It was a long drive to the camping ground, which gave me plenty of time to mull over my decision to go camping.

Izzy and Mia were sitting next to me. They spent most of the drive debating which bush food was more nutritious – plants or insects. They also put a lot of effort into explaining to me which leaves were best to use as toilet paper.

‘Watch out for stinging nettles,’ Mia said.

Izzy moaned. ‘Made that mistake before. I couldn’t sit down for a week!’

They can’t be serious, I thought. Surely we could use toilet paper?

‘Well, I can’t wait to build a big campfire and roast marshmallows,’ I said, trying to steer the conversation to a happier place.

‘Oh,’ said Mia, ‘about that. There’s a total fire ban, so we won’t be able to roast any marshmallows.’

I sighed. Why exactly had I agreed to go camping with Izzy and Mia? Maybe I’d been too quick with my decision.

I’d had to tell Persephone that I couldn’t go to Paradise Point after all. She’d been totally cool about it and promised to give me more warning the next time.

I pulled out my phone and shot her a text. She would be just leaving for the beach now.

Don’t have too much fun without me. And say hi to Rio!

A reply came back a second later.

Wish you were coming, too. Next time! Where are you staying?

I wondered what Persephone would think of me going camping for the holidays. She probably wouldn’t be too impressed, so I kept my response vague.

A rural retreat.

Persephone replied: Sounds cool! Hope it’s five-star!

I shot back: Me too! :)

‘Who’s that?’ Mia asked, trying to peer at my phone.

‘Mum,’ I lied, shoving the phone back in my bag. ‘Checking up on me already.’

I knew that at some stage I’d have to tell Mia and Izzy about Persephone’s invitation, but not today. I didn’t want to start the holiday with another fight about how stuck-up Persephone was. And I could just imagine how Izzy would go on and on about me wishing I was having a fancy-pants holiday with my new bestie.

‘How much longer?’ whined a voice behind me. It was BB, Izzy’s youngest brother. He was possibly the most annoying of Izzy’s three brothers, though there was stiff competition for that title.

The three boys were wedged in the very back seat of the car with all the camping gear. They’d been having a pillow fight almost the whole trip, with just a few breaks to throw tennis balls at each other. When one hit me in the back of the head it did nothing to improve my opinion of camping holidays.

‘We’re almost there,’ Izzy’s mum called back to us. ‘The Lost World is just up ahead.’

Izzy’s dad turned the car onto a tiny road that became a dusty dirt track.

The Lost World – how fitting, I thought. I just hoped we’d be able to find our way back again.

‘Say goodbye to civilisation, kids,’ said Izzy’s dad, grinning.

When the car pulled up, Izzy opened the door, but before she even had a chance to get out, her brothers somersaulted right over us and scrambled out. I got out of the car feeling bruised and slightly sick.

Mia’s family was already there. They were busy setting up camp next to us. Her mum and dad were unpacking tents and boxes of food. Her four brothers were supposed to be helping, but they were screaming and chasing each other around the camping ground.

I stood out of the way and looked around, taking in my home for the next week. Ahead was a cluster of tents and, past them, a row of campervans were facing the sea. The Lost World was actually a gorgeous spot – there was a dramatic mountain range behind us and the sparkling blue ocean up ahead. It was almost as lovely as Paradise Point, just without the shops and restaurants.

On the very edges of the camping ground were a playground, a trampoline and a big pool bordered by palm trees – all very promising signs. And there was something else more amazing. A big brick building that looked like … I walked closer to get a better look.

‘Communal shower block,’ I gasped, reading the sign on the building.

By then Mia was grinning madly. ‘Surprise!’

‘You mean, I don’t really have to dig my own toilet?’ I asked, looking around at Izzy.

She just tossed me a sleeping bag and laughed. I felt like throwing it back at her – right in her laughing face! She and Mia had really got me this time. I’d got myself completely worked up about this trip for nothing.

‘You’re really funny, you two,’ I said, scowling, ‘telling me I’d have to dig my own toilet.’

‘Come on, Kitty,’ Izzy said. ‘We did it because we love you.’

‘Funny way to show it,’ I grumbled.

‘No, really,’ Mia said. ‘The camping ground is much better than you thought, isn’t it? That’s because we said it would be terrible. If we told you how great The Lost World was, you probably would have been disappointed. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.’

‘Hmm … great theory,’ I muttered. But really I was only half angry now. I had to admit that maybe Izzy and Mia had done me a favour. ‘So what about the campfire situation?’ I asked.

‘We can definitely do that!’ Mia said, pulling a double bag of marshmallows out of her backpack. ‘There isn’t really a fire ban.’

‘Enough chit chat, ladies,’ Izzy’s father said, passing Izzy a large bag. ‘The tents won’t put themselves up.’

Izzy took the tent bag to a flat piece of grass and emptied it onto the ground. I stared at the pile of poles, pegs, ropes and nylon.

We’re never going to make a tent out of that lot, I thought.

But a surprisingly short time later, we were sitting inside a perfectly comfortable structure, admiring our work. We’d pitched our tent, blown up our air mattresses, rolled out our sleeping bags and had the whole place looking cosy. Mia had even found some fresh lavender and tied a few sprigs together to make our tent smell nice.

‘Camping is actually pretty cool,’ I announced, lying on my mattress.

Mia winked at Izzy. ‘I’d say our idea worked.’

I huffed. ‘Yeah, but it nearly backfired,’ I told them. ‘You told me so many horror stories that I nearly bailed on you.’

‘Really?’ asked Mia.

‘I’m glad I didn’t, though,’ I said. ‘It’s going to be beyond amazing spending the week here together.’

‘So you forgive us?’ Mia asked.

Before I could answer, yelling started up outside the tent.

We had been left in charge of the boys while the parents went off to the camping ground office. The boys were supposed to be setting up their tents, but there was no way they were doing that. It sounded like they were having a war out there.

Izzy poked her nose out of the tent. ‘Stop mucking around, you lot! Before someone has an accident!’

She had barely got the last word out when there was a squeal, followed by the whack of something hitting the side of our tent. Then there was another scream and a loud thud as several boys landed on our tent. A moment later our tent collapsed on top of us.

‘You rodents!’ Izzy screamed as the three of us fought our way out.

By the time we got out, the boys were long gone. Mia spotted BB climbing a nearby tree. The other boys were scrambling after him.

Izzy gave chase. ‘You’re all so dead,’ she yelled from the bottom of the tree.

BB just laughed. ‘Can’t catch us, ya lazy old Izzy lizard.’ He fired a big seed pod, which just missed her.

‘Dead! You hear me?’ she screamed and looked up at the seven laughing boys in the branches above us. ‘I hate you boys. All boys! I hate you all!’

The three of us paced around the tree, shouting threats and curses until Mia stopped in her tracks.

Mia’s face was pale and her mouth dropped open. ‘That’s awkward,’ she mumbled. ‘I bet they saw the whole thing.’

At first, I thought she was talking about her parents. But when Izzy and I followed Mia’s gaze, we saw a group of guys leaning on the pool fence, staring at us.

Izzy ducked behind the tree trunk. ‘You think they heard me shouting?’

‘I’m pretty certain people on the other side of the country heard you,’ I said. ‘So, yeah, I’d say they did.’

Izzy poked her head out. ‘Geez, that’s a shame. How cute are they? Especially that one in the red shorts.’

Mia gave them a wave. One of them waved back half-heartedly. Then they all wandered off.

‘I love camping,’ Mia said dreamily.

‘Me too,’ Izzy sighed.

I was beginning to get why my best friends loved camping so much. It was all about the guys.