Cabin five was tiny, had thin walls, large windows and a door that rattled. It was the only cabin only one bedroom. Two beds were separated by a lamp and the door to the bathroom. Aiden sat on the one with his bag and sized up Connor while his back was turned.

He didn’t look anything like Lucas.

Connor’s hair was a rusty red, straight, and his skin was a honey coloured shade that made his blue eyes stand out. Step brother, Aiden reminded himself.

He wondered if it would be inappropriate to ask about it. Probably. He wasn’t exactly friends with Lucas, and did he even really want to know?

“I’m Aiden” he should introduce himself at least. They’d be living together for the next few weeks. “One of the guides.”

“Connor.” He turned to him, “Lucas’s step-brother, I’m sure one of those idiots already mentioned it.”

Aiden raised an eyebrow. “They did, actually.” You don’t like them either? He wanted to ask. Why? Because they’re annoying? Right?

“His mom married my dad” Connor said with a terse, sharp voice, “Before you ask. Or has Lucas already told that story?”

“Not that I heard.” Aiden tilted his head, deciding that he definitely wasn’t going to ask any personal questions. Connor clearly wasn’t open to them.

“Are you on the football team?” Connor asked, watching him as he moved his bag onto the ground. “That’s how you’re friends with them?”

“Nope” He replied, “We just know each other from school” Not friends, he added mentally.

Connor sat down on his bed and continued to stare.

Aiden pulled out a book from his bag, and after flipping through the pages looked at Connor again. “Is there something else?”

Connor looked like there was something else he wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut. “Nothing.” He turned to his bed and lay down on it.

Aiden pegged him as either the same age as himself, or a little younger. He rolled back into his own bed and opened the biography. It was about a pianist he liked, his rise to fame and his struggle to compose his musical scores. He’d picked it up before the trip just because he liked one of the songs he’d written; he couldn’t play it on the piano, but he did his best on the violin.

It was one he’d chosen to do in the interview at the end of summer. All the music courses he was interested in had a practical aspect you had to pass to get in. He still had another year of secondary school, but you could take the interviews a year early. If he could pass this year he’d able to focus on just getting the points.

Aiden was surprised that Gabby made it to the kitchen on time. Six am starts was obligatory for all of them, since breakfast was to be ready at seven, the moment the sun peeked out over the horizon.

As usual, they got to eat first. Aiden sat near the window and studied the burnt-out fire pit, and the trees beyond them. The first few days were always the busiest; trail walks, obstacle course, fishing, swimming, rock climbing and foraging - the list was long.

Aiden was assigned to two different activities a day. Three days were spent at this spot. Today he had rock climbing and the obstacle course. Of course, he was in the same group as his classmates – Mandy had the plan already drawn up and told him last night it was too late to change it.

Once everyone was finished eating Mandy stood next to the door of the dining hall and explained how everything would work. Then she gave out sheets of paper, which told everyone who was in their group. Lucas grinned at him when he read it.

Aiden sighed.

At school they were a nightmare – how was he meant to control them in the woods?

He gathered them at the edge of the trail. Connor was the in the group too, as well as Richard and Evie. But the worst part was getting stuck ‘training’ Gabby. He knew he was given her because Mandy hated training newbies, and Linda already hated her.

“Fifteen minutes this way, we’ll come to rock wall. Instructor Ben has already gone ahead to set everything up. We’ll take a break at lunch, then go on to the obstacle course.” Aiden tried to mimic the tone Mandy had used, but he was certain it lacked any of the authority hers had. “Ready?”

“Let’s go.” Lucas smacked his back and took the lead.

Aiden winced but immediately followed him. He didn’t want him running off alone.

He ended up behind the trio, as they talked loudly, and pushed each other around. He settled for calling directions to them. Behind him was Richard and Evie, and behind them was Connor who had Gabby talking at him.

The rock wall was a natural formation, with pegs driven into it and rope strung up and down it’s length. Ben was double checking the harnesses when they came into the small clearing.

He gave a talk, that the boys – surprisingly – listened to, and Aiden was relieved when they started climbing. He sat on a rock nearby and had to listen to Gabby talking about how scary it was.

Aiden watched, waiting for one of them to slip as they raced each other and crack their heads open on the rock. But they were all athletic and in shape, and any jump they made landed.

“Aiden” Ben called him over, “will you be the counterweight?”

He was clicked on to the other end of Evie’s rope. “Dad’s birdwatching.”

Aiden looked to wear she nodded. Richard was staring at the ground. “Sure.”

Evie made a slow ascent and Lucas swapped out with Kal, so Kal could climb and he’d be the counter weight.

“Are you going to go up?” Lucas questioned.

“I’ve done it before.” Aiden answered.

“Make it to the top?” Lucas grinned, “How long did it take you?”

He stared at Evie’s back, and tried to keep annoyance off his expression. He wasn’t surprised Lucas wanted to compete. It was just irritating. “I wasn’t timing myself.” He answered, “And I don’t really care.”

Lucas snorted. “Must have taken a while then.”

He gritted his teeth.

