The Picnic Place

• Matthew Keenan, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2009

It was a warm, sunny day when we went to our family picnic place. The trip there was accompanied by a circus of strange noises. When we arrived, I ran to Sarah and Emily and had a good, long chat. I knew it was going to be a great day. The river was surrounded by luscious green grass and tall, windy trees. The water was icy-cold and the current weak. Mud edged the river and the rocks were large and round.

The morning started with little kids already up to their knees in mud, whining, ‘Is lunch ready yet?’ Sarah and I splashed through the icy-cold river, trying to convince Em to join us. Lunch was a busy time for the talkative mums, and wet children pulling on their shirts didn’t improve their moods. We all sat down for a noisy family lunch, squashed together on the benches.

After we finished our delicious lunch, my mum came back from the car, hands full of paper and textas. She taught us all how to make a paper boat, which could sail for a maximum of two long minutes. We gently placed them in the water and watched them float. I followed the boats and as mine neared the shallows, I hoped it wouldn’t sink, but it got caught and slowly filled with water.

After the race, we built our traditional rock wall in the river. As kids dropped large rocks into place, we were all splashed with freezing water. Finally, the wall broke and water cascaded onto the unsuspecting children. We moved the rocks back to their original places to restore the river to its natural flow. After getting dried, when the excitement had disappeared with the warmth, we left.

I love our family picnics.