My morning came around surprisingly quickly on that warm spring day. I had woken up groggy and I could not remember how many hours of sleep I got that night. I didn't feel enthusiastic about the day ahead, but a bit of hope still lingered within me somewhere. As I dragged my feet out of my room my nose picked up a scent that breakfast had already been made but my Mom was nowhere to be found. Fortunately for me, she had left a heartwarming note to send me off for the field trip. It was quite lengthy for a little note, it honestly felt more like a letter, but the main message I got from it was: "Make some memories with your friends and just have fun in the moment." After I read the send-off letter all I could think about was how those same "best friends" laughed at me at lunch just the day before, which just made me mildly annoyed. With those thoughts in mind, the letter also reminded me to take my Tato Vitamin Gummies before I went to school. Even though my energy levels were exceedingly low I was happy to see that my packed lunch came with all my favorites. There were beef and bean burritos, chicken sandwiches, and last night's lasagna was in there as well, along with some cheesecake slices, all packed in a special bag to keep them fresh. With my Mom's top-notch cooking, I was fairly certain I could handle whatever the day threw at me.

I heard a familiar car honk outside. "Ah crap," I let out. I had forgotten my Aunt Maeve was going to pick me up and drop me off. "Come on, Nolan! You got a big day ahead let's not be late!" she hollered from the curb of her car as I rushed out the front door. Most of that car ride had consisted of my Auntie telling me about a bunch of new potato recipes she had come up with that I could try to maybe ease myself into enjoying potatoes. When that obviously was not working she decided to reminisce about my baby stories. "No matter what we did you never ate any baby food with potatoes in it!" she went on "Your mother was so concerned and had you in and out the doctors, but you were perfectly healthy." I had heard those stories a thousand times from all my relatives. My Uncles would always tell me to man up and stop taking those gummies and to use my powers for good. They would ask me how is a man who can't eat potatoes going to take care of a family and get a good job, and a bunch of other stuff like that.

As we pulled up to my high school I felt relieved for about a good thirty seconds because I didn't have to hear any more innovative recipes or childhood trauma. All that relief somehow completely evaporated when I saw my best friends wave at me along with a frantic cherry-faced Mr. Wilson doing head counts. I felt my stomach sink to the bottom of the concrete as every student was noticeably ready to go to Idaho. I had been the last to show up and every single class member in the Potato Power's class glared as I approached the huddle. Liam was the first person to show, that didn't surprise me one bit though. Brooke was super energetic and bubbly, she seemed even happier than Liam which had taken me aback. "I can't wait to see the scenery of the farm! It's supposed to be super beautiful when the sun sets." she squealed in excitement. "I really wanna see if the head farmer lives up to all the hype he's gotten, and also his equipment too" the nerd within Liam couldn't help but chime in.

Brooke and Liam continued the talks about our destination with star-gleamed eyes and gleeful optimism. All their high hopes calmed me down but also made me realize how much I didn't know about where we were going. I did not put in any time into researching the farm but according to my friends, it seems a lot cooler than I had originally anticipated. "Settle down everyone!" Mr. Wilson popped out still red. "22, 23, 24…" he continued to count under his breath. As the class quieted down they began to focus their attention towards Mr. Wilson. "Now I know we are all excited for our big trip to Idaho, but remember we are not allowed to cause trouble for any of the farm hands. If they say do not touch anything, please do not touch. Any disturbances on the farm could land the school and yourselves into serious legal problems." he announced firmly and loudly. "Remember to stick with your assigned class partners when we reach the hotel. Now… everyone on the bus, we got a long drive ahead!"

The students quickly got into an orderly line to enter our school's charter bus. I ended up getting caught up in Liam and Brooke's enthusiastic energy putting us at the front of the line. As we stepped inside I was in complete awe. I could tell the bus was big from the outside but from the inside, it seemed like a completely different bus. Every single seat was made with quality black leather paired with seat-warming controls and plenty of space for legroom. There were Big TV monitors placed in the front, middle, and back sections of the bus along with gigantic storage compartments lining the top sides of the bus. "Uh... we didn't get on the wrong bus, right? This one's ours?" Liam turned back to ask me. We had made our way to the back of the bus, I took the window seat and sat next to Liam while Brooke took the aisle seat across from us. Next to her sat a girl with curly brown hair and a slightly freckled face. The girl's name was Sally Crumlish, and I remember her name because she is one of Brooke's best friends. According to both Brooke and Liam, she is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, though I had no clue what that was like because we never talked to each other.