“No answer? Yup, I’m right.” Lucas nodded to himself, “How long then? I did it in five, so ten? Twenty minutes? After thirty your arms would be getting tired.”

“You doing okay, Evie?” Aiden called. The only way to hold back his temper was to distract himself.

“Just catching my breath” She looked through her arm down on him and shot a grin. “I’m going to do it, don’t worry.”

She was halfway up and making slow progress.

Lucas turned to him and opened his mouth, no doubt for another comment.

“Take up the slack in the rope.” Aiden cut him off.

Lucas looked at his feet. Kal had been making progress, and he’d been leaving the line slack. “Woops.” He quickly fixed that.

Kal stopped and looked down. “Did I just hear a ‘woops’? Lucas? Did you break something?”

“No, no – don’t worry.”

They started yelling things back and forth.

Evie got the top and abseiled down. She was covered in sweat but looked proud of herself.

“Good job.” Aiden unclipped her from the wall.

“I know it took forever, but I did it.” She smiled, “Am I heavy enough to be your counter weight?”

“You are.” Ben swapped them around.

Aiden glanced to where Lucas was standing next to Gabby, a few feet away. He turned away immediately. He wasn’t competing, but he wasn’t going to let himself be made fun of. He clicked the timer on his watch and climbed.

The rocks were dry, and there was an abundance of footholds. He was careful not to scrape his body against the sharper points.

“Am I doing this right?” Evie asked Ben in a low voice.

“Perfect.”

His shoulder muscles were burning when he hit the top point, and he was out of breath.

“Way to show me up!” Evie called up at him.

Aiden checked the time. Six and a half minutes. He peeked down. Evie gave him a thumbs up. Lucas stood with his back to him, still talking to Gabby.

He cursed under his breath. “I’m coming down.”

“I’ll catch you.” Evie smirked up at him.

He smiled. She wasn’t so bad. He abseiled down and was catching his breath as Ben unclipped them.

“Fast climb.” He noted, “Remember the first time you tried it?”

“No.” Aiden replied.

“What happened the first time?” Evie looked between them.

“Couldn’t even get halfway up.” Ben reported with a click of his tongue.

“No way.” Evie shook her head, “I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Well he used to be… well… you know” Ben tapped Aiden’s stomach and puffed out his cheeks.

Aiden smacked his hand away. “I wasn’t that bad.”

“Fit as a fiddle now.” Ben gave him a smile, “It was almost tragic to watch last year.”

“Okay, we’re going now.” Aiden shot him a glare and pulled a giggling Evie away from him. He looked to the spot in the woods where her dad still stood. “Richard, we’re heading back for lunch.”

Everyone turned to him. Connor sprung up from his rock and led the way. A pink-cheeked Gabby followed Lucas closely.

Gabby had become one of the trio. Connor looked happy to be rid of her, and he fell in with Richard. Aiden was glad he’d started talking; Mandy had made a point of telling him to get everyone more ‘involved’ in his group.

Kal and Hugh weren’t visible anymore, while Lucas and Gabby had stopped to chat on the other side of the drawbridge. It wasn’t actually a drawbridge, it’s just what Mandy called it. It hung lowly over a pit of muddy water.

Aiden checked that the others were only a few feet behind him and stepped onto it. The point of it was that it swung when one person was on it, and was dangerous to cross when there was more.

“I’m getting Jurassic Park flashbacks.” Evie muttered at the other end.

“What does this do?” Gabby questioned at her side.

Aiden jolted and snapped his head up. “Don’t-“

Lucas pushed the lever.

The bridge suddenly split in two, and Aiden plunged down into the water – getting a nice bang on the side of his face as he went. He landed awkwardly on his back, but found his feet immediately and broke the surface coughing up mud from his mouth.

Over his own wheezing he heard a bellowing laughter, and an accompanying giggle.

Aiden didn’t even look at them. He waded into the middle of the pit and pushed the edges of the bridge that were hanging down back together. It took ten minutes to get it clicked into place.

In that time Evie asked if he was okay a dozen times, and the laughing just about stopped. The ache in his jaw made his eyes water. He was happy to splatter mud on Lucas and Gabby as he put his body between them and the lever. “You can come across.”

“Sorry Aiden” Lucas hit his back with a chuckle. His palm made a loud smacking noise against his wet clothes, that echoed around the trees.

Aiden turned, seething, and sure that it showed – because the second he met Lucas’s eyes the smile vanished. “The course is that way, Gabby, lead the way.”

“Oh I don’t know-“

“You’re not getting paid to stand around and no nothing.” Aiden snapped.

Gabby’s ditsy smile didn’t make an appearance. She shot him a glare and turned on her heels and strode down the path. Aiden got to have the satisfaction of seeing Lucas look embarrassed before he turned his back on him and refused to look at him.

Evie reached him first and gave him a small hand towel. “Are you okay? It sounded like you hit the bridge when you fell.”

“I’m fine, thanks.” He took the towel. “I’m going to clean myself off, just follow the dirt path and you’ll find the course.”

Evie gave him a concerned smile and led the way.

Connor pat his shoulder as he walked by, loosely – like a normal human being.