Episode 25
The Exchange Student
EPISODE TWENTY-FIVE
Bright and earlyâ¦.and I was still in my bed
âNicky!!!â Kelsey yelled slamming on my bedroom window âwake up!!!â
I sat up and groggily looked at my window, what is Kelsey doing here this early? It took just seconds for me to remember, oh shit!! The camping trip!!
I quickly stood and opened the door, only to find Jamie and Kevin outside my door, Kelsey emerging from the corner
âDude, did you stay up watching Greyâs Anatomy on your DVR again?â Kevin teased
And Jamie just laughed
âUhâ¦â I answered still rubbing my left eye and then I let them in
âSeriously, you are so hard to wake up!â Kelsey said as she entered âweâve been trying to wake you for, like, 30 minutesâ
â30 minutes? What time is it anyway?â
â6:15â Jamie said âwe know youâll still be asleep, so we decided to come here 15 minutes earlier but as you can see, you still woke up lateâ and she smirked âArden, Ryan and Cindy are on their way by the wayâ
Yikes!, I have to get my things ready, and I quickly ran to my room while the three of them just giggled
Unfortunately last night, I felt lazy so the only things I packed were toiletries. I quickly took my bag and stuffed things in it, clothes, towel, underwear, flashlights, and sleeping bag, basically everything I needed for the trip including a tent for three. We talked over the phone and we all agreed that everyone should just bring every camping gear we think weâll need and just sort it out at the camping ground.
After packing, I ran to the bathroom, toothbrush at hand and took a quick shower.
I was getting dressed when I heard voices from outside, they must be here
My hair was still dripping so I just put a towel on my head, Iâll just dry my hair on the way to the camping ground, I then took my bag pack and shoes and started putting them on as I walk outside
âWhereâs Nicky?â I heard Arden asked
âStill getting readyâ Kevin answered
âMiss her already huh?â Jamie teased and smirked
And I heard them giggle
âIâm almost doneâ I said as I hopped towards them, trying to put on my right shoe, as Iâve already put on my left shoe
âHey! Be careful, you might trip and fall on the floorâ Kelsey reminded me
âDonât worry I wonâtâ
And as I was hopping around with my left foot, the lace on my shoe decided to be an asshole by untying itself and since the towel is slightly covering my face, i couldn't see so I tripped.
I was falling face first, but I quickly turned so that my back will hit the floor instead and at least lessen the pain Iâm about to experience, so as I was falling, my reaction was to close my eyes and wait for the pain, but then I felt someoneâs arms catch me, I opened my eyes and saw Arden face upside down, she was staring at me
I quickly sat up; Arden then took the towel and placed it on my shoulders so that the water on my hair would not wet my shirt
âAre you okay?â Arden worriedly asked
I stared at her and nodded, damn it! Her eyes are entrancing; itâs hard to look away
âShit! Sheâs been hit by cupidâs arrow again! Quick! Call 911!â Ryan teased with exaggerated actions and they laughed
I looked at him, faking an angry expression
âUh-ohâ he said
âUh-ohâs right!â I quickly stood and jumped on his back before he could run away âpiggy back ride to the van!!â I yelled putting my arm out and kicked his butt âcharge!!â and Ryan started running while the others just continued laughing their heads off
----------------------------------------------------------
Ryan borrowed his uncleâs van so we can still continue being crazy while traveling. After loading our bags, we rode in, Ryan and Cindy at the front, since Ryan is driving, Arden, me and Jamie at the back seat, and Kelsey and Kevin, at the seat behind us
âAll set? Everyone went to the bathroom?â
âYeah!â we all yelled
âOh by the way you guys, my best friend is coming with us, since itâs better if we have an even number of peopleâ Kelsey said âand her uncleâs the caretaker of the camping ground so sheâs quite familiar with the placeâ
Kelsey asked me yesterday if Haley could come, I thought that that was a great idea, since Kelsey became close with my best friend, I became close with her best friend as well, and Jamie and Haley became good friends through Kelsey and I
âOk cool, where is she?â Kevin asked
âI told her weâll pick her up right nowâ
âIf thatâs the case, we should get going thenâ Ryan said and off we went
Kelsey told Ryan the way to Haleyâs house, Jamie and I already know Haley but the others still doesnât so theyâre quite excited to meet her, and Kevin is like joking around, saying that the Haleyâs name sounds like a 6th grader name, heâs in for a surprise
âI bet 10 dollars Kevinâs gonna have a crush on Haleyâ Jamie said
âI bet 20 dollars Heâs gonna have a crush on her from the first moment he sees herâ I said while drying my hair with a towel
âYouâre onâ and we laughed sneakily, unfortunately our little bet didnât escape Ardenâs ears
âSheâs that pretty huh?â she said
âWell, yeahâ I answered and Arden looked at me with a slightly raised brow âbut she definitely not my type, sheâs Kevinâs type thoughâ I added
âNice saveâ Arden smirked
I removed the towel from my head and sheepishly smiled at her.
