Mikayla VS The Muscles

Rustling sounds on the other side of the petite tent was what woke me up in the morning. I rolled over onto the hard packed ground right into a duffel bag soon realizing the sounds were Liz’s tent partner, Beth, rolling up her sleeping bag. Shaking Liz awake I got up, dreading the scene Samy was definitely going to cause.

I was right. By the time everyone sleepily made it to the fire pit, Samy (unfortunately, with perfect hair) came storming in and sat down on a rock beside Nathan. “Do you know what happened to me last night?” she said, waiting for someone’s reply. Gosh, she was such an attention seeker. Nathan acknowledged her presence, but didn’t turn around.

“I was woken up when my tent fell down. That’s right, fell down. I told MIKAYLA that we were supposed to follow the instructions, but she said she knew ALL about CAMPING and PITCHING TENTS. Well guess what! Her expertise have landed her with a demented tent. I saw her at dinner last night too, she doesn’t even know how to roast a hot dog!” She flipped hair hitting Nathan in the face.

Snickers sounded around the circle and eyes darted in my direction. I flushed as many shades of red as there are in existence but bravely sat down on one of the rocks. “Actually, Samy. If someone would have given me a hand in pitching the tent, maybe that someone wouldn’t be seeking sympathy from the entire group.”

“Moi? Seek sympathy?” said she, with mock horror. “I’d never do such a thing!”

“You know you would. And when did I say I had experience, Miss “I do not pitch tents”?”

“You did, when we pitched ours, and we all know what a fail that was!”

“Oh, shut up, Samy. We don’t care,” said Nathan, turning to face Samy. “Who can honestly believe you made an attempt at setting up that tent? It’s no wonder it fell down. It usually takes two people to set it up. So please, save your breath.” I could not believe what I was hearing. I only stared at Nathan, mouth gaping. He was sticking up for me? Why? Me!!

Samy’s face turned a delicate pink but she stood up proudly. “If I were you I’d stop the lies right there. They get you nowhere in life...” She stood up. “I’m going to get my things from where they’re buried under YOUR tent, Mikayla.” Only two girls followed.

“What is all this?” Candice asked, walking into the circle, having just arrived and hearing only the end of the heated argument. “Are we having some social issues?” No one answered, they just went back to whatever they were doing before Samy interrupted. Candice went back to her tent. I managed to tear my gaze from Nathan, who was also looking at me, to turn to Liz.

“Don’t worry. You can stay in my tent for the rest of the trip.” I smiled gratefully. Not only did I have an arch enemy, but the whole group probably knew how much of a greenie I was. But what did they care? They hated this camp as much as I did.

“Alors, mes amis! My Friends! Gather round and hear what we are going to be up to today!”

Grudgingly, the group tightened the circle to listen up. “Today, the first official day of camp, we are going to be taking a hike north until we reach the cliff. We will then have lunch, you can swim if you like in the lake or explore the many caves, and then we will be heading back. In total it should take about 4 hours, but I know you are going to love it!” She grinned. “So, to start our day off, for breakfast we are going to be having eggs and toast. Eat up! Because tomorrow’s adventure will be even better.”

Jim, the other counsellor was setting up the portable element to fry up some eggs. Meanwhile, we all went back to our tents to prepare for the hike.

After breakfast we all assembled around the extinguished fire pit from last night. According to my watch it was only 9:00AM, and the sun was already pretty high in the sky. I was not looking forward to this. “Okay. So let’s review some of the guidelines and rules concerning hikes. Stick to the trail, don’t take anything, and please, do not disturb the wildlife. This is their home and we are the intruders. Alright! You seem anxious to get going, and I agree! Let’s be off then, follow Jim and I!” She started walking towards a small opening in the bushes and disappeared through them.

Two by two we marched behind her, onto the beaten path lined by various specimens of wildlife, bushes, trees and... Yes, bugs. I swatted a black fly who had decided I was the tastiest of the group for his meal. Chatter from numerous birds filled the air above us.

We trudged on for what felt like an eternity, but was merely about an hour. We had slowly been climbing a hill, and it finally seemed to level out, along with the change from a thick, sultry forest to a dry, sparsely green, bleached white, rock face. Candice called for us to stop since we had reached our destination.

On my left side were many levels of rocks to sit on and eat, while on my right the rock face dropped to reveal a sparkling, navy blue body of water. The whole group gasped as they saw the view as the lake seemed to stretch on forever.

“Please leave your bags here under the shade, and you can go about exploring the area,” said Candice. “Remember to put on some sunscreen. I know how unfortunate it is for campers to have a sunburn. They can’t enjoy the rest of the camp. Also, drink lots of water. It is very dry here on the rocks. Well, that’s it, crew! Go! I mean it.” She commanded us to leave, so we all dumped our heavy backpacks in a pile and made our way down the rocks.

Some parts were pathways while some were huge steps. At one point the only way down was through a tunnel in the rock face. So one by one we clambered down and finally made it to the ground.

“It sure is hot outside,” I heard one person say, and they were right. Under the cover of the trees it was humid, but here, completely exposed in the sun was a dry hot. Other campers were already in their bathing suits. So I followed suit and took off my t-shirt and shorts.

I was feeling pretty confident in my blue and green bikini, that is, until Samy walked out of the cave wearing a silver starred bikini. Not to mention she filled hers out properly in the right places. “Don’t be jealous,” Liz said, noting my glare. She was wearing a yellow tankini.

I looked at her. “You’re right. I won’t let it ruin my time here,” then I jumped in the water.