Chapter 28 — Teasing Begins
The morning sun glinted off the jagged peaks of Ladakh, but the camp was already alive with chaos.
The previous day's cliff incident had not been forgotten.
Percy, standing on a small boulder near the river, pointed at Alex dramatically.
"CLIFF ROMEO!"
Alex groaned.
"Percy, seriously—"
But Percy didn't stop. He ran around the camp yelling.
"HE SAVED LYRA! HEROIC RESCUE OF THE CENTURY!"
Ash laughed hysterically and nudged Lyra.
"Careful around cliffs now. Might start a new trend."
Lyra buried her face in her hands.
"ASH! STOP!"
JJ, sitting with Keifer, grinned mischievously.
"Next time, confess before you nearly die, Lyra. Saves everyone a heart attack."
Everyone had joined in.
Rakhi was giggling, nudging Cin.
"Seriously, we need a safety manual for Alex and Lyra."
Freya added, "Maybe a helmet and harness… for Alex too!"
Endrix, leaning on a nearby rock, laughed so hard he almost toppled.
"You guys are hopeless."
Even Cole, who normally stayed stoic, had a small smirk on his face.
Care rolled her eyes dramatically.
"I swear, if one person calls him Romeo again, I'll—"
"Try to push alex off a cliff?" Cole interrupted smoothly.
Care froze.
Everyone nearby gasped and burst out laughing.
"COLE!" Care shouted, half exasperated, half amused.
"Relax, I'm kidding," he said, eyes glinting.
Ash laughed the hardest.
"This is literally the funniest camp ever. Cliff rescues, romantic confessions, and now threats!"
Even the HU students, normally quiet and reserved, were smirking in their corner. Zein whispered to Mia,
"They're… surprisingly human when scared of cliffs."
Meanwhile, Care and Cole were going ahead to finish trekking for the day.
Cole smirked at her side.
"You going to push someone off a cliff too?"
Care rolled her eyes and gripped her trekking pole.
"Focus on your path."
But unlike before, they walked side by side rather than arguing. Something had shifted in the quiet moments of the mountains.
Halfway along the trail, Care suddenly felt dizzy from the thin air. Her footing wavered.
Cole reacted immediately, catching her.
"Careful," he said, steadying her.
Care took a deep breath, sipping water from her bottle to calm her racing heart.
"Thanks," she muttered, slightly embarrassed.
Cole just smirked and didn't comment further.
Behind them, the rest of the group were teasing nonstop.
Percy waved his arms dramatically.
"ARE WE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER CLIFF ROMEO SCENE?"
Ash laughed and nudged Lyra again.
"Honestly, just throw a rope next time. Or a net."
Thyme, Kavin, and Ren from Thailand shook their heads, smiling.
"This camp is insane," Thyme muttered, shaking his head at the chaos.
And chaos it was.
The trek continued, narrow paths and rocky slopes, and laughter, teasing, and occasional shrieks echoed across the mountains.
On their way back to camp, JJ slipped on loose gravel.
Keifer was immediately there, catching her with a firm grip.
"Careful, wifey!" he said, pulling her to safety.
JJ laughed nervously, brushing dirt off her pants, her cheeks almost red as tomato.
"Thanks… I almost became part of the mountains."
The teasing escalated as Percy ran ahead yelling,
"ANOTHER HEROIC RESCUE! Romeo KEIFER!"
Freya clutched her stomach, laughing so hard she almost fell.
Even Care and Cole couldn't resist exchanging a brief glance, smirking quietly to themselves, recognizing that the mountains weren't the only thing making everyone stumble—they were all tangled in chaos, emotions, and teasing.
By the time they reached camp, everyone was exhausted, red-faced, laughing, and a little bruised—but the bond had grown stronger, messy and chaotic as it was.
The teasing wouldn't stop for weeks, but the mountain had given them something far more valuable than survival skills: shared memories, chaotic camaraderie, and unspoken connections.