As everyone made their way to their seats, Mr. Wilson sat in the very back behind our group. Unfortunately for me, Brian Dermot was directly in front of our group, and for whatever reason he preferred standing rather than sitting in his comfortable heated chair. He peered over his chair and said to me "Can't believe a weirdo like you is coming along with us, don't you know this place is going to be filled with Potatoes?" Brian and his friends snickered like a group of evil rats. I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want trouble before the bus even started to move. "Bro it's gonna be all you can eat the whole trip too," his seat partner Flynn responded to him. Or at least I think his name was Flynn. "Flynn I was talking to the guy who doesn't eat potatoes, I mean really, what's he going to freakin' eat?" Looks like I guessed the name right. Before I could continue to get ridiculed by my fellow peers, Mrs. Campbell the other chaperone, spoke loudly to everyone on the bus.

"Alright looks like everyone is situated now. The driver has informed me that the bus does have Wi-Fi for everyone to connect to so please feel free to use it. He has also told me there are two bathrooms located at the back of the bus." Mr. Wilson stood up behind our group, looking very stern and ready to speak. "And please remember what I said earlier, the Head Farmer takes his job very seriously, please be very respectful towards him and his traditions. He will gladly answer all your questions and will be frequently appearing throughout the tour." Many of the students on the bus started getting excited, even Brian looked like he wanted to squeal with the other girls across from him. I leaned in and whispered to Liam, "Is the farmer really that much of a big shot? How bad am I out of the loop?" Liam looked a little disappointed at my question but quickly shifted into his smart-ass encyclopedia look. "Bill Douglas is a living legend, he's been running the Douglas farm ever since he was passed down the torch at the age of twenty, and because of his innovative genius his farm pumps out the most Potatoes in the States' but more importantly the ladies love him which makes him a huge inspiration to me." he finished off with his typical unserious tone.

Even though Liam was being smug I could tell he was being honest, both Brooke and Sally were going full-on fan girl across from us at the mention of the farming hero. "More importantly, I want you guys to have fun," Mr. Wilson continued as the class began to settle. "You guys deserve this quality tour experience, so make sure to eat all the potatoes you can and learn a thing or two!" As his send-off speech concluded the grand charter bus began to move. I buckled up as the orange indicator light in front of us flickered on. We had approximately five hours until we reached the farm in Idaho. I've heard that Idaho is filled with a bunch of farms across all of its parts and it being the biggest state in America that fact did not surprise me.

As we ventured into the landscapes of western Idaho we passed by the most serene scenery I had ever witnessed in my entire life. It had felt as if each blade of grass on the tall green hills sparkled with the twilight of the purest emeralds. The lakes glimmered with a prominent azure you only ever seem to see in pictures or magazines, and the colossal mountains dominated the landscape with their jagged and rocky snow-capped peaks. It was as if the land was brimming with some kind of magical energy from the place they call the home of potatoes, and it was then that I finally understood what Brooke was so excited to see. I wasn't the only one in awe, it seemed every person on that bus was glued to their windows.

"Woah guys look at that!" the student in front of Brian and Flynn called out standing and pointing. Everyone's heads quickly shifted to the left side of the bus. "What is that thing?" A classmate blurted out curiously. I swayed my head back and forth over Brooke and Sally trying not to miss out on what everyone was going crazy about. Then I saw it, a giant mammal covered in brown fur with the fur around its head being darker than its body. It had gigantic antlers and it moved with a confident stride. "Isn't that a moose?" Flynn asked. "Actually class that animal is called an Elk." Mr. Wilson answered deciding to ease our curious minds. The class continued to "ooh and ah" at the site of different wildlife and terrain. It was so amazing it generated discussions throughout the entire bus. "I cannot believe Idaho is this much different than Washington" Liam chimed in. "It kinda seems unreal… I can't even believe it and I am looking right at it now!" Brooke marveled while taking a million pictures on her phone. "It's like a fairy tale, it makes me wanna draw it all!" Sally squealed grinning happily.

"You know, it was quite a big deal when the Idaho Purchase of 1803 got approved. The U.S barely managed to gain the lands from the Irish, since every single nation wanted the beautiful lands and fruitful rivers." Mr. Wilson commented sliding in a little history lesson. "Oh yeah, that's when the States finally became one of the biggest contenders for growing and selling potatoes," Liam added with more of his geek speak. "Oh come on, what's with the history talk," Brian pestered into the conversation. "Can't we just save it for the tour guides?" A few of his goons including Flynn rat snickered again at his comments. "Now Mr. Dermot…" Mr. Wilson started.

