AWOL's+Writing

= = 10/31/07 Writer’s Guild Warm Up Softly humming, the engine of a NeonX9 high-speed hover car started. Bobbie hopped in the car and sped off. Off to school Bobbie thought to herself. Quickly accelerating in an upward direction, Bobbie, calm and quiet, maneuvered her craft to Robertson High School, floating in the sky. As Bobbie landed the high tech machine of the future, a bell rang. Bobbie, already late for class, jumped out of her car and dashed off in the direction of the school. Moments later, she was sitting in her advanced robotics engineering class. With a short beep, a voice came on the intercom. “Will Bobbie Swift please report to the front office,” the electronic voice said. Nervously, Bobbie rose and walked out of the classroom towards the office. When she reached the door, her principal was waiting outside for her. He opened the door for her, with a glare on his face. She walked in only to find herself face to face with the one person she hated. Acne and scars covering his face, Adam Walker, the class jerk, stood in front of Bobbie, staring at her with hate. “According to this young man, you are responsible for the recent vandalism of the school. The fine will be over one thousand dollars and one hundred hours of community service if you are found guilty. You will testify to the jury tomorrow afternoon. Good day,” the principal stated. Bobbie walked out of the room, not wanting to think about the days to come. She then went to her home, floating above the city below. She decided that the evidence against her was too solid to argue against. Quickly, she packed her belongings and got back into her car. She was moving on to a better life, where no one would know of her past crimes. Bobbie slammed the door shut, thankful to bring that chapter of her life to a close.

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Huffing and puffing, I straddle my bag of camping gear in an attempt to close the zipper. As I shake my gear for the week to come, clothes, plates, sweatshirts, and random junk clank around, all stuffed within the behemoth bag. With a satisfying “zip” the bag closes shut. I lift the bag onto my shoulders, only to be crushed by the weight. Slowly standing up, I head towards my scrawny car, barely able to start. I load up my gear. I proceed to buckle up as the car pulls out of the driveway. The sun shines overhead, heating my chilled body. My car comes to a stop at the park and ride. Exhaust fills the air. Quickly unlatching the trunk, I remove its contents. Briskly walking towards the bus that will take us to camp, I load up my gear once again. I turn and walk up into the bus. I choose to sit in the middle, positioning myself right in front of a luxurious TV. Slowly, people start to come onto the bus. The scoutmaster calls roll and then we leave for the 3 hour ride. Clouds loom overhead now, threatening to burst. I ignore them, thinking of the exciting week to come.

With a crack of lighting in the sky, I exit the bus. Scouts get their gear quickly, trying to beat the storm. I feel a drop on my nose. I look up towards the sky, only to see thousands of drops of water, pouring from the sky like a rain of arrows from the heavens. With a colossal roar, the rain falls upon me. In a flash I don my raincoat. Then I walk towards camp, not looking towards the days to come.

During the week, I attend merit badge classes, eat in the mess hall, and hang around camp. On the third day of non stop rain, our campsite becomes a puddle. Our camp is at the bottom of a small mountain. All the other camps are at the top. Unfortunately, runoff from the other camps makes it down to our camp, where the water settles into a topological depression. As I walk through our camp, I never step in a spot where I don’t sink three inches or more in the muck. It is like being in an aquarium, only I am the one in the cage and Poseidon is the observer. However, the rain isn’t the only problem. The other campers become restless, nagging at each other and crying for their homes and parents. Adults are influenced by the rain in similar ways. Parents from other troops begin blindly accusing my troop of stealing glasses (Yes, I know that is random). It turns out they were lost inside the owners tent.

Looking back on that week, I now realize it wasn’t that bad. Our campsite flooded. So what? Our tents were dry and that’s all that mattered. Several people left early. I guess they couldn’t take it. The most memorable part of the whole camp was the night it thundered right above our camp for three hours. Numerous trees were spilt in half as a result. It finally stopped raining on the last day of camp. Everyone in camp was happy to leave, taking their wet, moldy belongings with them. Most people never wanted to go to summer camp again, but not me. I wanted to go as many more times as I could, as I truly enjoy the outdoor experience.