Mondays were always a strange day for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Everyone around her hated Mondays since they had to go back to school and actually do homework. But for Marinette, Mondays were somewhat fun for her, like the Monday she won Jagged Stone concert tickets or the other Monday she had gotten first place in a designer contest. Mondays were just a great day for her. This particular Monday, however, was different.

Last week, the class had decided that since they were getting out of school for summer, they would do something fun as a class. The choices had ranged from going to concert together (rejected because Chloe couldn't get her way into getting the class into going to a Pretty Pinks concert) to having a dance (rejected because they couldn't get the auditorium in time). But then came the idea of a camping trip. Now normally everyone would reject going camping due to nature but when Chloe made the suggestion that they go camping one day and then go spend a week at her parent's resort, well nobody could resist the temptation of a Bourgeois resort. Alya then sweetened the deal by saying they could rough it while camping and tell scary stories then have a sweet drink by the pool the next day. Chloe had smirked as everyone said her idea had been great.

So Marinette, as class president, had been in charge of research and making sure that everyone took their permission slips home and got them signed as well as getting permission from the principal. And with a special permission, they were allowed to go without their teacher. If Marinette was being honest, they certainly didn't need an adult when Chloe could simply call her father in 2 second and the principal seemed to agree. Chloe made the arrangements with her father and then on Friday, everything was ready. They were to leave on Monday, quickly make tents and enjoy camping and then from Tuesday to Sunday, they would have fun at the Bourgeois resort, complimentary of Chloe's father (who certainly had more than enough money to spend on his daughter and her friends).

So Marinette personally felt like she really needed to be prepared to go camping, even if it was for one day. So she had went ahead and bought a camping backpack, making sure she could pack a lot in it. She went ahead and packed a first aid kit, some snacks, some extra clothes just in case her luggage went missing and a couple other things that would make sense when someone went camping. In her luggage (she only had one suitcase), she made sure she packed everything she would need like a lot of underwear and clothes she could really have fun in.

So when Monday came around, at 8 am, everyone gathered around in front of their school. They stood around, waiting for the luxury bus Chloe had asked her father for. Marinette made sure she had everything with her as she chatted with Alya. Alya waved her hands around,

"I can't wait to use a jacuzzi! We should get all the girls and we should have a girls night."

Marinette smiled, "With face masks and yummy snacks."

Alya nodded, "And we can talk about boys."

Marinette smirked, "You mean get advice about Nino?"

Alya gave her a look, making Marinette laugh. "Sure sure, laugh about me but I think I see Nathanael watching you with some love eyes."

Marinette blushed, "You need to stop. He's cute but I don't know if I like him that way."

Alya pursed her lips and was about to tease her some more but the bus they were waiting for finally came.

Everyone stored their luggage and then boarded the bus. Marinette, Alya, Nathanael and Nino sat on the right, near the snack bar. Ivan, Mylene, Alix and Rose sat in the back and Kim, Max and Chloe sat near the drinks. Lastly Juleka and Sabrina sat near Marinette, next to the mini stereo. Everyone's face had big grins as Juleka 'accidentally' slipped and turned up the music and Chloe 'accidentally' turned on the bubble machine, making a mini party in the bus.

Alya turned to Nino and smirked,

"Come on, you must have a mix cd we can listen to."

Nino shook his head,

"Come on. Don't you know me by now?" He held up a black case and opened it, pulling out a cd and handing it to Juleka and suddenly the bus was bumping with a remix that Nino made. Marinette smiled as she saw everyone having fun, shaking her head to the music. Marinette wondered what songs were in the mix when she felt everything slow down, everyone moving really slow. She shook her head and blinked a couple of times but the sensation didn't leave her. She turned to Alya and tried shaking her shoulder but she gasped as her hand went through Alya's shoulder. She looked at her hand and watched it flicker. Alya went from the gray color she had turned when Marinette had touched her, back to her normal color.

Panicked, she turned to Nathanael but as her hand touched his shoulder, everything went back to normal. Nathanael blushed as he felt Marinette's hand on him, slightly confused.

"D-D-do you need anything?"

Marinette's pulled her hand back, shaking her head.

