Chapter 4:
Camping Experience
The Bratz went to the car to get all of their camping stuff. Jade had more bags than everyone else.
"Jade, you do realize we're only staying for one night, right?" Sasha said looking at Jade's 6 bags.
"I need a lot to love off of for a night Sasha," she said. "I've got my blow dryer and my phone charger..."
"You can't use that stuff out here," Felicia said.
"Why not?!" Jade exclaimed in surprise.
"Where exactly are there any outlets to plug that stuff in?" Ethan said.
"Well..." Jade paused for a moment as she thought about that. "Aw man..."
"Exactly," Ethan said.
Dana giggled and Jade glared at her then tossed one of the bags that had all the electrical stuff in it back into the car.
They followed Felicia down the path to the campsite.
"So how long has your dad owned Campfire Meadows?" Yasmin asked her.
"Five years. We used to live in Maine and then we came here. The city life was a big change from living up there. I still think it's weird."
"I can't imagine living in Maine," Cloe said.
"I've always spent a lot of time outdoors," Felicia said. "And I've been going camping my whole life."
"What school do you go to?" Dana asked.
"Brooks Private School. You might have passed it on the way here. What about you guys?"
"We live in Manhattan and we got to Styles High," Sasha replied.
"Cool, it's always fun showing city people a totally different side of the world." She stopped at a clearing. "Well here we are."
It was a big enough space for them all surrounded by trees and the sun high above them.
"There's a lake just past those trees there," she said pointing to the right. She pointed to the left. "And up that hill there is a cliff that has a really nice view..."
All of a sudden they heard a scream and Dylan ran past all of them.
"Dude what the hell is your problem?" Cameron asked laughing along with everyone else.
Dylan realized how much he was freaking out and calmed down. "I walked into a spider web."
"Ready to go home Dyl?" Jade said crossing her arms and smirking.
"Hell no!"
"Let's start setting up the tents."
They'd brought along several tents. One for the guys and two for the girls. The girls stared at theirs while Ethan and Cameron started to put up theirs expertly.
"Come on guys, it can't be that hard," Yasmin said after watching the guys for a moment.
They unfolded the tent and laid it out like they'd seen the guys do.
Jade picked up the rods and couldn't figure out how to work them. "This is impossible."
"Sleeping under the stars is starting to look like a good idea right now," Dana throwing down more of the pieces in defeat.
"No! I'm not sleeping without a tent!" Cloe exclaimed.
They started trying to put up the tent but in the end it looked nothing like Ethan and Cameron's tent and after a few seconds it fell down.
"Need some help?" Felicia asked them. "It's really easy actually." She guided them through the steps of putting up the tent. By the time they were done the guys had also put up the girls second tent.
"Now we've got to set up a line for our clothes and get our food off the ground..." Ethan said.
"Why do we have to do that?" Cloe asked.
Dylan jumped behind Cloe. "So Big Foot won't eat it!" He said in a creepy voice. She jumped and screamed. He started laughing. Then she got mad and started chasing him around trying to hit him with a stick.
After a little while they had set up a wire between two trees to hang their clothes on and had tied up their food. Ethan instructed them next to find some sticks to set up a fire pit.
"Who knew his would be such hard work," Sasha said wanting to sit down and get on her phone. It pissed her off even more that there was no cell reception or wifi here.
"I don't know, I think it's fun," Dana said. "I've never done anything like this before. Plus Ethan is really hot when he takes charge." All of a sudden a squirrel was next to her. "Look a squirrel! Hey cutie!" She said bending down to it. "I wanna pet it."
"Dana, you don't know where that thing has been," Jade said as she gathered a few more sticks.
"Jade's right, don't start petting wild animals. You'll get rabies if it bites you," Felicia said.
Dana was disappointed but she certainly didn't want rabies. Instead she watched the squirrel climb a tree.
They brought the sticks back and Ethan showed them how to make a fire pit.
"We're done setting up," he said.
"Finally," Sasha said sitting on one of logs they put around it.
"Who wants to see the lake?" Felicia asked.
"I don't know..." Cloe said nervously.
"Come on Cloe, nothing is going to attack you," Sasha said.
"Well..."
"Baby, if you're scared I'll stay here with you," Cameron said.
"Are you sure Cam?"
"Of course, I don't want you to be by yourself."
"Well the rest of you want to go, right?" Felicia asked.
"Yeah!" They said. With that they walked through the trees and fallen leaves to get to the lake. On the way there Ethan and Felicia pointed out different kinds of trees and animals. Dylan and Jade kept trying to one up each other. Yasmin looked around at everything constantly snapping pictures and Sasha and Dana tried not to trip over the branches and tree roots on the ground.
They arrived at the lake. It was very big, shaded by the trees around it, and it sparkled under the sunlight.
Ethan pulled out the fishing rods he'd brought and proceeded to teach Dana how to fish. He put the rod in her hands. "Now you have to swing your arm like this to get the wire into the water." He held her arm and moved it to help her.
"Now what?" She asked.
"Now you wait," he said kissing her lips.
Yasmin and Felicia had taken off the shoes to wade in the water.
"Just wait until to feel the fish on your toes," Felicia said.
"Ah!" Yasmin exclaimed when she felt them.
Felicia laughed. "See I told you!"
Yasmin giggled. "It tickles!"
Jade and Dylan were nearby walking on some rocks in the water.
"I'm surprised you've made it this far Dyl," Jade said teasingly.
"I should be the one surprised at you Miss I Need Electricity In The Woods."
"Oh fuck off, you know you want to use your phone to call Sierna back."
"Did she really fuck Iden at the party?" He asked.
"Yeah, they were both wasted. Hell, everyone was. And we were stripping and then Iden went up to Sierna and grabbed her ass."
"Where was I when this was happening?" Dylan asked surprised that all of that had happened.
"Weren't you upstairs playing blackjack and taking shots?"
He thought for a moment. "I might have been. I hardly remember anything about that night. I think I fucked Cymbeline in the bathroom."
Jade laughed. "Oh my god really?!"
"Hell if I know," he said with a shrug.
Sasha was sitting in the grass by the lake thinking about the horrible grass stains she'd have on her new pants that would take forever to get out.
"Hey Sasha, come get in the water, it's fun!" Yasmin said.
"I don't want whatever fish disease you guys are going to get from it," she said flatly.
The last thing she wanted was fish all over her freshly manicured toes. Camping was such a drag and nature so wasn't her thing.