Camp Maid pt 4.

Nia grabbed a flashlight from the table and shone it in the direction of the shed. She could make out a grim figure standing behind the window.

“H..hello? Who is t…there?”

Nia asked. She just stood there, frozen, too afraid to move closer to the shed but also not willing to run off into the dark forest.

After a brief silence, Nia saw the figure move away from the window, toward the shed's door.

“Kablam!”, the door swung open with a loud bang and the figure ran out in the direction of the girls. Nia could make up he was wearing a hockey mask and holding a baseball bat.

She screamed and started to run away, in the direction of the hunting cabin. Ti and Serena followed her, but Mona just kept standing there frozen. The figure came closer and closer.

“Mona, run, now!”

Nia screamed her longs out but to no avail. Her heart is pounding a thousand beats a minute. Is Mona really this stupid? Nia was almost too afraid to keep watching, but couldn’t take her eyes from her.

The figure stopped at about a meter distance from Mona, facing her right in the eyes. Mona lifted her arm and… waved to the shady figure? Did she see that correctly?

“I think that is enough”

Mona said calmly. The figure lifted his hands and took off the mask and revealed his face. It was the groundkeeper all this time! Mona turned around and laughed.

“I got you all, didn’t I?”

So they had been pranking us all this time…

“You looked like some prey that fell into the trap”

“This was not funny Mona! I am really mad at you!”

“Nothing a hug can’t cure”

Mona ran up to Nia to give her a big friendly hug. After that, she waved to Serena and Ti to signal them to join in. After the group hug, Mona called for the girl's attention.

“Let me show you a secret”

Mona put her hand in her pocket and took a little device. She pressed a button and the lamp in the cabin went off. She had been controlling the lamp in the shed with a little remote control. Apparently, these lamps were used while hunting. Mona told them they’d come up with the idea the first night while she was getting ingredients from the cabin. The groundkeeper assured them that it was just an old shed, there was no ghost since nobody died there, at least not yet… After this, the girls sat down by the campfire and had a drink. Nia calmed down, how could she remain mad at such an adorable friend? She has to admit to herself that they really got her this time.

For the second time that night, the girls were heading for bed. Nia noticed that Ti walked toward Mona's tent again.

“No way I am going to sleep alone after you pulled this Mona”

Mona silently agreed. Nia was standing in front of her tent, starting towards Mona.

“You want to come and sleep here too Nia, my scared little kitten?”

Nia thought about it for a second.

“It’s not like I am scared or anything!”

“But maybe… it would be warmer? I had it cold last night okay!”

And surely, all of the girls, as well as the cat slept together in Mona’s tent this last night. It was a little cramped, but they were just able to fit all in. The initial giggling was soon replaced by some light snoring. They had a busy day after all.

The next morning

Nia shook awake from the alarm, and saw she was laying in Mona’s tent. Remembering the whole ordeal yesterday made her instantly embarrassed. She hurried back to her own tent to change. After that Nia started working on this trip's last breakfast. Serena and Ti joined her with the preparations soon after, while Mona still was nowhere to be seen. Nia had an idea.

“What if we would prank Mona?”

Nia carefully hid the breakfast they had already made, and the girls all tried waking Mona again. When Mona finally left her tent and walked to the diner table, she noticed the empty plates the other girls set up.

“Did you start making breakfast already?”

“We are already done eating okay? We called you numerous times but you wouldn’t react. So we ate it all ourselves!”

Mona remained unexceptionally calm as she turned in the direction of her tent.

“Alright, let me grab some crackers from my tent”

Disappointing… Nia thought. She quickly spilled the beans about the prank they planned. Unfortunately for Nia, Mona could tell she was lying instantly.

“Keep trying Nia, keep trying”

Mona teased her.

They finished their breakfast and started packing their tents. Nia soon got a little frustrated. Why don’t these tents fit in their little bag the first time you try to roll them? So annoying! She tried again and managed to get her tent packed. Mona suggested next time they’d just share a single tent, that would have saved them a lot of time…

After getting all their stuff packed, they suddenly heard a roaring car engine getting louder and louder. The car stopped and the groundkeeper got out. He opened the back door and to Nia’s big surprise, they let out both her parents.

“Good day, father and mother. I am glad to see you”

“We apologize for not being able to bring you and your friends here. Let us treat you all to lunch at our mansion.”

Nia’s parents helped the girls load their baggage into the trunk and they all left for Nia’s home.

During the trip home Nia felt a bit nervous. There was something she wanted to ask her parents, but she wasn’t quite sure how to bring it. She fiddled a bit with her hair, something her mother noticed. Her mother asked Nia what was up.

“Could I… help make today's lunch? If it isn’t an inconvenience to you!”

Her parents agreed, they stated that they loved to try out some of the food she learned to prepare at the Maid School. The other girls offered to join and create a big feast for Nia’s parents.

The girls had a lot of fun cooking together in Nia’s mansion’s big kitchen. When they were done, Nia served the plates to her parents. As she was about to get back to the kitchen, Nia’s father asked her and her friends to sit down next to them and enjoy the meal together. Nia anxiously looked at her father taking his first bite. After swallowing, he looked at Nia and smiled approvingly. And with that, the girls little camping adventure concluded.