The Summer We Changed

Chapter-10

"Are you sure you guys followed the list, I gave you?" Adrian shrieked as he stared at our things. 

"To the T," Both Alyssa and I said in unison.  Adrian rolled his eyes as he piled everything in the boot.  

"You kids took everything, right?" Mom demanded, coming over to watch us as we piled out stuff into uncle Ju's spare car. 

"Yeah, I am sure they did," Adrian grimaced and Mom laughed in response. 

"Stop grumbling," I admonished. "Get in now. We are already late. Ava, Henry and others have already left," 

"Don't have too much fun!" Mom warned as she kissed all three of us. "You know what I mean. Adrian, you are in-charge," 

"Yeah, right," I scoffed and quickly pursed my lips as he glared back at me. Oops. 

"I'll keep her in check," He promised my mother and she smiled warmly at him. 

Her? What about Alyssa?

We waved and shouted as Adrian pulled out of the driveway. We were high on excitement as the two days spanned in front of us. Living in old-style wooden caravans, bonfires at night, going on bike rides through the woody terrains with beautiful forest and lake stretching out in front of us...I can't imagine anything better.

Campers Fowl was almost two and a half hour away, so I decided to spend that time sleeping. Of course because I needed energy later to party my ass off. No offence. I wasn't a spoiled kid but who wouldn't go a little rowdy with friends, isn't it? 

I woke up when we were just about to reach. I could already feel the fresh air urging me to wake up and who was I to not oblige plus I really needed to pee..two nature's call at one time was too much for a mere mortal like me to ignore.  I opened my eyes and stretched then turn back to see Alyssa fast asleep as well, a big fat paperback on her lap as always. 

"Done already?" Adrian snickered and I scowled at him, wiping the drool from my mouth. 

"How far?" I demanded, yawning widely. I could still sleep for a good five more hours. Now that was really a gift. 

"Ten minutes hardly," He answered, taking a sip of his favorite Cranberry drink. It tastes nasty. 

"Its so beautiful," I murmured, staring out of the window. We have left the city limits behind and now there were vast heather covered purple stretches of land looking like some beautiful masterpiece by Picasso or someone, though I don't know if Picasso did landscape. 

We halted in front of a old-fashion ranch-style gate with Campers Fowl written in a playful script on a wooden board. The others were already waiting there and including the three of us there were four more people- Ava and Henry, Margaret and Jade...one couple and four singles. 

"What took you so long!" Ava demanded, giving me a hug. 

"You know how Adrian drives," I rolled my eyes only to receive a tight slap on my head from Adrian. f**k, someday my brain's gonna stop working because of him. 

Alyssa climbed out, wearing her perfect smile and Ava reciprocated and gave her a hug. Ava and Henry has been our friends for a long time so she already knew Alyssa very well. 

"Hey! Look at you!" Ava smiled brightly. "Sorry, I couldn't come sooner to meet you. Was at my Gran's but damn woman look at you!"

"You look great too," Alyssa smiled shyly, her cheeks red. 

"Alyssa, this is Henry, Ava's boyfriend," I introduced. "And this is Margaret and Jade. Guys this is our best friend Alyssa," 

"Hi, everyone," Alyssa waved and was greeted with warm smiles especially from Jade. Of course, who wouldn't like her!

"Come on, let's get going," Adrian said climbing back into the car. The wooden gates actually weren't wood but some strong metal and I marveled at how smart people have gotten these days. 

"May I know your name?" Someone said from the the security system. 

"Adrian Davis, we have bookings for four caravans under my name," Adrian said. 

"Booking confirmed. Please drive in and turn left towards the direction saying Gypsy Caravan. You'll find old Pierre there. He will give you the keys and the rule book. One of our guides will meet you there," 

"Thanks," Adrian nodded and grinned at us, his excitement mirroring ours. 

The gates opened and we kept driving straight before coming to a crossroad where three roads in three different directions stretched towards us. The one in the center said,Gypsy Caravan Site. To the right was the Campers Fowl: Camping Pitch and to the left was Johnny's Ale Club.  That I have to check. The property was huge and was not restricted to just these three things. A little far away I could see the stables and I wondered what more was there. 

Adrian drove ahead and five minutes later we came to a little real wood hut with old Pierre as the woman behind the security system said, smoking an old fashion tobacco pipe. He looked a little scary to be honest. 

