Kurt was certainly a master schemer, and over the next few days, he put his plan in motion. First he got Finn on board, then Mercedes and the girls. Finn talked to the New Directions guys. Only Blaine remained ignorant to his plan. He didn't want to say anything until he'd overcome the biggest hurdle – his Dad.
"Dad, a bunch of the kids from New Directions are going camping for the long weekend. Can Finn and I go with them?"
"You want to go camping?" asked Burt incredulously.
"Yes."
"The last time I took you camping, you did nothing but complain about the bugs, and the fish swimming too close to you in the lake, and having to eat hot dogs and..."
"Dad, I was ten. I've grown up a lot since then."
"Is Blaine going?" asked Burt, hitting on the real reason why Kurt wanted to go camping.
"He's invited," Kurt said. "Rachel's going too, but nothing's going to happen, Dad. Finn and I can share a tent. Blaine and Rachel will each have their own. We'll be with all the other New Directions kids the whole time."
"I don't know, kid. You alone with your boyfriend and Finn with his girlfriend, and no adult supervision, doesn't make me feel real comfortable with this trip."
"We're not having sex, I promise. Blaine and I are definitely not ready, and trust me, Rachel is not going to let Finn anywhere near her. But realistically, Dad, if we wanted to have sex, you couldn't stop us. You and Carol aren't home every second. We both have vehicles, and you can't keep track of where we are every second. Letting us go camping or not letting us go isn't going to change anything."
There was an awkward pause, as Burt pictured all the possible opportunities Blaine had to get his son alone. Finally, he said "I'll talk to Carol, and we'll let you know. I've got to get to work now, though. What are you planning to do today?"
"I'm not sure. Blaine's working all day. I guess I could start on my musical."
"I could still use your help at the shop."
"Thanks, Dad. I might look and see if I can find something different, but I'll let you know."
As it turned out, he didn't have to look too hard. He was just starting to go through the online classifieds, and already wearing a look of disdain, at both the starting wages, and the required duties of most of the jobs he was qualified for, when his phone rang. He was somewhat surprised to see Sam's number, since he knew Sam was busy working and babysitting all summer.
"Hey, Kurt, are you interested in working at all this summer?" he asked.
"Actually, I've just been looking at some of the ads online. Otherwise I'm going to end up working for my Dad. Why are you asking? I thought you'd had a job lined-up for months."
"I have. I've got a job as a counsellor at an arts day camp for kids. They gave me a deal for my brother and sister to attend, so it's working out perfectly. The problem is that we just found out this morning that our musical theatre instructor quit. She was supposed to work with the kids every afternoon, and they're supposed to put on a musical at the end of the summer. If we don't find someone else right away, they're going to make me do it, and I don't know the first thing about Broadway. But, you would be perfect for the job, Kurt. It's just three hours in the afternoons, Monday to Friday. There's no weekends or holidays and the pay is really good. Please, Kurt. I know you'd be terrific."
"Which musical is it?" asked Kurt.
"You'd get to pick. Anything you want."
"When would the job start?"
"Well, this week is just supposed to be planning, so if you could come to our meeting tomorrow morning, that would be great, then you have the afternoon to plan stuff for you section. The kids start next Monday. So, are you in?"
Kurt thought about it for a second. Helping kids put on a musical sounded a lot better than pumping gas, serving fries, or any of the other jobs he'd seen advertised. He's gone to one of those camps as a kid once and had loved it. Plus, he got to pick the musical.
"Okay, I'll do it," he said.
"Thank you so much, Kurt," said Sam, sounding very relieved. "You have no idea how happy I am that I don't have to direct a musical on top of teaching them all guitar."
A few minutes later, after getting all the details from Sam about the meeting tomorrow, Kurt sent a text to Blaine. Only 10:00 and I already found a job. See u tonite. K
________________________________________
Kurt and Blaine were planning to have supper together in between Blaine's shows, but Kurt decided to make supper for the rest of his family. He was hoping to give his Dad and Carol time to talk, and maybe also influence their decision.
When they got home, he quickly ushered them out to the patio, where he had cold glasses of lemonade waiting for them, while he put the finishing touches on dinner.
He called Finn down first, then his Dad and Carol, hoping they'd had enough time for Carol to work some of her magic and convince his Dad to let them go.
"Thanks for cooking, Kurt. This looks wonderful," said Carol.
"I assume since you're sitting here with us, but not actually eating anything, that you're hoping for a decision on the camping thing," said Burt gruffly.
Kurt nodded. Even Finn stopped eating for a second and looked up.
"We've decided that you can both go" said Burt grudgingly, "but we have a few rules."
"We want you to go to an actual campground, not just a random place off in the woods," added Carol.
"Next, there will be absolutely no alcohol, and this needs to include all your friends as well. We realize you two have been pretty responsible in that department this year, but we don't want you having to deal with drunk friends, or boyfriends," he added with a look at Kurt. Poor Blaine was never going to live that incident down. "In the middle of nowhere, with a lake nearby, and who knows how far a drive to the hospital if someone did get in trouble. We can talk to the other parents and make sure that everyone's on the same page."
"And finally, as you'd mentioned, Kurt, you and Finn will share a tent, and will be responsible for each others' whereabouts at night," finished Carol.
"So, we can really go?" asked Kurt unbelievingly.
"I can't wait to tell Rachel. She'll be so excited. She's already been planning the songs she's going to perform around the campfire," said Finn.
"So, Kurt, since you'll be needing money for gas and everything, I guess I can count on your help in the shop, then," said Burt.
"Well actually, I have news in that department. I got a job today! I'll be working at a kids' arts camp, in charge of the musical theatre section. I get to work with the kids every afternoon and at the end of the summer, we put on a musical. Sorry, Dad, maybe you should put an ad online. I could help you," he said apologetically.
________________________________________
Kurt met Blaine at the entrance to Six Flags at 7:00, as planned. Blaine had already scouted out the restaurants and had found one conveniently near where he performed that had at least a few healthier items that Kurt might be willing to eat.
Blaine greeted him with an enthusiastic hug. His first day of work had been great and he couldn't wait for his boyfriend to see the show.
"So, tell me about your job," Blaine said once they sat down. "That must be some sort of world record for the quickest successful job sarch."
Kurt filled Blaine in on the details of his new job, not spending as much time describing it as he might have otherwise. He was too excited for his other news.
"So what are you doing for the Fourth of July weekend?" he asked.
"I was planning on doing whatever you're doing," said Blaine with a grin.
"Great, then it's settled. You and I are going camping with the rest of New Directions."
"That's terrific. I'd love to spend the whole weekend with you." Blaine pauses. "You mean camping, like outside, right?"
"Yes, I mean camping, like in the woods, near a lake, sleeping in tents. Don't you know what camping is?"
"Oh, I know what camping is. I just didn't know you were the outdoorsy type. I love that I'm still learning new things about you all the time," he says, taking Kurt's hand across the table.
"Do you think your parents will let you go? Mine barely agreed, and came up with a whole list of rules we all have to follow."
"I'm sure it won't be a problem," Blaine said quickly. He looked at his watch, suddenly in hurry. "I'd better go get ready for the last show. You know where to go to watch, right?"
"Yeah, you pointed it out earlier when..." Kurt stopped as he watched Blaine hurrying away. Sighing, he got up and started walking in the direction Blaine had gone. He knew Blaine tried to keep his problems at home to himself, but eventually, he was just going to have to open up about it.