Before any of the scolding could begin, one of the students at the front of the bus announced "Guys look there it is, it's huge!" The farm was finally in sight and I could not believe we had already traveled for almost five hours. It was as if the gorgeous lands of Idaho distorted our sense of time with its wonders. As we peered outside of our windows we knew we were finally within range of our destination. Acres upon acres of planted potatoes and farmhands. "It's ginormous…" Liam blurted out dumbfounded, with his mouth hung open. "So this is what almost a million acres of land looks like" he continued with eyes of disbelief. That's when the drive began to feel slow for me. I am sure it was fine for everyone else but the sight of potato patches over and over made the approach to the farm feel like an eternity.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Our bus drove past the edge of the farm where the hotel blocks were located. It had seemed like this place was treated like some sort of tourist resort spot. We passed by plenty of merchandise stores and billboards displaying pictures of Bill Douglas and the farm. I could tell exactly when someone saw the farmer's face because the girls would start crying out annoyingly in excitement. We had finally made it to our hotel and thankfully both potatoes and screaming had stopped. As we stepped out we got a good view of how big the hotel was. "This has gotta be like fifty floors at least" I overheard Brooke telling Sally. "Remember Class to stick with your trip buddy in the hotel. Mrs. Campbell will be taking the ladies to the east wing of our floor and I will be taking the guys to the west. Please do not lose any of your room keys, we will hold on to the spares just in case anything happens" Mr. Wilson lectured sternly.

I was lucky to have Liam as my trip buddy anyone else would've been terrible. The chaperones distributed all of the room keys after they checked all of us into the hotel. Brooke waved goodbye as she and Sally had to stay on the complete opposite side of the hotel. Brian and Flynn were the first ones out of the elevator, running out as we stepped onto the thirty-third floor. "You boys might want to save that energy for the tour tomorrow morning" advised Mr. Wilson. Liam and I found room 3352 near the elevators and some windows. Our room was plenty spacious but all I could think about was jumping on the bed and getting tomorrow over with. "I am so hungry I could eat a potato pizza the size of our bus" Liam groaned while rubbing his stomach. "I cannot wait to see what the hotel's dinner buffet looks like. Your coming with right?" he asked already moving towards the door.

I hesitated to answer. I just knew that all the food at the buffet was going to be potato-based dishes. "I think I'm going to just eat in the room" I spluttered with my head faced down and eyes fixed on the carpet. "You'll be fine man the potato-only stuff is for the farm and tour, the hotel has plenty of other food" Liam prodded. He must've seen a sign of relief come from my face after he said that because he went from a concerned friend face to a "Let's go dude I'm hungry" face instantly.

Dinner that evening was basically what I had expected. I ate from a limited selection at the buffet while everyone else basically ate five start potato dishes. To no one's surprise, all the potato-based dishes had been advertised to be freshly grown from the farm next door. Of course, Brian had poked fun at me for eating all the non-potato stuff though I tried my best to ignore most of it. I was able to sit next to Brooke, Liam, and Sally during dinner, and to be completely honest; they were right she is very nice. At dinner she told a lot of funny jokes and included me in every conversation, she even told Brian to get off my back while we ate. I could see why she and Brooke got along. Mr. Wilson kept insisting we read over the itinerary so we know the plan for the tour tomorrow. He also urged us not to oversleep in the morning and to be ready by 9:30 am. I also learned that Kelsie and Harris might be dating thanks to Brooke and Sally's gossip but that part wasn't really important. I finished up my regular salad and my regular tacos pretty fast, everyone else took their time to devour the buffet.

Everyone sluggishly moved to their rooms when dinner was finished. I could not wait to go to sleep and get tomorrow over with. After we showered, Liam and I decided to play Powerz Battle Royale for a bit. We made for a good duo we went on a four game win streak before calling it a day. It did not take us long to pass out after that. Liam remembered to set an alarm so we were up around eight the following morning. Some of my classmates were enjoying their complimentary breakfast before our departure. Everyone was in high spirits, super excited for the day ahead. Sally greeted me with a cheery good morning, the kind that boosted everyone's mood. She and Brooke also pointed out that Harris and Kelsie were sharing some hash browns and coffee by themselves just a few tables down from us. At first, I didn't really care but after seeing them together I had gotten kind of invested. I sneakily took my daily gummies before we boarded the bus, and I made sure not a single soul saw me take them.

When we all boarded the bus, it seemed everyone sat in the same seats we originally sat in during the road trip. Mr. Wilson prodded on about the schedule for the day while everyone got comfortable in their premium black seats. The ride from the hotel to the start of the farm tour entrance did not take long. We arrived on an elevated spot within the gigantic plot of land, which allowed us to see the vast stretch of potato crops. It really did extend as far as the eye could see, harvesting vehicles, farmhands, and a bunch of green. But to me, it wasn't all that exciting.