"Nah, I'm good."

She turned back to Alya, who rose her eyebrow but Marinette shook her head and Alya dropped it, going back to talking to Nino about capturing a bear on camera. Marinette sighed, what just happened to her? Was she getting car sick? She knew she grew out of being car sick when she was about 8 but you never know. She bit her lip, she didn't bring any motion sickness pills at all. She decided to just drink a little water and see if it did her any good.

She asked Max to pass her a water bottle and she sipped it slowly, noticing that it did help settle her stomach a bit. She sighed in relief and passed the bottle to Alya, who chugged it with Nino's chants of 'Go! Go! Go!'. He was such a great influence on her. Marinette shook her head and pulled out her sketchbook, determined to finish some designed on the bus ride to the hotel. Marinette looked at the half finished design of summer dress and pouted, she just needed a little boost in inspiration. And like that, three hours passed.

When they finished reached the hotel, to drop off the luggage they didn't need while camping, Chloe went ahead and had someone prepare a lunch for them to eat when camping and other small essentials, like matches and some extra water. Chloe had let them have fun choosing where everyone slept as she already had her own suite. Marinette and Alya were in room 1, Juleka and Rose were in room 2, Mylene and Alix and Sabrina were in room 3. Nathanael and Ivan were in room 5, Nino, Max and Kim were in room 6, with Chloe in her room of lucky 7.

Once they were settled in and everyone stored their luggage away, they gathered down in the lobby and Marinette passed out little booklets. She held it up, ready to give a little talk to everyone.

"Ok guys, the camp site we are going to is called Bird Forest. Yes I know it's a simple name and yes, it's because of all the birds they have. Now the rules are: One, we have to clean up any mess we make. Two, we can't feed wildlife, don't feed anything guys. And lastly, if someone gets hurt, just shoot up a flare and we'll come and get you. Now here are the flares."

Alya passed out the flares and gave everyone a thumbs up before Marinette nodded, "Now let's go have fun!"

Marinette pointed two fingers to their bus and everyone climbed back on, talking about what they would do first. Personally Marinette would love to get a fire started and eat some smores. She sighed, if only she had someone to cuddle up to, blanket wrapped around their shoulders. She put her hands on her cheeks and sighed, how romantic.

Marinette felt someone nudge her side and saw that it was Rose. She smiled and leaned her head to show she was listening. Rose smiled widely and winked,

"Who are you thinking about? You look very happy."

Marinette sighed, "Nobody, I'm just imagining romantic fire cuddles with my imaginary boyfriend."

Rose giggled, "I was like that when I was single. Romantic cuddles by the fire do sound cute."

Marinette smiled, "Are you and Juleka going to snuggle? Or go exploring in the woods?"

Rose shrugged her shoulders, "Probably go exploring, that's all Juleka could think about this morning. She really wants to find more spiders for her collection on her wall."

Marinette shivered, "Ugh spiders. I'm surprised you're not afraid of spiders."

"Spiders are only afraid of you if you are disturbing them. It's like dealing with Chloe. If you don't provoke her, she doesn't bite."

Marinette laughed, that did sound very true of their resident queen bee. "Yeah true. I'm just ready to sleep under the stars?"

Rose grinned, "I know huh? Don't tell anyone but I heard that Kim might try and confess again to Chloe."

Marinette winced, "Again? But she rejected him the last four times. What makes this time special?"

Rose looked around before leaning in, "I head from Max that Kim spent all of his allowance on that new perfume by Giovanni and that he had Giovanni sign it herself."

Marinette's eyes widened, "How did he do that?"

"Apparently through a cousin and a couple bottles of booze."

Marinette had to give it to Kim. He had been in love with Chloe for years and every year, Chloe rejected him. But even Marinette could see Chloe slowly breaking down with Kim's sweetness and looks. She hoped it worked out for them.

"Well I hope she accepts this time."

Rose smirked, "There's a betting pool of when she accepts, want in?"

Marinette eyed Rose before slapping a five in her hand, "I bet five that she'll accept on the last day of this trip."

Rose smiled, "You're the only one that thinks that. Everyone else has their bet for somewhere in the middle of the week. Well everyone but me of course. I agree with you."

