A/N: The Parent Trap was my favourite film as a child and re-watching it recently catapulted this idea into my head.
I hope you enjoy it!
x
"Have you got everything?" Serena asked for about the twelfth time since they'd left the house.
"Yes!" Elinor sighed, her gaze glued firmly to her phone. "It's a bit late now if I haven't, isn't it?"
"And you double checked the list before we left? You have everything you need?"
"Yes, Mum."
"I'm going to miss you so much, Ellie."
"It's only two weeks, Mum." Her daughter replied with a smile. "I'll be back before you know it."
"I'd feel a lot happier if you were allowed to take your mobile so that we could check in." Serena sighed, dreading the fourteen days where she would have no contact with her daughter.
"It'll be fine." Elinor promised. "If necessary I'll find a phone and ring you, OK?"
"Promise?"
The fourteen-year-old laughed. "I promise, Mum. I'm going on a drama course, I'm not leaving you!"
Serena's hands seemed to tighten on the steering wheel, but she recovered quickly and laughed. "A drama course full of teenagers? I don't envy you at all. I'd rather spend the day with Guy Self."
Elinor pulled a face. "Ouch."
The rest of the relatively short drive passed too quickly for Serena's liking. They pulled up outside a large Georgian building and Serena helped her daughter lug her bags out of the boot of the car. She teased Elinor about how much she'd brought for the two weeks she was going to be away, but the teenager simply shrugged and told her that looking as good as she did took a lot of effort. Laughing softly, Serena walked her to the reception and checked her in. Signing the relevant forms, she watched as Elinor rushed off to meet some of the other girls who were sharing her room. Realising that she hadn't said goodbye to her mother, the teenager ran back and pressed a quick kiss to Serena's cheek before she was gone again.
"For the last time, Charlotte!" Bernie shouted up the stairs. "If you don't get your bum down here we're going to be late!"
"We're already late." Her daughter replied calmly, appearing on the landing with a holdall slung over her shoulder. "You said you'd be here an hour ago."
"I'm sorry. There was an emergency and–"
"It's fine. Gramps said he'd ring Fletch to take me if you weren't back in time." Charlotte told her with a shrug. "I'm glad you are, though."
"Sorry, love. Shall we get going?"
Nodding, the fourteen-year-old jumped down the remaining few steps and followed her mother out of the house, pausing only to hug her grandfather tightly. Throwing her bag into the back, she climbed into the passenger's seat and fiddled with the radio as her mother drove them through the streets of Cheltenham towards the Walden Hotel on the outskirts of Bristol where the drama course was being held.
"Are you sure you've got everything you need?" Bernie asked as they pulled up in the car park. "That is a very small bag for a teenager for two weeks."
"I've got clothes, what else do I need?"
Bernie laughed. "That's my girl."
They went inside and Bernie dealt with the paperwork while Charlotte leant against the desk beside her. As soon as the teenager was checked in, her mother turned and shot her a lopsided grin. Rolling her eyes, Charlotte hugged her mother tightly, before pulling back and shouldering her holdall again.
"So, Fletch'll be coming to pick you up because Gramps will be in that board meeting and I've got the trauma conference."
"Cool."
"Have fun, love. I'm going to miss you."
"It's two weeks, not six months this time." Charlotte reminded her with a grin.
Bernie shrugged. "Doesn't matter, I'll still miss you."
"Don't go all soppy on me, Ma." The fourteen-year-old rolled her eyes, but there was a smirk on her face as she said it.
"Come here." Wrapping her arms around her daughter and held her tightly for a couple of minutes. "Right… off you go and wow them with your dramatics."
Rolling her eyes, the teenager grinned and wandered causally in the direction the woman behind the desk had informed her lead to her room. Bernie shook her head fondly and wandered out of the building, hands pushed deep into her pockets as she headed towards her car.
The first few days of the drama camp seemed to fly past. The teenagers were split into groups to practise different techniques, before being united as a whole company on the third day in order to cast the show they'd be performing. Grease had been chosen as the musical and everyone was enthused to get going.
The auditions had taken place on Monday morning and both Elinor Campbell and Charlotte Wolfe were keen to land the starring role, especially as Adam Cartwright had been cast as Danny Zuko. A bitter rivalry had sprung up between the two girls as they fought for the role, fuelled by the fact everyone seemed to think they were strikingly similar in their looks; something that neither Elinor nor Charlotte could understand at all.
