Check-In Chaos ~ Life at Camp

Hello friends! I am over the moon to officially begin Camp Happy Heart 2021! Woohoo! Months of planning and we’re finally here! I have a lot of fun stuff planned…

Today we’re starting with a photostory about Cloud and Mischief checking into camp…enjoy!

I glanced around at my house one last time. “See you in a few months,” I thought.

“Kids, hurry up!” Daddy called. I raced to the car, not wanting to get the worst seat in the car. Having six siblings meant that every car trip was a fight for the shotgun seat.

Sandy had just beat me. I stuck my tongue out at her as she slid into the seat I was hoping to secure. Sighing, I hopped into the second-best seat.

The drive seemed to take hours. But as soon as I caught sight of Camp Happy Heart, my mood lightened.

As soon as I stepped out of the car, I felt the familiar sense of coming home. I breathed the fresh air and smiled. 

I was finally back at Camp Happy Heart.

Bags were tossed to the side as we all ran to our friends. Though we’d seen each other throughout the school year, we were all excited about the prospect of spending a whole summer together.

Out of the corner of my eye, I found my best friend Mischief. I sauntered over to him and said hello.

“What up dude?” he greeted.

We exchanged a fistbump and headed for the check-in desk.

“We’re here to check into Ths Super Adventurer cabin,” I grinned.

Our cabin that we’d spent the past two years in was a blast. It was the only boy cabin, and thus we boys had grown close. I couldn’t wait to spend another summer with them.

Counselor Summer glanced over her clipboard.

“Okay! You are in The Super Adventurer’s cabin Cloud, but Mischief’s in The Nature Explorers.” she chirped.

It was like a kick in the pants. Mischief and I were in different cabins?

Shaking my head, I replied, “There must be some mistake. There’s only one boy cabin!”

“Yeah!” Mischief piped up. “Cloud and I have got to be in the same cabin.”

Summer tapped her foot. “Nope. We had to add a couple of cabins due to all our new campers.”

My lips pointed towards the ground. “That’s not fair! Mischief’s my best friend, we have to be in the same cabin!”

“I’m sorry, but the forms say you’re in separate cabins. There is nothing I can do.”

Pbh, like I believed that. The counselors were in charge of the camp. Of course Summer could put us in the same cabin!

“Fine,” Mischief sighed.

I was a little shocked at how he was taking the news. My best friend was many things, but passive was not one of them. He had to be planning something.

I stopped protesting and followed Mischief to his cabin. “What are you up to?”

“Shh, just play along,” was his reply.

I followed him into the wooden building. Inside, Counselor Clarice was waiting for us.

“Welcome to The Nature Explorers!” she bellowed.

Mischief smiled. “We’re happy to be here!”

Though I hid behind Mischief, Clarice wasn’t blind. She quickly noticed me.

“What are you doing here Cloud? Do you need help finding your cabin?”

I shook my head.

“He’s actually in our cabin!” Mischief added. “There was a mix-up in the forms and Cloud wasn’t put into any cabin. So I just told Summer that Cloud can stay in our cabin.”

“Oh, I see,” Clarice looked off into space.

Just then, Chip and Waffle came barrelling in.

“Welcome!” Clarice cheered with a smile on her face. “We’re going to have a great time here in The Nature Explorers.”

Chip glared at me. “What’s he doing here?”

“There was a bit of a mix-up at the check-in desk,” Clarice explained. “Cloud will be staying here until we get that sorted out.”

I struggled to hide the grin that crept across my face. Mischief’s plan had worked! We would get to stay in the same cabin after all!

Clarice left us for a counselor meeting and we began unpacking. I felt a twinge of guilt in the pit of my stomach, but I buried it. No real harm was done, and I had gotten what I wanted. So why didn’t I feel glad about it?

My cabinmates exchanged jokes and conversation, but I stayed silent. I didn’t want to accidentally ruin my stay in The Nature Explorers.

Eventually, it was time for lunch. We ventured out as a group to the mess hall.

I poked at my sandwich. I didn’t know why, but I wasn’t as hungry as normal.

“There he is!” I heard a voice call. I turned to see that the voice belonged to Tye.

“Hey,” I sighed.

“We’ve been looking for you! You’re supposed to be in our cabin,” he explained. “We just didn’t see you after check-in.”

“Oh, there was a mix-up…” I trailed off.

I heard a familiar set of footsteps walk up behind me.

“Cloud! Where were you?” Mommy asked. “You were supposed to be in my cabin!”

“There was a mix-up!” I let Mischief explain what had happened. “Summer told us to go to The Nature Explorer’s cabin.”

The guilt ate away at me from the inside out.

“That’s a lie,” I mumbled.

“What was that?” Mommy asked.

I swallowed before explaining. “Mischief and I wanted to be in the same cabin. So, I just went with him and we kinda, um, lied to Clarice.”

Mommy’s smile turned into a thin line. “I see,”

Guilt compressed my stomach. I had disappointed my mother. “I’m sorry Mommy.”

“I understand why you did it. But it was wrong,” Mommy replied.

“What are you going to do about it?” I nervously asked.

“Well for starters we’re going to straighten this all up with Clarice. You’re in my cabin Cloud. It’ll do you good to make new friends.” she explained.

Mischief nodded. “So that’s our punishment?”

Mommy laughed. “Well, you’ll also do a lot of cleaning dishes this week. More than usual.”

Mischief smirked. “Okay, so dishes. Because that went so well last time.”

Mommy tapped her chin. “Okay, maybe you two are on toilet duty.”

Mischief and I groaned. Cleaning toilets was not how I imagined spending my free time at Camp Happy Heart. Yet, I didn’t feel so bad about it. Mischief and I had lied, which was wrong. Was it really so bad that we were being punished?

I did feel sad that Mischief and I would be in different cabins. But as Mommy had said, it would do us good to bond with new people. Once again, I was eager to know what memories this summer would have in store for me.

Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned for the welcome ceremony to Camp Happy Heart tomorrow!