through thick and thin

Chapter 14

I seriously need your review on if you are liking the trip part or not so please comment <3
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Just when the family thought the night couldn't get any better, another announcement came from the camp organizer.

"Alright, campers! Hope you've still got some energy left because we're turning up the heat-literally. Cooking challenge coming up! Same teams as earlier, but this time, each team will prepare a different dish over the campfire."

A loud collective groan echoed from the crowd.

"You've got to be kidding me," Aarav mumbled.

"Yup, this camp's trying to turn us into MasterChef: Jungle Edition," Aaryan said, amused.

"This is so not what I signed up for," Aaira muttered, crossing her arms.

Rudra chuckled and reached over to ruffle her hair. "Come on, champ. Think of it as survival skills. Bet you'll thank me when you're stranded on a mountain someday."

Shrishti grinned, "Or maybe just when you're too lazy to make instant noodles in college."

Each team was handed a simple, doable dish-poha (which Aaira hated with passion), veg pulao, upma, grilled sandwiches, sweet corn chaat, cheesy Maggi, and fruit salad.

Aarav's team got grilled sandwiches.

"I can handle this," he said confidently. "Bread. Butter. Cheese. What could go wrong?"

One of his teammates raised an eyebrow. "You know how to grill?"

"We'll figure it out. Confidence is half the recipe," he said with a grin.

Aaira's group was handed cheesy Maggi-which sounded perfect until the chaos began.

"Who puts ketchup in Maggi? What kind of monster-no, no, step away!" she said dramatically, as one of her teammates held up a ketchup packet.

Rudra's team was working on sweet corn chaat, surrounded by enthusiastic college students.

"Alright, chop, mix, garnish-this, we can't mess up," he declared.

One guy asked, "Should we roast the corn first?"

Rudra raised an eyebrow. "Only if you're not planning to burn your eyebrows off. Let's keep it safe, chef-style."

Shrishti's team had fruit salad, and she was already slicing like a pro. "This is my kind of stress-free competition," she said, handing out cutting boards with a smile.

Aaryan's team had the most complicated dish-veg pulao. And, of course, a stubborn flame that just wouldn't cooperate.

"If the rice doesn't cook, we'll just call it warm salad," he shrugged, gently fanning the fire.

It took nearly an hour, but eventually the campsite filled with the smells of spices, smoke, and slightly questionable culinary skills.

"Guess who didn't burn the sandwiches?" Aarav said proudly, holding up a perfectly toasted one.

Aaira sighed. "We made... something. It had cheese. And ambition."

"Our pulao was definitely rice," Aaryan said, deadpan. "Not saying more."

"Fruit salad gang had a drama-free time," Shrishti declared, with a smirk. "Highly recommend."

"And we made a legendary chaat," Rudra added. "Not a drop of ketchup in sight."