"You must be old Pierre," Adrian said, craning his neck out of the window. "Do you hand out the rulebook?" 

"Bah! Humbug!" He muttered after scrutinising Adrian for a long time and then disappeared into his little hut. 

"What's with him? And what sort of language is bah! humbug!" I demanded,mimicking him.

"I see," Alyssa laughed. "He's just playing his role. I think he's supposed to be like Ebenezer Scrooge from the Christmas Carol. He looks like that, isn't it?" 

"Ebe what?" I frowned and cluelessly stared at Adrian who smiled and nodded in response. 

"You're right," He agreed with a laugh. "After all this place is designed to give us an old-world experience," 

"What?" I demanded feeling annoyed. "What are you two talking about?"

"The Christmas Carol?" Adrian said as if that was my last name and it was mandatory for me to remember that. "Don't say you haven't read that Ellie," 

"I haven't," I grumbled. Doesn't he already know my relationship with books? 

"Christmas Carol is a book by Charles Dickens," Alyssa clarified with a smile. "The main character is a mean, grumpy and selfish old man called Ebenezer Scrooge. He is a very wealthy man but never gives even a single penny to anyone in need. So on the Christmas night he according to the words of his dead friend Jacob Marley is visited by three ghosts who take him through his past, present and future,"

"And how he turns into a new leaf in the span of that one night," Adrian completed. "Its one of my favourite book," 

"Mine too," Alyssa agreed. "You should give it a try, Ellie. I have a copy of it with me in my bag. I'll give it to you,"

"Okay," I muttered, feeling irritated. We are on a holiday here. Why do they have to talk about books?

"Ellie doesn't read books," Adrian said as the 'humbug' man handed over the keys. "Not her thing," 

"I said I will read, didn't I?" I snapped and glared out of the window.  What was with him these days? 

"Okay, fine. Don't go into fumes," Adrian laughed, angering me further. Maybe he wants to die after all? 

He started to drive again and a little bit further it started to get really forest-y. After driving on for another ten minutes we came out into a gigantic clearing with five caravans lined neatly together and a woman wearing a smart suit standing in the center. Where did she come from?  

"Wow!" I cried, climbing out of the car and Ava joined me as their car came to a halt behind us. 

"Isn't this...cute?" She giggled and I rolled my eyes. Cute? Can you even describe a beautiful landscape as cute? 

"Hello, there," The woman in suit smiled at us as everyone climbed out. "I am Rosaline, your guide," 

"Hi, there," We all said and she nodded like a nursery school teacher pleased with the kids chanting Humpty Dumpty. 

"Welcome to Campers Fowl! This is the gypsy caravan site," She smiled. "This place is designed to give you a taste of real camping so you won't find anything of luxury or any high-tech stuff here. The Caravan sleeps two you will be privided with all the basic amenities. Bed and bedding, a little kitchen for your own use with all the necessity available. This is the fire pit," She pointed to the little clearing in the center. 

"You can use this for camp fire," She continued. "But you have to use real wood from wood shed a little far away over there. There are  activities like biking through the trails in the forest itself. There's a little pond a little far away and a jungle bath just near it. Over there is the utility room. You'll find mostly everything you need for camping there. And there are different washrooms just beside it. You can also go riding through the clear fields and enjoy a good night with delicious ale at Johnny's ale club. If you need any help...well you have to fend for yourself or ask old Pierre,"  She smiled at us with pleased expressions  after finishing her speech and we nodded. 

"I'll rather die than ask that old humbug for help," Jade muttered under his breath and I chuckled. 

Rosaline left after announcing some rules and stuff and we all got to work, getting our stuff and other necessary things out of the car. 

"Alright guys!" Henry said, clapping his hand. "Before we start and since its about to get dark, let's distribute our work," 

"Cool," We all agreed and Henry nodded, looking a bit high and mighty as if he was our coach or something. 

"So most important stuff...cooking!" He said and stared at all of us. "Who wants to take up cooking?" 

"I can't cook," Margaret muttered, making a horrified face. I turned to Alyssa and she slowly shook her head. Ha! Something she can't do. I was horrified at how pleased that made me. What was wrong with me? I was competing with my own best friend. For what? 

"I'll do it!" I agreed at last and raised my hand. 

"And I'll help her," Ava said and winked at me.  I smiled at her. This should be fun. 

