Camp Fever

• Kylie Choi, Grade 3
• Short Story
• 2013

‘Claudia! Wake up!’ Ashley called as her voice rang through my ear. I’m Claudia and my best friend Ashley is here with me at grade 6 camp. My mum forced me to go to this kind of scout camp, and already I hate it. When canoeing, a girl called Tiffany splashed me with her bright paddles yesterday afternoon and the water landed straight on my pants! Everybody including Ashley laughed madly about my wet pants. They said that I weed in my pants! I felt so embarrassed. And today, it’s not going too well.

Monday
Woke up with a bucket filled with freezing water poured freshly on my head. I still haven’t figured it out who did that to me but now, my sleeping bag is totally soaked. I had to dry it off in the sun. I also found this message next to my sleeping bag. It says = Meet me at the Forest of Silence. If you’re not such a scaredy-cat! And it’s anonymous. How can this person do this to me! But I like solving mysteries. I secretly push it in my front pocket of my silver sparkly denim backpack. I’m going outside now. Tried to find Ashley, but I don’t think I can find her. Looked everywhere, even in the out of bounds section, but can’t find her. Now Stephanie, my cabin leader, is calling me. She says that my breakfast is getting cold. Pancakes, that is. Also with hot milo.

Monday afternoon
It’s now time for bushwalking. Hate it! I always try to prevent myself from bushwalking because I always get blunt fingernails and horrible blisters. I’m walking with Stephanie and I try to sneak in some excuses to not go bushwalking, since the last time I went bushwalking Ashley tripped me over and pushed me into the stream. It was horribly cold. But that was 2 years ago. It should’ve changed by now.

Monday night

Remember the time I told you that I got pushed into the stream once by Ashley, and when I said it won’t happen again because it was 2 years ago, this time, a girl with hazelnut hair and blond freckles tricked me by saying there was a gang gang cockatoo up the clouds and when I looked up, she touched me roughly and basically pushed me into the river. I nearly drowned- since I can’t swim. I started these ridiculous swim classes when I was 3 and it hasn’t paid off much. I think it’s because I quit when I was 5. But now let’s talk about the girl that pushed me into the river. I think her names Brownie. Such a name for a hazelnut- coloured hair girl. Now it’s time for me to get to dinner. Lasagne with mashed potatoes and peas. Ugh! Why is life so horrible for me?

Tuesday morning

I started packing up. I’m done here. I had breakfast. Cereal, hey. Ashley’s going. I ‘m going too. It’s the end for now. Bye.
Claudia