UNTITLED

The BBQ proceeded peacefully, just as expected.

Dawn, who had momentarily walked out in anger, returned to join the meal. Dayna and Brandi also arrived just in time, with the former already wearing her comfortable casual clothes.

The twins, Brooke, DJ, Ben, along with both families' parents—Jack, Daena, Michael, and Beth—shared a hearty time together. The air was filled with laughter and giggles, and various stories were exchanged as they grilled and ate meat.

"So, what happened with you and Dayna earlier?" Ben asked as he sat beside Dawn, who was munching on her BBQ in a corner.

"What do you mean? I walked out because of you!" Dawn snorted, avoiding eye contact as she immersed herself in her own thoughts.

"Eh, me?" With a sweatdrop, Ben felt a slight headache for a moment. Nevertheless, he continued, "Come on, as if you don't know us boys. Didn't we talk about it already?"

According to the memories in his head, OG Ben and Dawn used to discuss boys and girls when they turned eleven. Both were curious, and they openly shared their feelings about the opposite sex.

Ben told her how he got hard on a girl who had a big chest, while Dawn told him how she fantasised being kissed by her crush in her sleep.

"As if girls aren't," Ben rolled his eyes at her comments. But seeing that she was a lot better, he decided to change the subject: "So, what's with you and Dayna?"

"What do you mean, me and her?"

"I mean the way you called her 'show off' earlier."

Dawn was silent for a moment, as if she didn't want to talk about it. However, upon seeing Ben's questioning gaze, she helplessly sighed. "I... I'm just worried about her."

"Worried about what?"

"Well, you see... Lately, she's been hanging out with troublesome people."

"Troublesome people?"

"Yeah, the girls she hangs out with are known as promiscuous, and the guys she's with are rude. They treat girls badly, and lately, she's always out attending parties, wearing revealing clothes... I'm just worried about her," Dawn sighed as she recalled what Dayna has been up to lately.

"I see, so you think that by making fun of her clothes and mocking the people she's with, she'll distance herself from them," Ben concluded after hearing Dawn's perspective.

Thinking of her way of thinking from the memory of OG Ben and the things from the OG novel, it wasn't hard for him to piece all the information together to understand the whole scenario.

"Yeah, kind of like that." Dawn raised her eyebrows in slight surprise at how easily he deciphered her intention. Then again, considering how ridiculously smart he was, she just took it for granted.

"I see, I think I get it."

*Sigh*, "It's just that I don't think it's doing anything," she sighed again.

Ben fell silent for a moment, unsure how to respond. He felt like offering advice, but upon second thought, he realized he didn't have any good advice to give.

Should he explain the principle of Reverse Psychology?

Nah, knowing how her little brain works, she wouldn't understand it even if he told her.

***

Summer Camp | Day 1 | July 2

Ben woke up early in the morning as usual, looking at the wooden ceiling above him. He spent a few minutes gazing at it, enjoying the tranquility of the morning.

"Uh, good morning, handsome me," he mumbled to himself before getting out of his bunk. He then headed to the bathroom to wash his face, brush his teeth, and change his pajamas into comfortable sportswear.

Looking at the time, it was 5:30 in the morning. The sky was still slightly dark, but knowing the security of the camp, he wasn't too worried about accidents occurring during his runs.

Heading out of their cabin, Ben went to Morris Lake, a famous hotspot at Morris Camp, and ran several laps for an hour.

Honestly, such activity was boring and tiring, but after doing it month after month, he soon grew accustomed to the hardship, even feeling accomplished for achieving it.

Around 6:30, when he finished his morning run, Ben found himself back in their cabin.

Both his mom and dad had already woken up; they were outside the cabin, engaged in conversation with the Evans couple.

"Good morning, Mom, Dad, Aunt Daena, and Uncle Jack," Ben greeted as he approached. His parents casually greeted him back with smiles, but the Evans couple was obviously surprised upon seeing him all sweaty.

"Wow, Ben, when did you start working out?" Aunt Daena asked, intrigued.

"Hehe, about four or five months ago. I suddenly felt like I needed to do something to kill time, so I decided to add a morning run to my daily schedule," Ben replied with a grin on his lips, giving the same answer he had said whenever others asked him about it.

"That's amazing, no wonder you're much leaner than before."

The Evans couple asked a few more questions before finally letting him go... Sigh, they are really enthusiastic people.

***

"Wow, so that's why you're a bit taller than me!" Dawn pointed at him in surprise, then touched his shoulder, exclaiming, "And you also have more muscles than usual."

"Pfft, I'm telling you, Dawn, the reason Ben was exercising is because of Addriane dating someone already." His sister, also known as Brooke, giggled as she mercilessly dragged him down.

"..." Seriously, Brooke! Do you really have to ruin my cool moments!?

"Who's Addriane?" Dawn asked. Instead of being jealous, she became more interested at the mention of the girl that caused Ben to work hard.

"Whoa, is Ben having an affair behind my sister's back?" Dorothy Jean (DJ), the blonde little sister of Dawn, let out an 'Ohhhh' as she tried to make fun of the situation, only to be ignored by everyone.

"Remember the girl Ben has a crush on? Our neighbor? It's her! Apparently, she's dating someone already, and Ben was heartbroken, so he decided to work out to make her realize how amazing he was."

"..." Ben's face twitched several times in annoyance. He really felt like smacking his sister for real.

'Dammit, Brooke, I'm gonna beat you very hard later, and Brandi! It's you who spread false information around the neighborhood!'