Chapter 14

Jodi: I woke up. It was a Monday. My birthday. John's birthday. I got out of bed and quietly went into the bathroom to have a wash and brush my teeth. Then, I walked back into my room and grabbed John's birthday presents. They weren't much, but the things we bought each other were kind of a tradition now. I had bought him a huge bottle of vodka and three boxes of cigarettes. I taped the cigarettes to the vodka and then turned to the remaining present. I had bought him a huge chocolate cake with "John 18 Today" iced in blue. I walked into John's bedroom, woke him up and gave him his presents. He hugged me and we laughed for a while, before John pulled out his pocket knife and cut us each a slice of cake for breakfast.

John: I gave Jodi her usual presents; a new sketch book and a pack of good quality drawing pencils. This year, since she's 16, I've bought her a little extra. It's a bit cheesy but I found all of our childhood photos and put them in a photo album along with new photos of all of our gang together. She loved it.

Andy: I bought Jodi some really fancy paints for her birthday. I wasn't really sure what to get but she said she really liked them. A few days later, it was my birthday. I wasn't expecting a lot from Jodi because obviously she doesn't have much money at all. The fact she was with me for my birthday was enough for me. But, she surprised me. She bought me a cake similar to John's and a small bundle of stuff for my car. Including a dancing hula lady for the dashboard. Brilliant.

The next day, I got my pick up truck ready and went to pick everyone up. We had all finished early from school so we went to our own homes to get our stuff. I threw my bags in the back, closed the truck and went to pick them up.

Jodi: Andy picked us all up and we all put our bags and stuff in the back of the truck. This was going to be great. Andy drove so we pulled over a few times to have a break. At around 7:30pm we decided to find a spot to camp before it got dark. We parked the pick up out of the way, and walked for a little while down a small slope. We carried our bags and tents with us. Eventually, we reached this surprisingly large clearing under a cliff. There was a shallow river and plenty of room to camp. We all agreed that this had to be the spot.

The boys tried to set the tents up while I went with Allison and Claire to collect wood to make a campfire. By the time we got back the boys had only managed to set one tent up. We had three; one for me and Andy, one for John and Claire, and one for Allison and Brian. We gave the guys a hand with the tents and eventually we got them all sorted. We arranged them so that they were in a sort of triangle, so that we can sit outside our tents and be around the campfire which would be in the middle.

Brian: I was quite nervous to come camping. I'd only ever been camping with my family before. They think I'm at some math camp right now. But, I get to share a tent with Allison, which is good. We've been getting a lot closer lately. I think she might even like me. No, who am I kidding. She would never like me like that. She's just being a friend. Or is she? Gee I really wish I was better at this. I mean Andy and John are so much more confident than me when it comes to girls. Why can't I be like that? I'd love to know exactly what Allison thought of me.

Claire: We had brought some food with us and began to cook it once we had the campfire sorted. The weather was good too, so everything was perfect. We all laughed and talked and just had a good time. We were all singing and eating s'mores. It was good to see Brian enjoying himself too; I think he's still a bit shy sometimes. All of our lives have changed since meeting John and Jodi. They've shown us a different way of living, a better way. It's crazy though; principal Vernon always said you couldn't get worse than the Benders. But, considering everything they go through on a daily basis, they're really not that bad. I mean, Jodi is a straight-A student. And John, well John's just great. I used to think he was a self-centered moron, but he really cares about all of us. Especially Jodi, the bond they have is incredible.

Jodi: Eventually, we decided to call it a night. We have to go get some more food tomorrow. So we let the campfire start to die out and all went into our tents. I was zipping up ours when Andy grabbed me from behind and rolled me towards him before giving me a huge kiss.

"Hey!" I shouted playfully, "what was that for?"

"For being amazing." He kissed me again.

"Well aren't you cute."

"Jodi?"

"Yeah?"

"I um, I think I uh, I think I love you."

"I think I love you too."

Allison: Brian had been smiling at me all night. I don't know of it's a coincidence or if he does feel the same as me. Here we were, sat in our tent, alone. We were talking but all I can think about is how much I like him. I decided I need to make the first move. I took a deep breath and leaned in to kiss him. I expected him to pull away and tell me to get off him, but he didn't. He kissed me back.

Brian: Oh my gosh. Allison kissed me. My insides felt like they exploded. I was so happy. This camping trip is going to be amazing.