It’s the weekend and I wake up around nine. 
It’s been a relatively quiet week so I’m fairly convinced that Alex is cooking up something big for me. I just don’t have any idea what as of now. So, I’m always on my toes making sure he doesn’t get me again.
Mom knocks at my door and pokes her head inside, “Hi Sweetie. Good morning!”
I smile while stretching, “Good morning, Mom!”
She walks inside and grabs my overnight bag, “Ready for the weekend?”
My brows furrow. I was planning to stay in this weekend and just watch Netflix all day, but I guess my Mom has different plans.
I sit up, “Where are we going?”
She whips her head around, “We’re going camping, did you forget?”
Ah. Right.
My Mom and Jane like tradition. They say they’ve had them since they were little girls and they had so much fun doing them together. So, that’s what we do, we watch baseball games together, ski together, go on road trips together and of course the annual end-of-school camping session.
It’s like Mom and Jane have decided that our families aren’t close enough so they plan for things like this regularly.
I grit my teeth as I say, “I thought that was over, Mom. We’re graduating.”
She turns around and pouts, “I know! You kids will be off to College in a few months, so this is the last time we get to do this.”
That’s what I’m looking forward to the most, the time when I don’t have to humor my Mom’s craziness. I stand up and give her a hug, “I’m going to miss you, Mom.”
She sighs and hugs me back, “I’m going to miss you too.”
She gently pushes me away and smiles, “You’re going to have so much fun in College, Sweetie.”
Then she hands me my bag, “But tonight is camp night. So, get packing.”
She kisses my head before she leaves, and I plop back on my bed.
“Good morning, Alessandra!”
I roll my eyes and look at my annoying neighbor. 
Alex is leaning on his window grinning at me.
I guess quiet time is over.
I get up and walk to the window. I sit on it sideways and smile back at him, “Good morning, Alexander.”
He pouts, “Are you going to miss me too?”
This jerk. Of course, he’s going to mock me for missing Mom, so I should I try and make him uncomfortable. 
I sigh and look down on my hands as I play with the hem of my shorts, “Actually –“
I bite my lip and look up at him beneath my lashes, “Yes.”
He looks at me as if I have two heads.
He practically chokes on the word, “W- what?”
I sigh, “I’m going to miss you, Alex.”
I feel the bile coming up my throat, but I push it down.
I nod before walking away, “See you later.”
I get into the bathroom and almost die laughing.

#
“What did you do, Allie?”
Mom whispers to me while we’re sitting in the woods. I’m currently facing the lake deliberately being quiet. I decided to drag this act out a little bit longer since Alex looked just so shocked about my sudden change of attitude.
I look up to Mom, “What do you mean, Mom?”
She sits beside me and murmurs, “Alex has been asking about you.”
I pick up a rock and throw it in the lake, “So? What is he asking?”
She whispers, “He’s asking if you’ve been feeling well lately. He says you’ve been acting weird.”
I chuckle, “I just want peace, just like you.”
She glares at me, “This whole act is making me nervous.”
I roll my eyes, “Mom, you should be thankful for the peace. I thought you liked peace.”
She looks behind her and grins, “I think I prefer chaos than this.”
I laugh, “It’s just that I’ve decided to be nice to Alex for the rest of the time we’re here. I mean, I only have a few weeks left and I’ve decided that it’s time to grow up.”
Mom looks hopeful as she grabs my hands, “Are you sure? You’re not messing with me?”
Oh shit.
Well, I can’t back down now.
I nod, “Yes Mom. No tricks. No pranks.”
She sighs happily, my proud Momma. She kisses me on the cheek before she gets up and pulls me up with her, “C’mon. Let’s have a nice family dinner.”
I walk back to the table they’ve set up and I see Alex sitting there looking at me curiously with his arms over his chest.
I sit right in front of Alex and give him a small smile, “Hi.”
He waits until our parents are far enough to hear, and he says, “I don’t buy this,” he gestures to me.
I lean my arms on the table, “Why?”
He shakes his head and leans his arms on the table, “I know you. You’re never nice to me.”
I shrug, “You started it. You were nice to me the other day, so I’ve decided to be nice all the time.”
His brow furrows and I can see the confusion on his face.
It’s hilarious.
I bite my lip, “I’ve decided that all places are Switzerland,” I proceed to pick up an invisible lint from his Henley and he jerks his arm away from me.
He shivers, “Stop it, you psycho.”
“Alexander!”
Jane walks over to us carrying a pot of chili and she glares at Alex. I almost laugh.
Alex looks back at me obviously uncomfortable.
I haven’t had this much fun in years.
Our parents set the food on the table and we start to eat.
We’ve had shared family dinners before and Alex and I spent most of it kicking shins under the table, but since I’ve changed, I grab the bowl of mashed potatoes and I offer it to Alex.
You can hear a pin drop with all eyes on me.
I look at each one of them and ask, “What?”
Mom speaks up first, “Nothing. That’s nice, Allie.”
She’s so proud it almost makes me guilty.
Alex grabs the bowl and murmurs, “Thanks.”
If only I had known this would shut Alex up, I would have done it a long time ago.
We eat quietly while our parents talk about their College experiences. They all went to the same University so they’re kind of bummed that we were not following in their footsteps. 
“It’s such a relief to know someone in campus, Allie. It’s a shame you and Alex aren’t going to the same school,” Mom says.
I smile at her, “I’ll meet new friends, Mom. It will be fine.”
Jane’s slicing her steak when she says, “Yes, it’s such a shame Alex didn’t get into Fernbrook like Allie.”
My head whips up and I look at Alex.
I didn’t know he applied there.
He swirls the peas around his plate, “Mom.”
Jane puts her hands up in surrender, “Okay okay! I’m not going to say anything else!”
I blink a few times then I ask, “You applied at Fernbrook?”
He puts his fork down and glares at me, “Yes, so?”
I scoff, “Why?”
His eyebrows are pulled down together, “Why not?”
Dad chimes, “Alright. Let’s drop it. Let’s just enjoy dinner and celebrate these two finally graduating high school and embarking on the next step in their lives.”
“Hear! Hear!” Alex’s Dad cheers.
Alex applied to South Harmon because he got a sweet deal there for being an athlete, so I’m confused why he applied to Fernbrook when South Harmon was a sure thing for him.
Alex didn’t speak a single word after that, he just kept looking at his phone. So, I did the same.