When we stepped out of the bus many of the tour guides looked like farmers themselves. All of them wore clunky muddy boots, dirt-covered denim jeans, and farming gloves were holstered on every single one of them. "Howdy Bellevue boys and girls!" The guide in the middle beamed, "My name is Aaron Douglas, I am the younger brother of big-headed Bill Douglas." Everyone in the class including me giggled at the introduction. "The Douglas family is glad y'all could join us today, we are very excited to show you our home. Y'all will get to sample fresh potatoes, see how they're cultivated and grown as well as get an exclusive interview with Billy himself." The whole class got pumped up, small cheers peppered the audience for Mr. Douglas. "We got even more goodies in the gift shops for y'all to check out later. You kiddos will also get a brief tour of the main house up the road, that's where Billy will be taking the reigns." More excitement took over the audience again. "Settle down students, let our guides finish explaining," instructed Mrs. Campbell. "Why thank you miss," the Douglas brother gently replied.

"Now the land we have here is a whopping total of nine hundred and twenty-six thousand acres," the lady tour guide in the red flannel exclaimed. "With it being that much I'd hate for y'alls feet to be hurtin' so we're fixin' to take these," Mr. Douglas pointed to a series of tractors that were each lined with seats and big wheels made for dirt. They seemed like some sort of hybrid kart, like some sort of tractor-tour buggy. "Before we start headin' out I'd like to getcha' guys into groups of five, I'll let your personal guides all introduce themselves once we get y'all settled." We all got assigned a leader for our tour guide along with a designated buggy number. "Heya guys my name is May! Don't be afraid to ask me any questions, alright?" the lady in the red flannel cheered to us. Luckily, all the members in my group happened to be all the people I got off the bus with. Which means I was with all the people in the back of the bus; Liam, Brooke, Sally, as well as Mr. Wilson.

Though we were at the back of the charter bus, we were at the front for the tour line. We rode in tractor number one and we were first in line for every excursion. Right behind us rode Brian and his goons, who I could hear snickering and high-fiving the entire way throughout the brown-spotted green patches. Our tour guide May explained a lot of facts about the farm and how many potatoes they produced, though I ignored most of it. Being in the first tractor was still pretty cool, we got to ride with Aaron Douglas since he was leading the tour. He and Mr. Wilson got along really well, but that didn't surprise me at all I couldn't imagine anyone hating on our teacher. Sally and Brooke seemed awe-struck at the experience like they couldn't believe they were so close to someone who was related to Bill Douglas. Aaron was a very polite man and spoke with a genuine tone towards both my friends and my teacher, in a way that made you comfortable in engaging in conversation with him. Even so, I stayed very quiet.

We made our way through the expansive potato farm. While doing so the farmhands showed us the processes of how to tell when a potato is ready to be picked, and how they pick them in mass with combine harvesters. The guides offered us various types of fresh potato samples between each exhibit. As I declined more and more free samples the guides became more and more assertive, almost aggressive, in getting me to try the farm's potatoes. They explained a boatload of farm and potato-related facts throughout the tour but most of us learned all the ones they said in school so I tuned a majority out anyway. However there was a strong tone switch when they talked about how the wrong kind of potatoes have the potential to give you solanine poisoning, and I even caught a few of the scary glares of farmhands and tour guides directed at me.

The tour dragged for me but my group seemed to be having the most fun on earth. Sally and Brooke took more pictures than the paparazzi, and Liam and Mr. Wilson constantly looked like little kids in a candy store. Lunchtime slowly came around, and it was time to dig into my Mom's amazing cooking. "Now you kiddos go ahead and eat up, we got fresh tatos' all around! My brother will take over once y'all have finished chowin'." Aaron Douglas's deep farmer voice bellowed as he exited the mess hall with a few of the other guides. I was mostly able to eat my food in peace, the kitchen staff and other farm natives gave me the stink eye every time I looked away from the table. Luckily Brian was too giddy at the tour and homegrown food to bother me for not eating potatoes.

After we finished our meals it was time for the second half of the tour with the legend himself. The guides who remained moved my class outside and back onto the tractor buggies. They drove us down the road closer to the giant ranch house. Every single one of my classmates anxiously anticipated meeting Bill Douglas, even Brooke and Sally stopped taking pictures and sat in complete silence for the whole drive. As we approached the house, I saw golden retrievers running around the front green lawns of the house playing catch with a couple of kids. I noticed a man watching them from the rails of the front porch. As our tractors got closer the figure from the front of the house approached us. The first thing I noticed was that he was a tall and hairy man, he had a full beard and hair all over his muscular arms. This guy had to be well into his forties. To me, he looked more like a lumberjack than a farmer but when he spoke his mannerisms and tone were just like his brother. "How are y'all liking my farm? She's quite some work ain't she?" the lumberjack guy greeted the class. "I'm the Head Farmer as some of you might already know, my name is Bill Douglas, and it's mighty fine to meetcha'."