I spend the entire afternoon half-sitting, half-lying in my tent, engrossed in the book in my hands. It is only after about two hours when I finish the book, that I realize what the time is —6:25 pm.

The others ought to return by now, it will get dark soon, I think. As if answering my thoughts, I hear Raquelle's voice from outside the tent, "Hey, Ashlee! We're back!" She comes inside the tent and flops onto a mattress. Jade follows, flashes me a grin, then sits down on a mattress herself.

"So, did you guys enjoy?" I ask.

"Far from it! You know what? They took us to a place so far from the camp, and then they made us work like slaves!" Raquelle bursts as soon as I ask the question.

"Raquelle, you're scaring the poor thing. Ashlee, don't believe a word of what she says. She's such a lazy person that some serious trekking exhausted her to the core and now she's just making silly excuses." Jade remarks.

"Hey!" Raquelle protests.

"Anyway, we didn't have much fun, though." Jade continued, unfazed. "All we did was hunt for fruits that we could really eat, and the one who had the maximum number was crowned the winner. That took up about one whole hour, and in the next one we did nothing but play 'Barn Yard Hunt'. Since Raquelle found most of the hidden things but couldn't copy even a single animal's voice properly, her team came last and as a punishment, now she's supposed to help in the cleaning up of the place before we leave, tomorrow morning, along with her team." Jade finishes, with a smirk on her face.

Raquelle seems depressed at the thought, so I say, "Don't worry, Raquelle, we'll help you with it tomorrow. Right, Jade?"

Jade dramatically rolls her eyes and says, "Right, but only if she promises us a treat of ice-cream once we get back."

"What for?" Raquelle asks curiously.

"For blabbering non-stop and making our ears bleed from hearing to you for two whole days!" Jade comments and starts laughing. Well, I do admit that Raquelle talks a lot, so even I can't help joining in the laughter, while Raquelle looks on with a hurt and innocent look on her face at first, but then gives in and laughs herself.

The next half hour is spent as Jade tells me of Raquelle's doings in the past and how she often embarrasses herself and the people around her because of her silly antics.

Then Raquelle, after sulking for a while, chirps in and narrates Jade's obsession with new dresses and the latest fashion trends. She even informs me about Jade's crush, who's none other than Evan. I raise my eyebrows at that revelation, and look enquiringly at Jade, while she starts blushing and pretends not to hear us, by picking up a fashion magazine and leafing through it. It's the first time I've seen her shy side, and I smile, thinking how cute a couple they'd make.

It's dark outside now and we switch on a lamp inside our tent, filling it with brightness. How beautiful it looks now, from the inside!

Just then, a silhouette of a person appears outside our tent and Evan puts his head inside. "Hey girls, hope I didn't intrude in the conversation, but I just came to tell you that dinner's ready and everyone's being called outside."

"Sure Evan, we're coming in a minute. By the way, why don't you take Jade with you while I help Ashlee up and escort her out?" Raquelle gushes, and I grin, understanding where she's headed.

"Sure thing. Come on Jade, let's go." Evan says with a smile, that I'm sure, would have melted Jade's heart right away.

Jade stands up, shot a quick glare at Raquelle, flipped back the curtain that acted as the door to the tent, and steps out.

As soon as she was out, we both burst out laughing. Until Raquelle says...

"Ashlee, your turn now. Wait here, I'll just call Ned." Saying so she starts getting up but I grab her by the elbow and pull her down once again. "No, you don't. I'm quite alright by myself."

I stand up easily, flash her a triumphant smile and proceed toward the tent's entrance. "Now will you tell me more about your crush? Because I don't think you filled me in on everything." I smirk at her.

"What? I don't have any crushes." She quickly defends herself —almost too quickly. I raise my eyebrow, and laugh seeing her nervous expression. "Come on, don't hide anything, Spill it."

"Well, there's nothing to spill, really." She tries covering up but fails. Just at that moment, I hear Raquelle's name being called out from outside the tent and step out with her by my side, to see Robert and Ned waiting near our tent.

I notice Ned's face lights up on seeing me, and I turn away my face to hide my smile.

"Robert! Where were you all the time? I was looking for you during the trek — "

"Because you wanted me to carry your bag as well." Robert finishes, looking bored.

"Umm...partly yes, and partly no. Anyway, let's head over to dinner, I'm starving!" Raquelle says. We walk over to the area where a lot of tables have been arranged, and are being piled up with plates and plates of delicious food. Raquelle immediately starts attacking the table, while Robert tries to stop her from overloading her plate, arguing with her in the process.

Ned speaks up, "Ashlee, you wait here, I'll get something for you and me both, okay?" I smile and nod in approval.

In less than two minutes, he's back with two dishes loaded with noodles, pasta, a piece of apple pie, and some vegetable salad. We both gorge on the food without a word; we're so hungry!

Finally when everyone's had their dinner, and the mess is cleared away with the help of all campers including us, the teachers light a campfire and everybody sits around it in a circle, as is the custom. Before this, I'd seen scenes like these only in movies —and here I am now, experiencing it for real!

On one side of me is Ned, and on the other is Jade, with Evan on her other side and Jack and Robert sitting on Ned's other side. The warm fire casts a bright yellow glow on everyone's face, and I notice Raquelle across from us, sitting with her head leaning on a boy's shoulder. I think inwardly, "So this is the boy who's captured our bubbly Raquelle's heart." and grin at the couple.

In fact, now that I notice, there are many couples in the circle, including Jade and Evan, and Raquelle and that boy.

Stars appear in the inky-blue sky overhead, and the horizon looks truly magical. It's like the tree tops are touching the stars, who're twinkling as if laughing and winking in mischief. Mr. Craig brings out his guitar and plays a merry tune for us, as Ms. Sarah claps her hand in rhythm with the music, and pulls out students randomly to dance around the fire with her and Ms. Bella.

Soon almost everyone is dancing around the fire in a crowd, and though I don't dance, the atmosphere is so gay that even I can't stop myself from joining Jade, Raquelle, and the boys and shaking a leg. Ned follows me, and we go on dancing for some more time before we all are tired and lie down on the ground, stargazing.

§

Season's greetings to all!

It's got really chilly here in India, especially in my city—Lucknow. I'm so excited about Christmas, too! Winter isn't a bad season, as long as you get to curl up inside a blanket the whole day and drink hot coffee, or my personal favorite, makkhan-malai. Ate one plate in the morning, and the melt-in-the-mouth dessert felt like heaven!☺☺☺

So, what about your thoughts on this chapter? I like it the best! Do let me know by commenting and voting. Please inform me about any typos/errors, if you find them. Again, please don't hesitate to approach me in any way, through the inbox or my feed. :)

Also, thank you for helping to keep this book still in the top 15s in Adventure, even after about three months of its publishing on Wattpad. 1.4K reads, and about 85 votes! Love each and every one of my readers from the bottom of my heart!

Make the most of this winter, by being happy and spreading happiness all around you. If you see anyone in need in this cold and harsh weather, please help them—it's a kind request from my side. By just donating a blanket or an old sweater you can prevent the death of a poor person from cold. Remember we're very lucky that we have heaters in our homes, and so much else to keep us warm and contented.

Happy Reading!!

◘