I wanted to something will the characters so here it is.
I've taken some liberties with facts etc, but it is my imagination.
Camping
Dear Student,
You are invited to join the school for a camping trip. Attendance will be mandatory and will take the place of a normal school week; there will be no need to make up these classes if you do join us on the trip. The purpose of this trip is to learn important survival skills, and also to get to know our sister/brother school's students better. This means that all tents will be unisex and you will be paired with someone for the entirety of the trip as to make relations between the schools better. We look forward to seeing you bright and early on Saturday morning outside of St Jude's.
Principal Smith.
(Itinerary and list of required items are enclosed)
Blair opened her mouth in horror as she read the letter the words camping, mandatory and unisex flashed through her head. Oh dear Lord this trip was actually Blair's personal brand of hell.
"Serena can you believe this?" Blair said waving the letter in her face.
Serena shook her head "I know camping, it's so not us" Serena replied stating the obvious.
"Why would they do this to students like me, I get straight A's, I do charity work I mean I don't deserve a trip to learn survival skills" Blair moaned.
Serena looked at her closely "I don't think it's supposed to be punishment Blair" Serena pointed out to her.
"Well the new principal obviously has a very cruel idea of fun then" Blair said getting out the list of required items.
"Oh my God we have to take cagoules" Blair said clutching Serena's arm, "I feel faint" she said just thinking about the hideous plastic touching her skin.
Dan approached the pair warily he could already see that Blair wasn't happy. "You got the letters too huh?" he asked them, kissing Serena's cheek gently making her smile.
"Yeh, Blair's concerned about cagoules" Serena explained.
He nodded "Who isn't?" he replied sarcastically.
"Shut up Humphrey just because a night under canvas is your idea of a luxury doesn't mean the rest of us are looking forward to it" Blair shouted at him.
"I don't even like camping Blair" Dan told her.
"But you have been camping which says plenty Daniel" Blair replied cattily.
Serena looked at Dan apologetically for Blair's behaviour towards him, not that it was out of the ordinary.
"Well Blair, you are going to have to like it or lump it because it's mandatory I don't think daddy is going to be able to buy your way out of this one" Dan retorted leaving Blair slightly shell shocked.
"Guys calm it down" Serena said standing between the pair holding her hands up.
"I better go class is calling my name" Dan said kissing Serena hard on the lips before walking over with a sideways glance to Blair.
"Yes ta ta Cabbage Patch" Blair said waving him off.
"Could you not be nicer to him B?" Serena asked her friend.
"I could… but I won't be" Blair replied smiling unrepentantly.
***
Chuck and Nate were sat outside school looking at the letters they had all been given earlier that day.
"This trip is certainly going to be interesting" Chuck mused.
Nate looked at him confused "How do you figure?" he asked.
"We have to share with girls Nathaniel; we are trying to make relations better" Chuck replied suggestively.
"I don't think that's code for sex Chuck" Nate pointed out.
"In my world everything is" Chuck told him causing his friend to laugh.
"Well as long as I don't have to share with Serena or Blair, it'll be fine" Nate said.
"Yes I imagine the atmosphere their might be a little tense, what with your pasts" Chuck replied.
"Precisely" Nate said, remembering the last time he had spoken to them both.
Chuck grinned "Well personally I don't care who I'm with as long as she's hot" secretly he was hoping that he might share with Blair.
"You really do have only one thing on your mind don't you?" Nate asked.
Chuck nodded "Well that and money" Chuck replied laughing and Nate laughed too.
***
Jenny read the letter camping with half of the girls from school it sounded like hell to her. They weren't exactly her favourite people right now.
She sat on her couch reading the list of things she needed to take with her she had most of it already from their many family holidays. She heard Dan come into the loft.
"Hey did you get the letter too?" she asked him.
He nodded "This trip is going to completely suck" she moaned.
"Hey Jen it won't be that bad, you don't have to share with Blair or her friends so don't worry about that" He reminded her.
"I guess but its still going to suck" she said.
"Hey we have the upper hand we've actually camped before" he said.
Jenny thought about it "I guess it could fun to see all of them trying out the great outdoors" she replied smiling.
"Well we better start getting out the old Humphrey camping stuff out, I can't believe the trips in two days" he said.
Jenny looked at him "Two days? That soon, I'm going to have to start packing right now" she squealed jumping up from her seat.
Dan rolled his eyes his sister obviously wasn't that different to the other girls she went to school with.
***
Friday had been made a day off because the schools wanted all those invited on the trip to be able to prepare for it. In Blair's head this meant to shop and she had dragged Serena with her.
They were currently in Bendels "Blair I don't think that we are going to find anything for camping in here" Serena pointed out to her best friend.
"I know that, I'm trying to cheer myself up" Blair said looking at their selection of headbands.
Serena looked at her friend "It won't be that bad B, I mean the schools providing the tents, they will probably be like little canvas palaces" Serena grinned at her.
"Even the word canvas makes me come out in hives" Blair replied grimacing.
Serena laughed "Come on B, let's go and get the camping stuff" she said pulling her friend towards the exit.
Blair grumbled "Oh Serena no" Blair said trying to grab onto a clothes rail, anything not to get the camping crap.
"The sooner we get it, the sooner we can go home and watch Tiffany's" Serena coaxed.
Blair relented at the mention of Tiffany's "Okay" she said grumpily letting Serena drag her out of the shop.
As they entered an upmarket camping shop Blair spotted the person she least wanted to see.
"Oh God, Serena Nate is in here" Blair said pulling her friend behind a rack of hideous coats.
Serena looked over the clothes and saw Nate looking at camping… stuff, Serena wasn't sure what exactly.
"What are you ladies up to?"
They spun around to be greeted by Chuck Bass; Blair didn't particularly want to see him either, especially after the limo incident.
"We are looking at these coats obviously" Blair said fingering the collar of a particularly fetching green one.
Chuck smirked at her and leaned towards and whispered "I think the red would look better" Blair felt slightly hot under her metaphorical collar, how did that happen? They were talking about waterproof coats for Christ sake!
Serena looked at the exchange between the pair but chose to ignore it as she saw Nate approaching them.
"Chuck what are you do…" he stopped mid sentence as he saw Serena and Blair standing there.
"Um hi" he said quietly wishing the ground would swallow him.
"Look who's getting their camping gear Nate" Chuck said pointing at them.
"So you'll be going on the trip then?" he asked them dreading the answer.
"Looks that way" Blair mumbled angrily. Could this shopping trip get any worse?
"Great" Nate replied unhappily, looking at Chuck who actually seemed to be enjoying this whole conversation.
Chuck placed his arms around Blair and Serena "Great, indeed" he said smirking at his friend while the two girls glared at him.
Looks like N, B, S and C are going to need all the survival skills they can muster what with the four of them being in such close quarters. What with Little J and Lonely Boy joining them can anything go right on this misguided bonding trip?
TBC
Please enjoy, and review.