"Okay, Ava and Elena is in-charge of cooking," Henry said, noting it down in a notepad. 

"Next is cleaning and getting stuff needed for cooking," Henry read out. "Margaret and Alyssa, you up for it?" 

"Sure," Both Margaret and Alyssa nodded and smiled at each other. 

"Great. Now wood collection and drinks," Henry said at last. "I think we boys can manage both, what say guys?" 

"Cool," Both Adrian and Jade agreed and punched each other. I don't really understand this form of affection.

"Great!" Henry smiled, obviously pleased with himself. "Now let's get to our work. And after dinner let's go to Johnny's Ale club, huh?" 

"Aye aye captain!" We all laughed and Henry dramatically bowed his head. 

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"Awww! Look at this place!" I cried as I clambered up the tiny wooden steps to our house-on-wheels for the week.  It was cutest and coziest abode that I have ever seen, big enough to fit the two of us and yet reminded me of Cinderella's pumpkin carriage. 

At the very back was a cozy double bed tucked away behind a red velvet curtain. It was dramatic but gave me the wrong feeling. You know what I mean...

There was no light but the entire thing was lit by pretty solar fairy lights and tea lanterns. It was very romantic to be honest and I felt bad for Ava, who has to share the caravan with Margaret instead of Henry. The only other thing inside the caravan was a dresser-kinda thing with an old fashioned but pretty mirror with wooden frame and beneath it a little space to keep our stuff. 

The main stuff like the wood burner, the washbasins, a separate barbecue place were set inside a converted and renovated donkey shed. Now serving as a cooking and cleaning space along with an extra sleeping space if required. 

"Charming," Alyssa smiled, throwing her arm across my shoulder and I smiled in agreement. 

"This is going to be an amazing weekend,isn't it?" I muttered as we sat down on the wooden stairs to relax a little before starting on our assigned chores. 

"The most memorable of our lives," She answered and gave me a friendly squeeze. 

"So what do we cook?" I demanded, eyeing all the supplies that we got. 

"How do I know? You are the cook...I am the helper," Ava answered. 

"Okay," I huffed and folded my arm across my chest. "We have got corn so we can roast them and serve with garlic infused butter?"

"Damn...I already love the idea!" Margaret licked her lips. 

"Okay, so first dish roasted corn with garlic butter," Ava noted it down. "What else?"

"How about bean and chicken soup with veggies?" I suggested. "Its healthy, easy and really tasty," 

"Sounds good," Alyssa, Margaret and Ava agreed whole-heartedly and I grinned.  

Once the menu was decided, Alyssa and Margaret got working on the pile of corns since the guys ate like horses while Ava and I started working on the soup. 

"So, Alyssa?" Ava muttered, eyeing her as she sat outside with Margaret, working on the corn and chatting. 

"Alyssa what?" I demanded, working on dicing the chicken in cubes. 

"Damn, what happened to her?" She demanded, admiration and jealousy palpable in her voice. 

"Puberty did her good, I guess," I muttered. "She has always been like this anyway," 

"Hmm but now its different," She pointed. "Didn't you see Jade drooling over her earlier?" 

"Jade drools over every girl," I laughed, remembering an incident when he almost got slapped by a senior. 

"You don't get me," Ava vexed. "You still didn't tell Adrian, isn't it?" 

"No...I just...can't seem to find the right time," I answered, looking up from my chopping. 

"How can you not find the right time, El?" Ava chastised, shaking her head with exasperation. "You guys practically live together!"

"I know," I sighed, getting back to my dicing. "Its just..I can't find the courage to say it out loud to him. What if he hates me or something?" 

"Hate you?" She rolled her eyes. "And what if it's too late," She pointed, her eyes settling on Alyssa. 

"What do you mean?" I demanded, following her gaze. 

"You know what I mean," She raised her brow at me.  I froze as I realized what she was implying. 

"No way! We are best friends!" I cried, trying to sound nonchalant. "Plus she likes someone else!"

"You are his best friend too. Did that stop you from falling for him?" She pointed. "All this best friend theory is plain bullshit," 

"No.." I shook my head. "That's...that's ridiculous," 

"Is it?" She asked and gave me a knowing look. "Look at her, Elena..."

