HATEFUL LOVE | ej caswell

ri-cos-il?

Everyone walked into The Barn to see EJ, Carlos, and Val standing next to a poster that said "Take a Seat" in cursive. They all quieted down once they saw them, not knowing what was going on.

"Morning, guys. Come on in. We don't have much time," EJ spoke up, causing Nadia to frown angrily at him.

"Take a seat," Val wiggled her fingers which then made Nadia subtly roll her eyes.

"Uh, did EJ tell you what this was about?" Kourtney inquired about to the angry Coleman girl.

Nadia laughed at that. "Nope, even though I'm supposed to be the co-director," she answered bitterly before she feigned a gasp. "Oh, but you should ask Val. I'm kidding, don't ask Val."

"Yeah, funny story from last night," Nadia said into the camera. "It looks like EJ is apparently moving to St. Louis for his gap year and he only told Val about it. I may have overreacted last night but...I can't be the only one that sees the signs that he may be cheating on me," she explained before sighing. "I'm going to talk to him about it after rehearsal. But today, I am here to be the co-director...even though Val seems to be stealing that from me as well."

Gina placed a comforting hand on Nadia's shoulder as they found some seats to sit in. She had woken up last night after she had heard Nadia crying for the second time, prompting Nadia to tell her the whole story since she had just been so emotional. So, she had been the only one who knew about it.

"Do you want to stand up here?" EJ asked Nadia quietly and she shook her head, avoiding his gaze. He furrowed his brows for a second, noticing her demeanor.

"Can we have everyone's attention please?" Carlos called out to everyone, waving his hand.

"Thanks for coming in early, guys. We've been up all night," EJ began to say. While you were apparently up all night with Val, I was up all night crying my eyes out, Nadia thought viciously.

"Look, this better be good, because in here, it's still last night," Kourtney pointed at her head, forcing a smile.

"We've been working on a plan to save the show and give Corbin and that Channing guy the reality show style juice that they really want," EJ revealed to them all.

"Sorry. Save the show?" Gina voiced in confusion.

"He just wants a little more excitement from us, you know? Like a little more—"

"He thinks we're boring," Carlos cut EJ off, making everyone gasp in shock. "He's missing our rehearsal today to scout out the kids at Deep Lake Camp in Temecula."

"That can't be a real place," Ricky commented and Maddox shook her head.

"But not to worry, because we have a plan. And it starts with five little letters," Carlos assured them all.

"Allow me," Val said before she pulled off the poster to reveal another poster that said "the R.C.O.S.L."

"Watch what happens, fam!" Carlos exclaimed.

"'Ri-cos-il'?" Gina read aloud in puzzlement.

Carlos groaned. "No. It's the Real. Campers. Of. Shallow. Lake," he clarified as he pointed to each letter. "The franchise I was always destined to join. I mean, you were."

"Look, it's easy. You know how normally we act like regular people, and we pick up on social cues, and care about our feelings?" EJ listed off.

Nadia laughed out loud. "Do we?" she responded, causing Dakota to start paying attention more.

"Yes, we do," EJ replied, a little taken aback by that. "But now that's over." Wow, I thought it already was, she thought to herself bitterly.

"Because the key to any great reality show is the three Bs. Bombshells, betrayals, and bitch slaps," Carlos told them all, causing them all to gasp again.