hey yall! im so sorry for my inconsistent schedule, ive been really busy with school due to dual enrollment on top of other classes. however, i only want my best quality work published, so thats why it takes forever. please let me know if you want some more COC references, tbh im kind of loving not writing about them and just building a beautiful zammie ship lol. love you all!

Chapter 23

Christmas break was almost upon Blackthorne. The telltale signs of winter, being frost on the walls, a lingering chill, and seemingly never enough blankets, was becoming more and more common. Almost four months had passed since the Gallagher Academy helicopters had touched down. Of course, to every girl there it had seemed like the year was gone in the blink of an eye. Being surrounded by some seriously attractive guys? Not a bad way to spend a year. The four girls were in the middle of COW, since Professor Smith had decided to take a short trip to Blackthorne to cover some major events that were happening in the world. As they sat in the somewhat icy classroom, Professor Smith went on about France, and some of its conflicts with Spain. Cammie, Bex, Macey, and Liz were all sitting at a table in the near back. Liz was the only one taking notes, like usual. While she was writing down a particularly long sentence, Cammie slipped a note to each of the girls.
It read:

My mom said that for Christmas break, we can fly down to Miami.

Do you guys wanna go? It's this, or we stay in the snow.

Macey immediately scribbled her reply.

Of course I'll go, the Senator won't mind as long as I'm not in any newspapers.

Cammie sent a silent smile over to Macey, logging the head count so far. Bex slid her note back to Cammie:

Yeah, Mum and Dad will be working, I'm good to go.

Cammie flashed Bex a thumbs up, then turned to look at Liz. Liz was shaking her head yes, motioning that she was still writing notes, and therefore wouldn't write a note back. Cammie knew she would say yes anyhow. She collected all the notes, putting them away in her bag and turned her focus back to Professor Smith's lecture and lesson.

Today for lunch, the chefs at Blackthorne had prepared spaghetti bolognese, something that was extremely simple yet warmed every single student up. It was still chilly, but not as bad with hot food in everyone's stomach. As the girls sat down around the table in the back corner where they usually sat, a different emotion was filling the air. Everyone was so excited to be able to go to Miami for the break, jetting away from all the snow and ice. The bright and warm sun would be an amazing way to spend break.

"Guys do you know what this means? We can go swimsuit shopping!" Macey said excitedly, clapping her hands together. Liz's eyes widened, fear showing through her face. She looked at Cammie, pointing her head as if she were saying 'Make this girl see some sense'.

"Macey, we already got some from the winter remember? One should be fine," Cammie said, twirling some spaghetti around her fork. Macey let out a small laugh.

"Spring break is two weeks my darling Cammie. You're going to need at least three swimsuits," she said. Even Bex had started to look uneasy at this point.

"Macey, the last time you bought me a swimsuit I looked like I was going to walk in the Victoria Secret Fashion Show-" Cammie tried to say, before being cut off as a muscular arm found its way across her shoulders.

"i definitely wouldn't mind seeing that again," a deep voice said, with an amusing tone. Cammie turned and gave Zach a glare.

"Nice try lover boy, absolutely not," she said, and turned back around. Zach's eyes rolled, and he pulled Cammie's head closer to him so he could whisper something.

"Gallagher Girl, I know you loved all the attention you got from me the last time you wore the kind of swimsuit Macey likes," he said, his warm breath tickling her ear.

"Okay, but that doesn't mean I want to shop with Macey. She's a nightmare sometimes," Cammie said, her face flushed from the previous comment.

"You'll be fine. I can come with you if you want," Zach said brushing her hair back from her face. She shook her head no, indicating it wasn't necessary.

"Oh! I almost forgot to ask you guys as well! My mom said that you guys can come with us to Miami, if you're allowed too," Cammie said, looking at Grant, Jonas, and Preston in turn. They had managed to sit down as Cammie was occupied with Zach. They all eagerly nodded their heads, excited to come along on the trip.

"Cam, did your mom have an itinerary or was she gonna let us do whatever?" Bex asked.