Marinette high fived Rose and Rose turned to talk to Sabrina. Marinette, on the other hand, could feel a little bit of that 'motion sickness' from earlier come back and drank a little more water. It did the trick and Marinette smiled, water was so versatile.

Marinette felt the bus stop and looked outside, seeing all the trees and grass made her excited. She never got to go out when she was in China and now was her chance to experience camping. She wanted to explore, take pictures of all the cool birds, see the beautiful flowers and most of all, have fun with her friends. Everyone got off the bus, looking around at the camping grounds they had reserved. A nice clear valley for them to camp in, a running stream a couple of feet away and plenty of forest to explore. Marinette took over and pointed to where everyone could set up their tents and went ahead and assigned everyone jobs.

She pointed to the boys, "You guys go ahead and get us firewood. A lot of it."

Marinette pointed to Alya and Chloe, "Go ahead and make make sure the food is safe. We don't need bears coming to harass us for food."

"And everyone else will set up tents. Break!"

Marinette watched everyone start moving before going to help Sabrina pitch a tent. Surprisingly it was hard. Marinette almost couldn't figure out which pole went where but Sabrina helped her learn. It was a great bonding experience since she and Sabrina usually didn't hang out much. She smiled and left Sabrina to her own devices as she took the foldable table they brought and opened it up. She went ahead and while Chloe and Alya were tying up food and putting it high, she grabbed the food that they got for lunch. She opened the basket and gasped, inside was a variety of foods. She pulled out a savory ham, a couple of side dishes, a gorgeous looking cake and even a couple of sodas. Everything smelled delicious.

She grabbed the paper plates and napkins, making the whole table look like a buffet. She put the drinks and cups to the end of the table and made sure they had enough forks. She looked up to see the guys finally return with the firewood. She put her fingers to her mouth and whistled, "Food is ready!"

She quickly moved away from the table, watching the stampede of hungry teenagers get their food. Marinette, on the other hand, went ahead and stacked the firewood to make their fire. She stuffed newspaper under the wood and squirted some lighter fluid on the paper. She gathered rocks and surrounded the wood, making sure everything was stable. She glanced at everyone, waiting until they all got their food before lighting the fire and going to get food herself.

The fire crackled and shone bright, looking so cool. Alya took out her phone and took pictures of it, exclaiming on how Marinette did such a good job of it. Marinette rolled her eyes in laughter and grabbed a paper plate, filling it with a bit of everything, She sat down next to Nino and listened to what Mylene was talking about.

"I heard that the camping ground next to us is haunted, isn't that right Marinette?"

Marinette looked up from her food, blinking before swallowing her food and nodding.

"Yeah, the site is called Lone Wolf. I heard that a couple of girls were murdered there and that the guy who did it, went missing. Ever since then, people always go missing and never come back."

Nino shivered, "Dude that's rough. They never found the guy?"

Marinette smirked, "If by rough, you mean weird sure. I don't think so."

Rose cuddled up to Juleka, "That's terrible." Juleka nodded and wrapped her arm around Rose.

Chloe brandished her fork at Marinette, "I bet that guy is still roaming around."

Marinette shrugged, "I don't know. It was years ago."

Alix jumped in, "He's probably dead, eating by the animals around here."

"Maybe but let's talk about something different. Who wants to go on a little hike?"

Chloe pursed her lips, "A hike? At this time"

"Chloe it's only noon. It's a great time to go on a hike."

"It's a great time to get a tan is what you mean. I'll stay."

Marinette nodded and turned to everyone else. "Raise your hand if you want to go."

Everyone but Kim wanted to go. Marinette and Alya gave him a look that had him blushing but he kept his decision to stay. Marinette chuckled and watched Chloe blush subtly, she hoped Chloe wouldn't turn him down.

"Well if that's everyone, let's get going. Chloe, Kim if something happens, shoot a flare."

Kim nodded and Chloe waved her hand in agreement before digging in her purse for some suntan lotion. Marinette shook her head and smiled, Chloe never changed. She grabbed a small bag and filled it with water and a first aid kit. She hesitated for a moment but then grabbed her flare gun, hoping she wouldn't have to use it. She slipped on her backpack and joined the others. She took a look back at Kim and gave him a thumbs up, getting a blush and a nod in return. He was too cute.