I glanced at Alyssa and felt a heavy feeling of dread building in the pit of my stomach. She was wearing a white v-neck spegati strap dress and it showed a bit of her perfect cleavage. Her long hairs were tied in a high-pony tail and she looked like a goddess as she laughed about something Margaret said. As I kept staring at her, she turned her eyes to me as if knowing that I was stupidly staring at her and gave me a bright smile. 

I reciprocated with a watery one and realised that what Ava just said would be my worst nightmare coming true. But it also made sense. Alyssa was breath-taking. We were growing up. It was easy to get attracted to each other and I don't think there was any straight guy who would not like Alyssa. Then why not Adrian? What's stopping him? And together they would make one stunning couple. What if Alyssa get attracted to Adrian? After all that guy wasn't her boyfriend. She just liked him. You can like anyone, isn't it?They were even going to Cambridge together. The more the endless possibilities of Adrian choosing Alyssa spanned inside my head, the more sick I felt. 

"God! Elena!" Ava cried, dragging me to the present. I stared at her horrified face and looked down to see that I have made a huge gash on my finger with the knife, from which blood was horrifyingly pooling out. 

"f**k!" I cried, pulling my hand away. "Move the food away..."

"What happened!" Adrian demanded, rushing over to me after piling the fire wood on the floor. "s**t! Ellie! Where's your mind..God!" 

"Its..its okay," I lied. Shit...it hurts like crazy!

"Okay?" He glared at me. "Are you mad or what? Come with me," 

Carefully grabbing my hand, he dragged me to the wash basin and washed off the wound. Once, the blood stopped, he threw his clean handkerchief over my finger, pressing it tightly as he dragged me towards his caravan. 

"I have got first-aid there," He said, dragging me with him. I cast a glance at Alyssa and her face was impassive. Was she jealous?

 Stop it!

In his caravan, he sat me down on the bed and started rummaging through his stuff for first-aid. After searching for a while, he at last found the box and looked relieved as if it was some kind of elixir. 

"Look at this," He grimaced as he carefully dabbed some ointment on the wound. "What will you do with me gone? I won't have peace there, Ellie if you keep on doing things like this," 

He looked up at me, his dark eyes filled with concern and I stared back at him, my stomach in knots. 

You are his best friend too. Did that stop you from falling for him?

Look at her, Elena...

My eyes watered up as I kept staring at him. What will I do if Ava's words were true? Even if not Alyssa but someone else...will I be able to bear that? His eyes turned from concern to shock as the tears began to flow down my cheeks. 

"Ellie?" He said softly, wrapping his arms around me. "What is it? Is it hurting too much? What's the matter?" 

Listening to his soft, concerned filled voice fueled my fear even more and the tears turned to full blown sobs. 

"Don't go, Adrian," I sobbed, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Please.... What will I do without you?" He froze for a moment and then sighed. 

"Is that what you want?" He asked, silently. "If you want...I...I won't go," 

What? I pulled away and stared at him with surprise. What did he say?

"What?" I demanded again. 

"Yes," He said silently. "If that's what you want," He gave me a wry smile but his eyes were filled with anxiety. Cambridge was his passion. That's what he always wanted. I can't take that away from him even if it meant hurting myself. I'll do anything to make him smile. Just anything. 

"No!" I cried and wiped the tears away. "Of course not. What are you mad? I was... I just got a little dramatic. This is your dream, Adrian. Go...chase it!" 

He smiled brightly and relief was evident all over his face. The fact that he offered to stay and let go of his dream was enough for me. 

"I'll come home every weekend," He whispered, hugging me again. 

"Hmm," I nodded, inhaling his warm, earthy smell. Maybe my fears were irrational? 

"And you'll be right there with me just after a year," He said. 

"If..I manage to get in," I muttered, pulling away.

"You'll," He smiled at me. "I trust you. You can do anything once you put your mind to it," 

"Thanks, Adrian," I smiled, glad for his encouragement. 

"I am always here for you...you know that right?" He said, his eyes hooded. 

"Yes," I beamed at him and he leaned in to kiss my forehead. I closed my eyes, cherishing the feeling. 

"Elena?" Adrian pulled away and we both turned our head to see Alyssa, shuffling by the door, her face impassive. 

Oh no...

Did she get the wrong impression?

Why does it matter?

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A/N: Here's the next update guys! Hope you like it! Very interesting chapters coming up! Also a very happy diwali to all my Indian readers! Hope the festival of lights bring loads of happiness in your lives!