"I think we pretty much have free rein, I know she was planning renting out a house right on the beachfront, but other that that I have no clue what the plans are," Cammie said, taking a sip of her water. "I think she got the house by a pier or something, and there's a small amusement park like 10 miles away that shows up every winter."

"I'm so excited already!" Liz said, adding in a small, "Just not for the swimsuits." part at the end. Macey heard her and rolled her eyes.

"What time should we start packing? Winter break starts in like three days," Macey said, looking like she was already making a mental list.

"Well, we today is Friday, and we have the weekend to pack since we leave Monday night. I'm assuming we can shop in the weekend? Or maybe in Miami, they'll definitely have swimsuits you might like there," Cammie said, trying to push off the shopping of the horror bikinis. Macey's eyes narrowed, trying to pick out the hidden meaning in the sentence.

"Cammie, you're going to have to get some either way, so it might just be easier to let me do it. I swear on Gilly's sword I won't get anything too inappropriate," she said.

Cammie seemed to think it over, the calming presence of Zach's hand rubbing slow circles on her shoulder helping rationalize her thoughts.

"Fine. But I get to pick what beach accessories we have!" she said. Macey nodded, holding out her hand.

"Deal?"

"Deal." Cammie shook Macey's hand, a smirk appearing on the latter's face.

"Pleasure doing business with you Cam," Macey smiled. Cammie smiled warily back. Lunch was almost over, meaning that there was a free period before the final class of the day, a special lecture from one of Blackthorne's alumni.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Cammie and the others headed to one of the main common rooms, situated in between the hallways to the boys' and girls' dorm rooms. Bex turned on the TV, immediately flipping to a chick flick. More specifically, Mean Girls. There was immediate grumbling in the room, solely coming from the boys.

"Why are you guys complaining? Mean Girls is one of the best movies ever," Bex said, already having her eyes glued to the screen. She got up from the floor where the remote was, settling down on the couch next to Grant. He pulled her into him, grabbing her hand.

"Are you sure we have to watch this? It seems way too girly," he said, raising an eyebrow at her. Cammie just rolled her eyes.

"You guys will love it. This movie is literally gold treasure," she said, winking at Bex before going to sit adjacent to her. Zach plopped down on her with a sigh, preparing himself to watch the movie. Cammie brushed her lips against his forehead, and started to watch the opening scenes.

Thirty minutes in, both Zach and Grants' eyes had glazed over. It had seemed like they were in the movie itself, acting out Regina George's lines with Gretchen. Bex, Cammie, Macey, and Liz were nearly peeing their pants with laughter at the sight of the boys perked up and ready to learn all of the lines. By the Christmas dance scene, Grant and the other boys were practically begging the girls to teach them the dance. Macey was certain she'd have abs by the time this was over. Preston had disappeared for five minutes, returning with the exact skirts and tops used in the movie. When Cammie gave him a questioning glance, he just shrugged and grinned. While the boys went to change for their final performance, Cammie grabbed her camera from its case in her bag. She prepped it for the very entertaining moments to come.

They walked out, skirts swinging and heads high. Liz immediately spit out the water she was drinking, choking from laughing so hard. Bex, Macey, and Cammie were in similar situations, Cammie's body shaking so hard from contained laughter that her camera was shaking. As they got into their starting positions, Jonas darted out to start the music. Cammie was able to snap a few pictures of their starting poses, before the real show started. The music cued up, and they were off. Even Jonas was on time, and he usually was late. It just showed all four boys' dedication to their craft. And of course, it was hard to ignore the muscles shown off in the various moves. Cammie had waited patiently until the legendary thigh slap came. She captured it perfectly, all four in unison with facial expressions that could make even the stoniest person smile. The number finally ended, the last picture seemingly the best. She had managed to get Bex, Liz, and Macey's expressions, each one crying from laughter. Headmistress Morgan and Mr. Solomon had peeked in to see what all of the loud noises were, only getting the end of the performance. Smiling at each other, they exited the room and walked towards the Great Hall.

It was one of the best days at Blackthorne by far.