There has been a time jump from the last chapter. This takes place almost a week after the last chapter ended.
Alison struggled up the school's driveway with her suitcase and bag. She was late for the bus to camp since her mother had refused to drop her off that morning. It had taken her nearly an hour to walk from her house to the school. She was exhausted, her arm and shoulder were sore, and she was worried she'd be in big trouble. When she reached the top of the driveway, she could see that everyone was already on the bus waiting for her to arrive. So she was glad when Mr Kennard hopped out of the bus to take her suitcase.
"Sorry, I know I'm really late," said Alison.
"No problem. We were wondering where you had gotten to. Are you okay?"
"Yes. I had to walk here."
Mr Kennard gave her a sympathetic smile and helped her onto the bus. After a quick thank you, Alison headed up the aisle, finding the only spare seat was next to Erica. Feeling a little annoyed, she finally sat down, her eyes facing the front of the bus.
Nearly five hours later, the bus was towed into the campgrounds. It was getting late and everyone was tired and hungry. It didn't help that Miss Belmont wanted everyone to line up and wait longer to get to their cabins and dinner.
"Right. You will stand at attention," called Miss Belmont, "until your cabins are assigned. The layout is as follows: the boys' cabins are to the left, girls' cabins to the right. Shower block, dining hall, rec hall." She pointed out each building as she spoke. "Cabins are: Viva, Sarah, Lavinia, cabin ten. Erica, Alison, Margeart, cabin twelve. Crystal, Nicole, Vicky, cabin five..."
As they headed off to their cabins a few minutes later, Alison noticed that Erica was staring at her.
"I don't know how I ended up sharing a cabin with you," said Erica.
"Look at my face, I'm absolutely thrilled," replied Alison sarcastically.
She had tried all of the previous week to apologise to Erica, and it still wasn't good enough apparently. So, she was now going to just do the same thing that Erica did: be mean. She ignored Erica for the next ten minutes as they unpacked and set up their beds before heading to dinner.
As everyone lined up for dinner in the camp kitchen/dining hall, Alison found Miss Belmont. She wasn't feeling hungry and was still annoyed. She didn't want to sit there with everyone.
"See, I suffer from a very delicate stomach, and severe allergies, so I can't eat processed meats," she lied to Miss Belmont.
"Okay, then you'll have to let the cooks know in the morning what you can and can't have. Have you brought anything from home for tonight?" asked Miss Belmont.
"Yes, miss. But, um, do you mind if I have it in the cabin, cause I kind of feel strange in front of the others."
"Yes, alright, that's fine. But only for tonight."
Alison nodded. "Thanks." She glared at Erica as she left.
About ten minutes later, Alison was busy reading a magazine and eating chocolate when the cabin door opened. She looked up in surprise, having not expected anyone to be back yet.
"Chocolate?" asked Erica.
"I'll give you half if you shut up about it," said Alison.
"You liar."
"Dinner over already?"
"No. This camp's over for me. Miss Lattimore is sick of Romeo and Juliet, so we're not doing it."
"So what?"
"So what? I've been preparing to play Juliet all year. My mum's expecting. All the parents are coming."
"Mine won't be."
"Yes, well, not everything's just about you, is it?"
Nothing is ever about me, thought Alison, not here, not at home, nothing. "You know, I got that allergies thing from you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Faking it."
"Faking it? Shame on you. For some of us, allergies are life threatening." Erica turned onto her side, facing the wall.
"Good night."
"Shut up."
Alison shook her head and looked back at her magazine, wishing she knew why Erica seemed to hate her so much.
The next morning, Alison was woken by shouts and laughter. She got up and moved to the door, finding all of their classmates outside, staring at something. She stepped out onto the little walkway, watching as Barry ran around a tree, holding what was clearly Mr Kennard's clothing. She laughed along with everyone else for a moment, before noticing that Erica was standing there next to her. Then she stopped laughing and looked away, waiting to see what would happen to Barry. It wasn't long before Miss Belmont came over, frowning.
"That's enough Barry!" she shouted over the laughter. "Hand the clothes over and then get to the dining hall for breakfast. That goes for the rest of you too."
Alison spun on her heel and headed back into the cabin. She changed into clothes and then headed out to breakfast alone.