Arden giggled âthat short messy hair of your makes you look like a Korean pop starâ she smirked âkinda hotâ then she reached over and gently fixed my hair with her hand until it looked like my normal hairstyle âbut I like this look betterâ she smiled âcute and prettyâ
I blushed and smiled at her
âOkay you twoâ Kevin said, popping his head from the back âstop the sweetness before we get ants crawling over us!â he teased
âI think itâs cuteâ Kelsey interjected âplus youâre jelly Kev because Nicky has someone special with her and you donâtâ
âMe? jealous? Ha! The Kevmeister doesnât get jealous!â he said âand you donât have a special someone with you either, so that makes two of usâ
âI have a special someone here, Jamieâ Kelsey jokingly said while reaching over to touch Jamie shoulder âisnât that right Jamiekins?â
âYeah Kelseykinsâ Jamie answered while I hold back my laughter
âLooks like thereâs a new couple in townâ Cindy commented and Ryan just smiled
Arden then whispered to me âtheyâre really dating?â
âNo theyâre not, itâs just an inside joke that the others donât knowâ I answered âKelsey made Jamie play as her girlfriend so whenever someone she doesnât like hits on her, she pulls Jamie and tell them that theyâre a couple, Jamieâs used to it so she doesnât mind being Kelseyâs pretend GFâ
Arden giggled âyou guys are so crazy sometimesâ
âI know right!â I said âand we love it!â
And the teasing between Kelsey and Kevin continued with Jamie assisting Kelsey once in a while
A few minutes later, we arrived at Haleyâs house, she was already outside waiting for us.
Kelsey opened the door and hugged her, while Jamie went out and helped put her bag at the back, after thatâs done, we went back in, Kelsey rode in first then Haley and âlo and behold, I was right. The moment Kevin saw Haley, he was like in zombie mode, just staring at her, heâs completely mesmerized
â20 bucks Jamieâ I smirked and Jamie pulled out 20 dollars and gave them to me, this trip is getting better and better! And our road trip continuesâ¦
âOkay, everybody say hi to Haley!â Kelsey playfully shouted
âHi Haallleeeyyy!!â We all scream in our kid voices
âHello children!â Haley joked as she laughed
Kelsey then introduced the guys to Haley excluding me and Jamie of course. Ryan smiled at Haley throught the rear view mirror and Arden turned at the back and personally introduced herself to her, while Cindy waved and smiled and told her that theyâll definitely going to have bonding moments once we reach the campsite
Haley then turned and saw Kevin staring at her
âAre you okay?â she asked Kevin while waving her hand in front of his face
ââ¦.Wow, youâre gorgeousâ¦.â Kevin blurted out
âThanksâ Haley smiled âwho are you by the way?â
âThatâs the Kevmeisterâ Jamie jokingly interjected âhe owns Optimus prime and is also a part time maintenance crew at Hogwartsâ
I burst out laughing while in turn made the others laugh out loud as well
Kevin playfully scoffed âYeah, laugh all you want at least I went to Hogwarts!â he joked and Haley laughed which came unnoticed to Kevin, He looked at her and gave her an adoring smile, a smile I havenât seen in a while, heâs genuinely into her!
âI seriously feel like Iâm being a cock block hereâ Kelsey commented âhey Jamiekins, sit next to meâ she then slightly pulled Jamieâs shirt
âDonât want, perfectly comfortable hereâ Jamie said, loosely holding her cell phone and with a pillow on her right side
Kelsey swooped in and quickly took Jamieâs phone, which of course, made Jamie jump seat. And that ended well actually, Jamieâs now sitting at the back next to Kelsey, while Haleyâs next to Kevin.
Ardenâs watching all the craziness and laughing, all the while I took glimpses of her and now, only the two of us are sharing seats
Kelsey totally did this on purpose! And Iâm happy she did that
After a while, the goofing around went down and we all found ourselves sleepy, so we decided to take a nap, well, at least they did, Jamie and the otherâs are sleeping at the back while Iâm getting drowsy myself, meanwhile Arden wide awake just enjoying every scenery we passed by
I then felt my eyes slowly closing. With my half closed eyes, I saw Arden reach out and slowly guided my head to her shoulders, letting me fall towards her.
With my head laying on her shoulder, I looked at her and smiled, Arden smiled back then I closed my eyes and drifted off.