the lakes - charles leclerc

𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟔

after yesterday's antics, the entire cast of the lakes missed their breakfast, as they were that emotionally exhausted that they slept past noon. maeve and adriana went on a 'morning' (term used loosely) run, to clear their minds. when they returned, alex and george were awake, with george beginning to start a fire.

"morning girls,"

"morning, alex. slept good?"

"no, not really. yesterday was... something,"

"you can say that again," george commented. "i'm sure it was a long night for all of us. how are you feeling, adri?"

"shit."

"oh,"

"yeah. pretty numb. think i cried myself to sleep,"

"you didn't," charles pronounced, causing the group to turn and face him, as he had just arrived on the scene. "did you?" his face was a mixture of disappointment and sympathy.

"well, she was my best friend for 8 years and spent every summer together. of course it didn't go down well with me,"

"christ. we're here for you if you need us, okay?"

"i know, george. thank you,"

the rest of the group, including hailey, rocked up a short while later. lando read the note saying that it was lunch, which surprised the group, as they thought they woke up earlier due to the lack of sleep they had. after lunch, the group tidied up the place a little bit before olive found a note.

"bonjour mes amis, time for a little challenge for a treat. you have to answer general knowledge questions, and if you, the person who answers it, get it right, you win yourself and campmates dessert for after dinner. the more questions you get right, the better the sweet treat will be. good luck, lakers."

they took a walk to the felled area, where they have done the previous challenge, to be greeted with a school-like environment. single table and chairs were set out, where lando rushed to the back seat so he 'was the coolest'. charles took the table inbetween adriana and alex. there was a tv screen on a stand, displaying 10 categories: music, maths, literature, tv, science, flags, history, geography, art and languages. there was a line at the top, which soon displayed the name: george.

"erm, i'll go with tv, please."

'WHICH ACTOR PLAYED THE FRESH PRINCE?'

"that would be will smith,"

*ding!*

maeve was the next player. she selected languages.

'WHICH EUROPEAN COUNTRY HAS 3 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES?'

"i don't know, erm... switzerland?"

*buzz*

next to go was olive. "i'll go for history,"

'WHICH KING OF ENGLAND WAS CROWNED ON CHRISTMAS DAY?'

"was it henry viii?"

*buzz*

"music, please," pierre asked when his name flashed up on the screen.

'WHICH REAL-LIFE RUSSIAN DID BONEY M SING ABOUT IN 1978?'

"that rasputin guy,"

*ding!*

hailey's name was the next one to show up on the screen. "science,"

'WHICH PLANET IS FURTHEST AWAY FROM THE SUN?'

"my very easy method just speeds up naming... neptune!"

*ding!*

the next name which appeared was charles. "oh you're joking, i'm not good with any of these. art?"

'WHO PAINTED THE STARRY NIGHT?'

"fuck, i don't know this. van gogh?"

*ding!*

"i got it right, baby! woo!"

georgia was next up. "maths, please."

'WHAT IS 4/5 AS A DECIMAL?'

"that's pretty easy. 0.8,"

*ding!*

"get in there,"

 the canadian of the group, adriana, was next to step up to the mark. "erm, i'll have literature, please,"

'WHICH PLAY DID WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE WRITE TO IMPRESS KING JAMES I?'

"it was macbeth, with the witches and shit,"

*ding!*

"alex please, i'm begging you, pick geography. we'll have a chance of getting that question right then,"

"only because you've said that, i'll go with flags,"

"FUCK!"

'HOW MANY STARS ARE ON THE FLAG OF USA? AND WHAT DO THEY REPRESENT?'

"50 as they show the states, don't they?"

*ding!*

leaving the geography question behind, lando was scared about the question.

'WHAT CONTINENT IS BRAZIL ON?'

"lando, that's easy! you can do this one, can't you?" alex questioned.

"i prefer not to speak..."

"lando..."

"i wasn't good at geography in school, okay? shut up. asia,"

*buzz*

"well, that was stupid anyway. no one liked this quiz at all."

the team returned, with 7/10 correct, earning a fairly decent dessert. dinner was there when they came back, and george and olive got to work straight away. they all enjoyed a light salad, before dessert came. lando read the note that came with it.

"oh my fucking god it's black forest gateau,"

"what? what's that," charles asked, never hearing it before that moment.

"cake."

"what kind of cake?"

"uh, i don't know, a gateau?" lando responded sarcastically.

"i think he's trying to ask what flavour is the cake," olive helped the two drivers.

"yeah, that's what i mean. what flavour is it?"

"why didn't you ask that in the first place? it's chocolate and cherry, i think."

"oh, okay."

as he was the one who got the cake, lando was the one 'responsible with cutting the cake'. yes, the slices were not even, and yes, lando gave himself the biggest slice. little did they all know that lando was really starting to feel the effects of not being with his family, and his feelings yesterday were overwhelming to the 22 year old.

and for hailey, of course she was pissed off about the comment she made. she genuinely regretted saying it, now that no one was really speaking to her willingly. she made the mental decision to stick it out, though, as she was nearly halfway through. and she also mentally knew to apologise and sort out what was going between her and adriana first, before tackling the rest of the group.

charles and adriana sat next to each other for the remainder of the day, keeping close to each other without making it explicit to everyone else. something was coming over the hill, but neither of them knew it.