Setting up the tent took longer than Pelham had expected. But they managed to get it all done during the final twenty minutes. Apparently - and fortunately - his group was consisted with most of the top-smart students from the school. Not that the rest were dense; they either hadn't had enough experience - perhaps none at all - or they simply didn't know which one to begin with. The latter seemed likely enough. There was a group where they wasted thirty minutes arguing until they had no choice but to ask for help, which was highly discouraged. In Pelham's group, they pretty much shouted the instructions towards one another while the rest followed. Pelham wasn't one to be considered thickheaded as well. He caught on fast. The built involved a lot of mental calculation - in the case for Juliet. For Roshon, it was all physics. For Pelham, he used common sense.

Like hell I want to put my mind on calculations during a good trip like this, he'd thought. For all he knew, he really didn't want to think about school - let alone the subjects.

Roshon commented that it was really simple. And it was mainly because he had wanted to grow up to be an architect in the future as his career, apart from his passion for gaming. Very far different from Pelham, who was considering to study about law. And that was only because his father had once adviced him to. In truth, he really wanted to be a chef.

"Perks of having big dreams," Roshon commented once they were done, admiring their finished tent. "Seriously, though, what's so hard about this?"

"When it comes to theory paper, that is," Pelham pointed out.

"Why do you have to remind me that our AS is coming soon?"

"Soon?" Pelham snorted. "We have six months."

"Five."

Little did Roshon know that Pelham was internally panicking.

Pelham knew Roshon hated exam talks, and he would usually use them against him whenever he felt like it - like Roshon talking about Pelham's invisible purity ring (a speculation that Roshon had come up with) that still remained pure, seeing as Pelham hated it whenever the topic about his 'maintained virginity' was brought up. So when Roshon glared at Pelham under his lashes, Pelham simply shrugged and pretended to busy himself by tying some knots - which were already taut anyway.

"Focus, you know," Pelham told Roshon, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

"I'm not a theory-paper kind of student," Roshon noted. "I do coursework."

"You'll have to be good at both to survive your academic years,"

"Since when do you talk like a potential 'A' student?"

"Since I found out that they're smarter than both of us,"

"Clearly they are."

Pelham gave Roshon a look, earning a small chuckle from the latter.

Since their tent site was just at the bank of a lake, most of the boys and girls in Pelham's group ended up playing in the water. It was a chilly weather for January, but it didn't seem that any of them minded the cold even for the slightest. It had all begun when two boys - twins - shoved a Year Ten girl into the water, claiming it to be an accident. At first, nearly everyone was stunned, panicked even. "She's gonna get hypothermia!" a girl from another group had cried. But the girl in the water turned out to be the boys' little sister, and in turn, she pulled her brothers by the hem of their trousers into the water with her. That was when everyone started pushing each other into the shallow water.

It only stopped when the forest ranger came to check on them, seeing that the teachers who were supposed to be in charge had left them. He told them that they were going to catch cold, and that they should proceed to their cabins before dinner, because if they did fall ill, they wouldn't be able to join the rest of the activities. Despite him being having his point, a handful of them groaned like minors being told to go to bed before curfew.

The fun had just begun. Who wouldn't have thought?

"Maybe we should pull him in and prove just how grey his life is," Roshon, being only immersed up until his knees, murmured.

Pelham and Roshon considered whether they should make a turn to go back to the river to have a little swim by the time they reached their cabin. At the same time, though, they longed to feel the warmth of fire radiating from the fireplace, thawing at their skin. That being so, the boys lighted the fireplace and proceeded to their rooms to retrieve dry, warm clothes.

"Let's skip dinner," Roshon called out from his room.

"We'll seriously gonna catch cold, then,"

"Then we can stay here for the rest of the week and do whatever we want without referring to that dammed schedule or anyone, and we won't catch cold because homeostatis handles that. Plus, we have fire," Roshon explained, appearing in the doorway. Pelham merely stared at his friend, not getting a word of what he was saying. "I mean, I'm still looking forwards to sky-diving."

"Well, that can - we're gonna have what?"

"Is that excitement or fear?"

"I've always wanted to sky-dive!" Pelham stood up, suddenly energetic as he threw a towel over his shoulder. "Are you serious on this one? We're going for-"

"Refer to the damned schedule, Pelham," Roshon chucked a notebook in Pelham's direction, who, by reflex, grabbed it. "I don't know why I'm friends with someone who doesn't like to read."

"Hark who's talking," Pelham muttered. "I'm sure you remember the number of times you've flipped through the pages of a book."

A pillow thrown into his face told him that Roshon knew every little sarky remark he'd made.

Pelham smirked. "Besides, I need someone to give me information since I have trouble trying to understand words."

"You always have trouble trying to understand everything,"

At that precise moment, the doorbell rang, drawing both of their attentions towards the door of the bedroom and into the main room.

"You get the door," Roshon said, hurrying himself into the bathroom.

