Four fucking weeks. Ashley could NOT believe her mother was making her do this. When the hell did her mother find out about this anyway? As far as Ashley knew, she destroyed all school correspondence long before it found its way to her mother, who’s parenting was errant at the best of times. So how in the hell had she found out about ‘school camp’? Ugh. It was beneath her really. Ashley Davies, queen of cool, stuck for four weeks with the rest of the schlebs from her year. And that included Madison, queen bitch, and her little posse of underclowns. Could this get any more humiliating? Four weeks away from civilization, decent food, decent coffee (oh god), decent clothes and theoretically, from any alcohol. At least Ashley trusted that school camp would uphold its reputation of indecency and supply some of the latter. At least Aiden was coming. And she was not, under any circumstances, with no amount of persuading, going to venture in a canoe. Anyone who thought that would happen had some very hard, sharp lessons coming to them at near light speed.

Ashley growled, folding her arms and leaning back against a tree, watching the rest of the world assemble at the buses that would take them away. She scuffed the dirt with her trainers and watched her bag, lest some magical sprite come and spirit it away. She was just building up to the level of grumpiness that demanded a tantrum when she felt a bump on her arm and looked up to find Aiden, grinning down on her, backpack attached to his rear.

“Ha, I knew they’d crack you eventually. Becoming a joiner?” he teased, knowing full well what the truth of the matter is.

Ashley thwacked him in the stomach hard enough to hear an ‘ugh’, and smirked.

“I consider it an opportunity to practice all my great escape routines, and find newts to put in Madison’s drinking water” she retorted.

Aiden grinned. Since his girlfriend had been so easily stolen by the farmer hick from Ohio, he and Ashley had been hanging nearly 24/7. He still had to admit some feelings for Madison, but he was still pissed off enough that if a newt were to be found, well, he’d look the other way.

“Newt? Ashley, I don’t think you know what a newt looks like, let alone where to find one, and like you’d touch one anyway.”

“Shut it Dennison, I’m not in a good mood”, Ashley pushed off from the tree and sighed dramatically. Aiden just grinned.

Man this was going to suck.

In the end, she clambered on the bus, a late escape plot foiled by an overweight math teacher and Aiden, who was enjoying this way to much to let it go. She dumped herself in a seat about halfway up the bus, and immediately brought her legs up, blocking the other half of the seat. Damned if she was going to sit next to anyone. Still spitting mad, she concentrated on her nails, as the bus slowly filled. Madison and her hangers-on ended up towards the back

‘Uh, so cool’ thought Ashley, sarcasm dripping in her mind.

To her disgust, Aiden found himself a seat with one of his basketball buddies a few rows over.

‘Oh well. More seat for me’ she mused.

The bus was near bursting point when the last passenger arrived. It was only when the stranger stopped by her seat that Ashley looked up. Serious blue eyes, in an angel’s face, framed by beautiful tresses of long honey blonde hair stared back at her. For a moment, Ashley was speechless. Her epithet she had prepared died on her tongue. The girl smiled shyly.

“Uh hi. Can I sit here?” She gestured around the bus with a tilt of her head. “Everywhere else is taken”.

Ashley looked around. Indeed, all the other seats were full, and hers was the only one with a single occupant. She hesitated for a split second, then moved her legs aside.

The blonde slid into the seat next to her, smile widening on her face.

“I’m Spencer”, she said, extending her hand.

“Ashley”, replied Ash, shaking the hand, a little uncertainly. As she did so, she felt a frisson of electricity run up her arm.

‘Aw hell’ she thought, ‘this could be fun.’