The Camp Catastrophe!

The Camp Catastrophe! - Dhruv Unni Sankar (Hosp Elementary, Fifth Grade)

It was one of those bright and beautiful days when the sun rises so slowly in the sky,

painting brilliant colors onto the dawn. Vibrant hues of pink, orange, yellow, and red

filled the sky as the birds started their morning concert. An annoying alarm shattered the

tranquility; a coarse ringing sound pulsed through the room. RIIINGGG RIIINGGG

RIIINGGG! "Uuuhhh," groaned Noah, a lazy, untidy individual. He slapped the snooze

button and tried to fall back asleep. "Noah Johnson, get your lazy butt down here in ten

minutes!" "Yes, Mom", Noah said obediently.

Noah was a very messy kid. He always had untidy red hair. Noah was a tall, lanky kid,

so he kind of walked like a zombie and ran weirdly. Clothes were tossed around the bed

and the floor. Apple cores and candy wrappers were also peppered throughout the

room. The walls were littered with posters. His desk had crumpled-up papers scattered

everywhere, not in the trash can. He went downstairs for breakfast after dressing.  It

was the last day of school. Mom and Dad said that they had a surprise for him. He

looked and saw that they were holding a huge red duffle bag and a large white fluffy

sleeping bag. They said it was going to be camping day for 5th graders at the lakeside

ranch. People see alligators in the lake, and mountain lions roam around. But

personally, if they are there, it will be a great chance to see some wildlife. If he comes

back in one piece, with no arm severed off.

The bus ride was terrible. It was 2 hours long. It was crazy. People started singing "The

Wheels on the Bus" halfway through; it was a torture method. Paper airplanes were

flying over their heads, and something hit him. The bus was smelly too; everybody was

taking off their shoes, and the whole bus smelled like feet for 3 hours. He’d rather be

eaten by a big mountain lion. They finally arrived at the Cedar Ranch, a small ranch

encircled by a forest of pine trees, cedar, and oak.

The lunch hall was filled with large circular tables, and the walls were adorned with deer

and moose heads. A large glass dome roof let in natural light. Noah knew most of the

people there and his friend was there too, so it wasn't that bad. He went to their cabin,

and they were small and simple. Now that the formal introduction to this camp was over,

off to bed everybody went. Everyone got a midsized, dinky blanket and one pillow, until

Noah whipped out his sleeping bag, being the envy of everyone.

The next morning, they woke up at 5:00 am and went to the lake for canoeing. Each

pair stood in a line with two oars in front. They practiced paddling before getting into the canoes. As they paddled, Noah spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

"ALLIGATOR! " He shouted. Everybody started paddling towards the shore, ramming

into each other. His friend Jackson hit it with an oar. They slid the thing back into the

lake and realized with horror that it was some kind of malformed turtle. Everybody was

mad at Noah.

Other camp activity involved the collection of worms to study them in the tank and

studied insects in the lake. Then, it was time for lunch, but they got into a tater-tot fight

that became a food war. Mashed potatoes were flying all over. Noah, after witnessing

this food war, made him remember his brothers and suddenly felt warm love for them

and thought his brothers were better. "Maybe my brothers aren't so bad after all," he

thought, dodging a flying meatball.

At the end of the day, Noah was glad to go back home. After that crazy bus ride, Noah

came home dancing and twirling, hugged his mom and dad, promising to be neater and

more punctual. Then he saw his brothers and became his old lazy self again. He would

change someday, but just not today.