The gang walked for a couple of minutes before reaching a fork in the road. Marinette pointed to the left one, "This is the trail that will supposedly lead us to a little valley with lots of flowers. They call the valley Fleurs Vallèe. The one to our right leads to a large lake. Which do you guys want to travel?"

Juleka pointed to the left and Rose nodded, "I think flowers would be beautiful!"

Everyone nodded and Marinette grinned, "To the flowers it is!"

The trail wasn't too exciting. Sure there were plenty of birds but the trees all started to blend together. Marinette watched Nathanael draw a pretty blue bird, marveling at how pretty he drew. She turned to Alya and found her recording Juleka taking a spider and putting it into a jar. Marinette grimaced and kept walking. She looked to the back to see Ivan, Mylene and Sabrina debating over something. She could only hear words like 'cheese' and 'singer' and she decided that she didn't want to know. Max and Alix were arguing about great video games. Max thought that strategy games were the best while Alix thought fighter games were the best. Personally Marinette liked both but Role Playing games had a special spot in her heart but she didn't feel like joining their conversation. Marinette turned to Nino and found him watching Alya with a big smile. She rose her eyebrow and nudged Nino, flicking her head towards Alya when he turned towards her, her eyes talking to him,

'If you don't go talk to her, I'll embarrass you'

Nino sighed, Marinette was so evil and yet, such a big helper when giving someone courage. He made his way to Alya, trying to think of stuff to say. He froze for a moment when Alya turned to him with a big smile,

"Did you see the spider Juleka got? Big wasn't it?"

Nino nodded even though he hadn't seen the spider. "Yeah pretty big."

Alya pointed to another spider, "Juleka! Come and look at this one! Nino isn't this one cool?"

Nino glanced at Alya, "Yeah cool."

Marinette rolled her eyes but moved on from Nino. She looked at the trail markers and found that they were only 15 minutes from the valley. She checked to see if everyone was still on the trail before she motioned that they should keep moving. Marinette started humming and looked to the sky, wishing there was a bit of a breeze. She could feel some sweat dripping down her face and wiped it off with her arm. As she took out her water bottle and took a sip, a small thought passed through her mind. She had been drinking a lot of water and she totally pack any toilet paper. She wondered if anyone did. Well it was going to be funny when someone would need to go, especially when they just finished eating.

The group passed the last trail marker and there they stood at the beginning of the flower valley, in amazement. There had to be dozens of flowers of all shapes and colors. Marinette took in a deep breath and fell in love with the soft scents of the flowers. She waded through the flowers carefully and found a nice place to sit, folding her legs under her and resting her back against a tree. Such heaven this was.

She watched everyone do their own thing. Nino played soft music for everyone to listen to, a nice melody that screamed relaxation. Rose and Juleka sat in a patch of daises, making little flower crowns and putting them on everyone. Nathanael was sketching a group of lilies and subtly sketching Marinette when no one was looking. Sabrina had brought a small book and was pressing flowers into it. Marinette wished she had thought of the idea, she would love some flowers to show to her parents. She saw Alix pick a nice looking purple flower and put it in her hair, posing for Mylene and Ivan. Marinette giggle, Alix looked so cute. Lastly Marinette watched Max pick a flower, having his usually look of thinking. She wondered what he was contemplating but she didn't bother asking. She knew he would talk her ear off if she asked.

Marinette sighed as the sun hit her face, warming it a bit too much. She felt herself getting hotter, like if she had a sun burn. She coughed and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling drowsy. What was happening to her? She drank more of her water but it only stopped the heat a little. She wished she had some ice cream and was about to ask Alya if she had anything that would calm the heat when it all suddenly went away. She instantly felt cooler, almost chilly as goosebumps showed on her arm. She rubbed her arms to warm them up and after a couple of minutes, it worked.

She licked her lips and wondered if she could be getting sick. She didn't bring any medicine with her but she would ask Alya later if she had any. But for now, she turned to the flowers, she was going to join Juleka and Rose in making flower crowns.