Hello the author here, I was only going to upload one chapter today but as I've had nothing to do I thought I would let my creative juices flow and write some more. This is the next chapter in The Camping Trip.


The smell of chocolate chip pancakes creped its way through the share house like a cat looks for it's next meal, the aroma was that strong that as soon as it drifted in from the gap in Kyle's bedroom door and made it way to his nostrils, he was already licking his lips.

Rolling over to check the time Kyle quickly remembered that today was not only the day of the camping trip which he couldn't wait for but it was also the day he turned 17. Hopefully Brax might give me a bit more freedom now that I'm 17 although he's still the same with Casey. Oh well beggars can't be choosers I suppose; I should just be lucky he's letting us both go considering last night I felt like he was going to ground us being late.

Walking into the kitchen, a slight grin (which was hardly ever seen) swept across Kyle's face. There on the table was a breakfast fit for a king.

"Happy Birthday mate!" following the voice his eyes located the person it came from. "Heath said to say that he was sorry he was missing your birthday but Darcy was going away with her new friend's family for a couple a day and that they'd rather stay in the city where they can be contacted easier if something happened. However, he did make a point to say that they would defo come and visit before the school holidays are over." Relaying the message from the second oldest Braxton, Ricky walked over to Kyle and give him a massive bear hug.

Replying once he had stopped being squished "That's ok, Rick it would have been a wasted trip anyway what with the camping trip and stuff."

"I smell pancakes!" Casey exclaimed as he wandered into the living room rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"You can wait Case! As you know its tradition for the person whose birthday it is to get first helpings." The oldest Braxton reminded him "Don't look at me like that Casey you know the rules and I expect you to respect them."

"Fine but I get some after Kyle as we have a long day ahead of us full of driving so we need lots of energy so we make sure to pay attention to the road." Casey stated quickly as he took a seat at the table "Oh by the way, happy birthday brother from another mother."

Moving closer to the table and taking the chair beside Casey, Kyle replied "Cheers Case and he's actually right for once Brax we need lots of energy today so that we can have our wits about us, therefore I think that means we are going to be needing a lot more pancakes to help with the extra energy."

With that Brax produced more pancakes which Kyle and Casey somehow managed to demolish two plate fulls of the chocolate chip pancakes which they both agreed would help them to stay more alert but also tasty.

After they had all finished eating, Brax and Ricky give Kyle his birthday presents. The first present he opened was some new sheet music as he was running out and they felt like if they didn't buy him anymore before he got paid, he would start using anything in the house that he was able to write on and they didn't fancy running out of toilet paper and tissues because Kyle had used them all. The second present was a new software for his laptop that allowed Kyle to edit his songs, so if he need to add in a beat he wouldn't need to steal the cooking utensils to do it. The final present was something which they both knew he needed the most as his other one was starting to head in the direction of retirement.

"Thank you so much guys, I've been wanting a new guitar for ages as my old one is literally hanging on by it's string." Kyle said with glowing smile.

Brax could see that this present meant the world to Kyle "The guy in the shop said its just like your old one but like you said not falling apart and we both knew that the other one would last another 4 months till Christmas so we thought we would get it now."

"Well thank you guys this is the best present I've had since one of my foster families got me the old one. Is it ok if I take it on the camping trip with me as I was going to take my old ones so we could all sing songs around the campfire?" Kyle questioned with a look of hope.

"Yeah, you can take just promise me you won't break it or lose it." Brax replied seeing how happy his brother was.

I'm so happy Kyle loves the guitar he really deserved it what with his exceptional grades at school and how hard he has worked at the restaurant and since he's been here there hasn't been any trouble except for the occasional fight which I feel like Casey and some of the other kids at the school drag him into. Also I'm pleased that he now trusts us enough to tell his bits about his life before he came to the bay, like how he got his first ever guitar through one his fosters families. Even though it was a bit it feels like a start to him opening up now I mean he's been with us for three years and I know we aren't the easiest family to trust but I feel like I still hardly know him…

Brax was pulled from his moment of thinking by Ricky who wanted his help to clear the table and get rid of the wrapping paper which in Kyle's haste to open his presents had just been flung in any direction to reveal the stuff underneath.

While they were tidying up, Casey and Kyle headed to their rooms to get have a shower and get dressed before they finished the packing they had started last night, once that was done they loaded the car and headed back in the house to say goodbye and to meet the others at the Surf Club, still completely unaware of the danger that was about to unfold.