Camp Story
By: Ali Beyer
"I am so excited about camp!" I told my best friend Hannah.
"Yeah, me too!" she said. It was the day that we left for fifth grade camp. My friend Hannah and I talked excitedly while we waited for the bus.
"OK kids, time to get on the bus, we better get going!" Mrs. Jakobs announced. Hannah and I ran to the luggage compartment, threw our luggage in, and climbed on the bus.
"Maggie, over here!" Hannah yelled.
I ran to the seat she was pointing to. "Back seat, yea!" I said, and slapped her high five. The bus horn tooted, I waved to my parents, and the bus started to roll. We were on our way!
"What's the notebook for?" Hannah asked.
"It's to write down a description about every camp activity. My older sister told me that Mrs. Jakobs makes us describe everything about camp. I'm doing it early," I said.
"I guess I should have brought a notebook too," Hannah said.
"Let's have a contest of who can go to sleep faster," I said.
"OK," Hannah said.
The next thing I knew, I was fast asleep........................................................................................................................................................................................................................."Boy, I'm hungry," I said. I had just awakened.
"Me too," Hannah said and yawned. I poked the boy in front of me. " Have they passed out our lunches yet?" I asked.
"Yeah about half an hour ago," he answered.
"Oh, great," I muttered. "Mrs. Johnson, Hannah and I never got a lunch."
" Oh, no," she said. "We don't have any more bag lunches. Attention class, anything you don't want to eat, please give it to Hannah and Maggie!"
Five minutes later all we had for lunch was a bunch of carrot sticks. " I can't believe this is all we to eat for lunch!" I said as I munched on a carrot stick.
"Yeah," Hannah said. "On guard."
We fenced for the rest of the way there. When we got there we grabbed our luggage and climbed up the big hill to our cabin. We were in Meadows A cabin. I got a wonderful top bunk. It is next to three cubbies where I can put my stuff. It is really dark and I can hardly see to write. The nearest window is across from Hannah's bunk. Hannah's bunk is a top bunk like mine. There is a crawl space in between our bunks so we can visit each other easily. As soon as I had rolled out my turquoise sleeping bag the dinner bell rang. Hannah and I ran down the hill and sat down at a table.
"And why are you two young ladies in the dining hall when we haven't started seating people yet?" a woman behind us said.
"Seating people?" Hannah asked.
"Yes," she said. And because you did not know you won't get to sit with each other for the rest of camp." That was the worst dinner I ever had. It was spaghetti, Jell-O (green), salad, and pickles. The dining room was filled with round tables that seated eight. There were windows that were as tall as me on one side of the room. They overlooked the pool that was closed for the winter. The chairs were crowded on the tables, so you were lucky if you got your chair under the table.
"Group thirteen meet over at stress challenges," the head counselor said.
"Come on!" I said as I pulled Hannah after me. We ran to the first stress challenge activity. The rest of the people in our group were there and so was Mr. Hull, my trumpet teacher (and also our group leader). The first stress challenge was to try to get everyone on a wire suspended between two trees. We did it eventually. Then we had to get across a swinging log one at a time without touching the ground. I crawled across on my stomach. Then we had to swing from tire to tire. I felt like George of the jungle! Last of all we climbed the wall. It was really fun! Then we had free time to play. I played volleyball with Hannah, Magen, and Linda. It was beautiful to watch the sun set over the turning leaves.
The crickets and other bugs were making night sounds. It was pitch black as we walked through the woods. Hannah and I shared a flashlight as we walked up the path to the campfire. I love the campfire. Sitting around it, telling stories, singing songs. It all feels so cozy. The fire light is the only light you can see for miles. It feels alone but together. The light snaps, crackles, and pops sending sparks into the air.
"Goodnight Hannah," I whispered.
"Goodnight Maggie," she answered. And they all fell asleep, excited about the next day!