DO OVER 100

CHAPTER 7: PART2

MACKENZIE'S POV

As the van pulled over into the campsite , I took in the surroundings: towering trees , a serene lake in the distance, and the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze. It was beautiful, but I barely had time to appreciate it before Daniel started barking orders. "No time to waste, Mackenzie, Crystal-go find firewood while we set up the tents," Daniel said , his voice commanding as if he were running some corporate retreat and not a student camping trip. 

I bristled instantly, He hadn't shown an ounce of interest in this trip from the start, and now here he was, acting like he was in charge. I crossed my arms , glaring at him. "Excuse me? who made you leader? You barely cared about this trip, clearly don't want my help as you've greatly shown how you are better off alone , and now you're ordering everyone around. Why should I listen to you ? 

Daniel glanced up from the pile of tent materials, his expression indifferent."Oh? So you can build a tent then, can you? he asked coolly, "Be my guest, princess. We'll go gather the firewood before it gets dark." I opened my mouth , ready to snap back, but quickly closed it. I couldn't build a tent , heck I didn't even know where to start, and the thought of fumbling around with ropes and stakes while Daniel smugly watched was enough to make me grit my teeth. I stayed silent, and Daniel smirked , clearly pleased with my luck of response."Good.Now, don't make me repeat myself princess, off you go."

Fuming I stormed off towards the woods, Crystal hurrying to catch up with me."Unbelievable!" I muttered under my breath as we wandered deeper into the trees, picking up stray branches for firewood."Who does he think he is? Just because he's rich and arrogant doesn't mean he can boss us around. He acts like he's better than everyone, I really hate cocky rich people especially guys like him ." Crystal chuckled, though her tone was sympathetic. "Yeah, he's an ass. But don't let him get to you. It's just five days, and then we can go back to ignoring him kay."

I sighed, trying to calm myself,"I just don't understand why he's so.....ugh. It's like he enjoys being difficult." 

When we finally returned to the campsite, our arms full of fire wood, I was still fuming.  But my annoyance only grew when I saw the tents-perfectly set up, as if he had been doing this his whole life. I dropped the wood in front of the fire pit and glared at him. "What now your highness?" I asked sarcastically, unable to hold back. Daniel didn't even look up, calmly inspecting the firewood."Now we make dinner, and plan things out tomorrow."

"Oh, I see," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm."So we're only good for kitchen duties, is that it?"  Daniel finally raised an eyebrow, looking at me like I was the one being unreasonable."I meant the boys can cook today, we can make other plans tomorrow." The realization that I had completely misread the situation hit me like a slap in the face. I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment, but I quickly covered it up with a hasty,"Fine".

Dinner turned out to be a surprising twist. I had expected something barely edible, given that we were in the middle of nowhere with limited resources but  when Daniel handed me a bowl of stew I was taken aback by how flavourful it was, the rich smell of spices mixed in with meat and other ingredients were wonder a behold. I didn't want to admit it but it was....impressive, it could even be compared to something served only in five star restaurants. 

"Where'd you learn to cook?" I muttered, more to myself than to him. Daniel shrugged as he served the others."You pick things up when you have to." I wondered what he meant by that , but decided to pry. Meanwhile William was using the opportunity to flirt-unsuccessfully-with Crystal, as usual. "How do you like my cooking, Crystal? Think you can handle more of my talents?" He gave her a playful grin. Crystal didn't even look up from her bowl,"Not in a million years, Bright." William's grin faltered, but he laughed it off, clearly not discouraged by Crystal's continued rejections.