John woke up to a text tone the following morning instead of someone waking him up. He groggily looked over to see who it was. Laf.

Happy 5:00am! he sent.

What the heck is that supposed to mean, Laf? asked John.

It's 5:00am and we don't have anything on our schedules until 10:00am!

Then why would you wake me up this early?

Duh! To annoy you! Laf responded.

John rolled his eyes and set down his phone. He was NOT about to get up at 5:00am. Unfortunately, after about 2 hours of trying to get back to sleep, he just gave up.

"Dang it, Laf!" he whisper-shouted down to him. "I'm getting you back for this!"

"Sure you will..." Laf whisper-shouted back, shaking his head and smiling.

John had no clue what to do. He had 3 hours until he had to be up and out the door. John eventually decided on just grabbing his sketchbook and trying to draw Alex.

Alex looked so peaceful when he slept. It was very hard for John to try and capture it in one drawing. But John wasn't a beginner. By 9:00am, just as Alex blearily opened his eyes, he had finished.

Alex turned his head to face John. "Oh!" he said with surprise. "You're already up!"

"Yeah, thanks to Laf," John said, rolling his eyes.

Alex laughed. "He did that to me, my first year, too."

The boys slowly got out of bed.

"What's first on the schedule today?" Herc asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Culinary studies."

"What's that?" asked John.

"They give you a group of ingredients and you have to make the best food you can out of them," explained Alex. "It's easier than it sounds, don't worry."

"Ok...."

As the boys started getting dressed, John had to restrain himself from looking at Alex shirtless.

That's creepy, John, stop it!

Once they were finished, the Revolutionary Crew headed down to breakfast. Today it was French toast.

All the Juniors then walked down to the dining hall's kitchens. Isabella was in there, and she had 14 stations set up for the Juniors.

"Good morning, everyone! Grab a station!"

Everyone sat down at a station and examined their ingredients.

"So that there's no cheating, everyone has different ingredients, so don't get any ideas," said Isabella. "You have one hour to make your creation. And...go!"

John looked down to see what he had; there were blueberries, strawberries, eggs, and flour, as well as sugar, a bowl, a whisk, and a couple more things.

What could he make out of all of this? John sat there in silencer for a few minutes, then it came to him.

John mixed together the dry ingredients and the eggs, then formed them into flat tortilla shapes. Once he finished that, he mashed up the berries into a kind of jam, then spread it on the tortillas. He tried one, and it was actually not that bad.

Since he still had a few minutes, John looked around to see what everyone else was making. Laf had made croissants, which looked VERY good. Herc had put together some kind of taco. Alex, on the other hand, had basically thrown all his ingredients together in a bowl and smashed them together. He caught John ogling and what he had done and laughed.

"Don't worry," Alex whispered to him. "I do this every year-Isabella has to sample everything everyone makes, so I always try to make her sick."

John laughed along with Alex just as Isabella's timer dinged.

"Time's up!" she called. "Let's see what you've come up with."

Isabella walked down the row, trying and praising everyone's creations. Alex was the last one in the row, and she stopped when she got to him.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked her, smiling.

"Yeah, I'm NOT trying that EVER AGAIN," she laughed.

"Aw man!" said Alex, laughing as well. "I tried."

"All of your creations were very good," said Isabella. "But I have to give first prize to Eliza, for her no-bake cookies. Congratulations!"

The day continued on at a slower rate. By 9:00pm, the Revolutionary Crew was definitely ready to just relax and play a game of some sort.

"What should we go with tonight?" Herc asked them. "We can do another round of truth or dare, or..."

"How about Confessions?" suggested Laf. "We haven't played that since last summer."

"I love that game!" cried Alex. "Let's do it!"

John was confused. "What's 'Confessions'?"

"The person to your left tells you something you have to confess, and you do it," explained Herc.

"Okay," said John. "That sounds fun."

"Everyone get into position," said Herc.

Alex sat on John's left side, John sat on Laf's left side, Laf sat on Herc's left side, and Herc sat on Alex's left side.

"I'll go first," volunteered John. "Laf-confess your first crush.

Laf blushed and smiled. "Herc," he said sheepishly.

John was taken aback. "Wait-are you gay?"

"No, mon ami. I am bi."

"Are you and Herc-"

"Yes," chuckled Herc, wrapping his arm protectively around Laf. "And, no, I'm not gay either, I'm bi."

"Oh-cool."

"Herc, confess why you're friends with Alex," commanded Laf.

"Yes! I get to be valuable!" said Alex triumphantly, pumping his fist in the air.

The boys laughed.

"Ok, I'm friends with Alex because he's a weirdo and he's pretty hilarious," said Herc.

"AWWWWW!! HERCULES, STOP IT! YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND!" Alex cried, slapping Herc's knee.

"Ok, Alex," said Herc, laughing, "confess your first kiss."

John tensed and sat up straighter. He had to hear this.

"Well, I was at a convenient store, ok?"

"WHAT?!" Herc, Laf, and John all shouted at the same time, cracking up.

"LET ME EXPLAIN!" Alex shouted back. "So, I was with my brother, and he told me he'd give me $5 to kiss the cashier. So, since I needed money, I went to the counter, leaned over, and kissed her!"

That was just about the most Alex-like the any of the boys had heard. They were dying of laughter.

A couple minutes later, once they had calmed down, Alex gave John his confession.

"John-sexuality-go!"

John blushed. This was personal.

"I'm gay," he muttered. What were the boys going to say?

There was silence for a second. Then-

"WOAH! COOL!" yelled Alex as Herc and Laf grinned. "YOU'RE THE ONLY GAY IN OUR GROUP!"

John blushed even harder.

"John-are you dating anyone?" asked Laf.

"No...."

"I dare you to have a boyfriend by the end of this summer!"

"What?!"

"Yeah, John, do it!" encouraged Herc.

"You're likable enough. It's not like you'll have trouble!" Alex pitched in.

John turned red yet again. "Fine."

"YAY!" Alex smiled broadly.

The boys played late into the night, each question more revealing than the last. Finally, at 2:17am, they called it quits. Although John hadn't realized it, he had dozed off on Alex's shoulder.

"John," Alex murmured as Herc and Laf got in bed. "Time to go to bed."

John opened his eyes and realized, to his horror, what he had been doing.

"I-I'm so sorry, Alex," he stuttered.

Alex laughed. "It's fine. Let's get you to bed."

Alex helped John to his feet, then into his bunk.

A few minutes later, John got a text. It was a new group chat-Herc and Laf.

You guys are adorable! said Laf.

What? John asked.

You and Alex-too cute! said Herc.

John blushed, even though no one could see him.

Shut up, guys, he sent, then fell fast asleep.