Curling her lip as she took in the teenager opposite her, Elinor shook her head; unable to believe that anyone would think they looked anything alike. For starters, Charlotte had shoulder length hair that looked as though it hadn't seen a brush for days, while hers was painstakingly straightened and styled to fall in a sheet down to the centre of her back. Charlotte wore baggy, ripped jeans and battered high-tops, while Elinor would not have dreamt of wearing anything that didn't show her figure off to perfection. The other girl had too many piercings in her ears and a ring in her nose that Elinor wouldn't have been caught dead with. They couldn't have been more different if they'd tried.
"Listen, we've decided that there's nothing between your performances and so we'd like you to share the roles of Sandy and Rizzo." Nancy, the camp director told them calmly, bringing Elinor out of her thoughts.
"How can we share the roles?" She asked irritably, folding her arms and staring at the woman.
"Ellie, you'll play Sandy in the afternoon performance and Rizzo in the evening performance. Charley you'll play Rizzo in the afternoon performance and Sandy in the evening performance." She replied simply.
"But that's not fair!"
"If you don't think you can learn both roles then–"
"I can." Elinor replied immediately.
"Same." Charlotte agreed, narrowing her eyes at the other girl.
"Excellent." Nancy nodded. "You better get cracking, then."
As she walked away, leaving the two fourteen-year-olds clutching their scripts and glaring at each other. Making a disgruntled sound in her throat, Elinor stalked away to sit with her roommates, complaining loudly about the decision. Immediately the other girls agreed with her, shooting dark looks across the room to where Charlotte and her friends were sitting.
"What is her problem?" Charlotte demanded, catching sight of Elinor scowling at her. "I mean she has a serious attitude problem."
"Don't pay her any attention, Char." Jo advised her calmly.
"Or we could get even." Hannah suggested, grinning mischievously.
Charlotte considered her for a moment. "What are you thinking?"
Standing up, the redhead grinned again and motioned for her friends to follow. Making their way up to the corridor where their rooms were, they paused to check that no one was around, before letting themselves into Elinor's room. Locating her things quickly, they started looking through for of her toiletries, gathering them into a pile on her bed.
"She's here for two weeks… bloody hell!" Charlotte shook her head. "I wonder what she looks like without all this make up on?"
"Back end of a horse, probably." Hannah shrugged. "Jo, keep an eye out. Charley, help me a minute…"
The plan involved switching the labels on the small travel containers that Elinor had brought. It was easy enough to peel off the handwritten labels and swap them between the bottles and soon they had no idea what was shampoo and what was moisturising night cream. Charlotte pulled a face, wondering why a fourteen-year-old would need moisturising night cream anyway.
"Done?" Jo asked as they left the room quickly.
"Yup." Hannah grinned. "She is gonna be so pissed off when she tries to wash her hair."
"It's not the best plan I've ever heard." Jo replied with a smirk.
The redhead rolled her eyes and shoved her in the shoulder. "It's hitting Campbell where it hurts. That's all that matters."
"Come on, let's get back." Charlotte said with a shrug. "Nancy'll wonder where we've got to. We've got choreography to learn!"
They worked hard on the dance routines all afternoon and it was a relief when they broke for dinner. Before it was served, they had half an hour to relax and change. Charlotte and her friends were on tenterhooks waiting to hear something from the adjoining room and they were not disappointed when they heard a totally over the top high-pitched scream of fury.
"D'you think she's found out?" Hannah asked innocently, rolling over and glancing up from the magazine spread out on her bed.
Their question was answered when the door to their room flew open and Elinor Campbell stood framed in the doorway looking absolutely furious. Her hair was wet and lay over her shoulders, dripping water onto the floor. In her left hand she was clutching one of the little bottles Charlotte and Hannah had switched earlier.
"This was you, wasn't it?" She demanded, her eyes flashing.
"What?"
"You switched everything! I've just washed my hair with foot scrub! You have no idea how–"
"Why would you wash your hair with foot scrub?" Charlotte asked, keeping her expression neutral. "That's just stupid."
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Elinor exploded. "You switched the labels!"
"Why would I do that?"
Stamping her foot, the irate teenager glared at her. "Because I assume you and your idiot friends thought it would be hilarious. You are going to pay for this, Charlotte Wolfe."
With that she was gone, slamming the door and leaving a tense silence. Then the three girls inside the room started laughing. They laughed uncontrollably until tears rolled down their cheeks. Charlotte shook her head, rubbing at her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a strangled giggle.