“Is everyone excited for the camping trip?” Shayne asks. Shayne and some friends are going on an annual senior camping trip on Halloween. He loves to go on camping and hiking trips with his parents, but he doesn’t get to go with his friends a lot.
“I think we’re all excited, Shayne,” says his friend Vivian. Vivian has known Shayne since 6th grade, and they have been sitting at a lunch table together for years.
“Honestly, who wouldn’t be?” Dylan mumbles as he eats his burger. Dylan is similar to Shayne in more ways than one, the main reason being that they both love adventuring outside.
“I hope nothing goes wrong, but I’m excited nonetheless,” said Ezra. She is Ethan’s newest friend, as she just joined this year.
Ethan then speaks up. “I’ve been waiting for this trip for a long time.” He purposely looks at everyone except Shayne when he talks. Ethan is part of their friend group, but he despises Shayne. This is because when they were in 7th grade, Shayne attempted to pull a harmless prank by sneaking a fake, but believable, snake in Ethan’s locker, who is very scared of snakes. When he saw it, however, he jumped back in fear, and he accidentally jumped into his friend Liam, who was walking by. Liam got knocked onto the floor, but he landed on his arm weirdly and got sent to the hospital. When he arrived, however, the doctors realized the injury was much worse than they had initially realized, and Liam ended up dying shortly.
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After everyone finished their burgers, Vivian excitedly says, “Well, now that we’re all done with lunch, I think everyone knows what time it is. Happy birthday, Shayne!” Everyone at the table enthusiastically gets out their gifts and gives them to Shayne, while Ethan reluctantly pulls out a card and walks away. The presents all had amazing gifts in them, including a small portable camping stove and a nice copy of The Hobbit. When Shayne opened Ethan’s card, however, there was an unpleasant message waiting for him.
“Congrats, you’re another year older! Be careful though, as it may be your last…”
Shayne shows it to Vivian, who asks, “Why would he do this? I mean, I know you two stopped talking… but that’s just creepy.”
“I feel like it’s kind of forced,” said Shayne. “It’s clear that he hates me, so why would he even give me a card in the first place?”
“Here, let me see,” said Ezra. She looks at it, then says, “It’s like he’s trying to get this message to you somehow… but why?”
“We should probably ignore it,” said Shayne. “It’s probably just Ethan being obnoxious again.”
After getting home from school, Shayne had to pack his stuff for the camping trip. He packed standard camping gear, including a tent, snacks, and a sleeping bag. Also, everyone going on the trip agreed to bring a food or drink item, and since everyone likes Snapple tea, Shayne decided to bring some.
Shayne and his parents then went out for dinner. He got breaded tilapia, which is one of his favorites. After dinner, he went to bed, thinking about the adventure that awaits him tomorrow.