicates out of the layby.
"OK, yeah. But you didn't hear her. She literally said, 'if you were my grandson, I'd disown you.'" Crash leans back and folds his arms.
"OK, yeah, she deserved the green beans you threw in her hair." Robbie laughs.
"Wait, that was you! I was sat next to her, she gave me a real side-eye when I sat down," I exclaim.
"Did you see what happened to Ryan?" Robbie leans forwards, directing the question at Zoe and me. We shake our heads. "He was following you guys out so Josh caught up with him, tapped him on the shoulder and threw mashed up new potato in his face."
We burst into laughter again, what I would have given to see that!
"That's how I lost half my beard; he reached out to grab me as I ran past, hurt like hell but it was so worth it." Josh grins from the back seat as Zoe pulls into the camp's car park.
"Well, they'll never pee on our flag again." Crash smirks and then we sit quietly for a few minutes before leaving the car, content.
When Zoe and I return to our cabin, we peel off our damp clothes and bag them up, making a note to take them to the dry cleaners in town on our next night off so that the food doesn't ruin them; they'll be great to keep.
We lay in our beds, quietly going over the events of tonight. I start to feel guilty for the people who were there for the first time or had nothing to do with peeing on our flag. But, then I remember that those are people that made a choice between Camp Little Willow and Jefferson Lakes when they searched for a holiday in this area. And, I didn't actually throw any food, so I can't really feel guilty.
When the memories of tonight start to fade, a sinking feeling starts to fill my stomach. Tomorrow we meet the campers. The kids that we have responsibility of over the summer.