"Arse," Pelham muttered as he made his way towards the front door.

The school's drama teacher, Miss Liuthen, who had come along for the trip, was standing on the front porch as soon as Pelham opened it. He was slightly stunned to see Lucio Alves standing behind her, looking rather out of place - not to mention a little bit reluctant as he darted his eyes at anywhere but at Pelham.

"This is Number Thirty-four, I take it?" She asked him, giving a smile.

"Uh ... Doesn't it say so on the door?" Pelham grinned sheepishly, imagining what Roshon would say to him if he heard him say that - no doubt that his best friend would start rambling on about how reading is important.

"Ah, well ... No," she said. "Franco said this is the only cabin without the little sign with its number stuck on the front door like everywhere else."

"Cool, unique, awesome,"

Pelham pulled the door wider to inspect it. Sure enough, there was a small, rectangular patch at the center of it, darker than the colour of the door itself, where he was sure the plate once must have been.

"Anyway, do you need help with something, Miss Liuthen?" He asked.

"You see, Mr Alves here had to move with you and your roommate," she explained, stepping aside and putting one hand on Lucio's shoulder as though she were his mother trying to send him to daycare. "Surely you heard about the incident earlier this morning?"

"The kid bitten by the snake?"

"Not exactly bitten, but you see my point. Anyway, he was rushed to the hospital immediately and the authorities had to move Lucio," she said.

"Scared to live alone?" Pelham smirked at Lucio, who frowned and shook his head, a tinge of redness appearing on his cheeks.

"So," Miss Liuthen continued, "since you have the biggest cabin, we thought we'd move him with you and your partner. The second reason is we have two more staff arriving for the trip today."

"Fortunate for them, and unfortunate for this boy," Pelham nodded absentmindedly. He felt Lucio furrow his eyebrows at him, and said, "I mean, not really unfortunate - I was referring to your cabin partner, I swear."

"I hope you're okay that Lucio is going to be your roommate for the rest of the week," said Miss Liuthen, watching his expression. Really, now? he thought.

"Oh, no, it's fine! It's completely fine," Pelham said, stepping side to allow Lucio in. Honestly, why should he not be all right? It wasn't as though they were enemies of some sort. "The more, the merrier, am I right?"

"All right, good," she smiled, looking at Lucio, then at Pelham. "I will leave him with you. Be present at dinner."

"Will do."

And he closed the door behind him as soon as Lucio stepped inside. As expected, the boy had halted in his tracks, and was now staring at the interior of the main room as though he had entered a mansion, before finally dropping his bags on the floor. Either that, or realisation had dawned on him that he was going to spend the rest of the week with two strangers from school under the same roof. Pelham made a mental note to tell Roshon to behave, because they didn't want to scare Lucio and ruin his trip. It was until then that Pelham came to see that they only had two bedrooms.

Two bedrooms, he thought, sighing slowly. This will ruin the mood.

"Um, Lucio," he said, startling the younger boy a little.

"Yes?" Lucio's eyes flickered briefly towards Pelham before moving to rest on a point above his shoulder.

"I'm sorry to tell you this," he started, "but we only have two bedrooms."

"Two?"

"You know ... one-two-three. One-plus-one. Er - dos?"

"I know what 'two' is, Pelham,"

"Oh, you know my name!"

"Yeah, well, you're the school's mathematician,"

Pelham pinked.

"Anyway, lucky you," said Lucio, a small, excited smile tugging on the edges of his lips, though he tried to remain neutral. "Chase and I were assigned to a one-bedroomed cabin."

"With one bed?"

"Two single beds, fortunately,"

Pelham nodded in comprehension.

"And anyway," Lucio said slowly. "Don't worry about the sleeping arrangement. I can sleep on there." He nodded towards the couch.

"No, no, not gonna happen. That's not comfortable," Pelham quickly pushed Lucio towards his bedroom. "Take the bed. I take the armchair. Go."

By now, Lucio was completely red in the face. "But-"

"So what happened to your partner?" Pelham asked before Lucio could say anything.

"He's a bit ... thick,"

"Just say he's stupid. He's not gonna hear you,"

Lucio laughed.

"Who's laughing - oh, hello there!"

Their attention was on Roshon now, who had just entered the room. Pelham knew very well what that excited oh-hello-there meant, and it was sort of too late to tell him to behave now.

"Why the move-in?" Roshon asked, looking straight at Lucio.

Pelham told the whole story to Roshon, seeing as Lucio didn't look like in the mood to keep narrating stories to people, much less to those he hardly even knew. Roshon tried to keep a neutral face during the whole time. Of course, Pelham would've had laughed too; Lucio's partner, Chase, playing with snakes made it seem like he was a kid in need of attention. When Roshon asked where Lucio was sleeping and Lucio turned red - again - in the face, Roshon quickly turned his attention to Pelham.

"I think we're gonna have bed buddies in the house."

To receive a full blow in the head by a bag full of shower equipment by Pelham.