Camp Wanakita

By Huy Ho

It was a chilly fall night at Camp Wankita and my cabinmate just finished eating dinner at our campsite.

“Cabin 16, it's your turn to clean up the dining hall,” called the camp leader.

“Come on, are you kidding me? We did that at lunch,” my cabinmate John cried out.

“Let’s get this done so we can go on the night walk,” I said.

“I agree with Huey, we don't want to be left behind just because you're too stubborn to put plates in the dishwasher,” another cabinmate shouted from the kitchen. His name is Andrew.

“You shouldn't be complaining about this. It was your fault dinner was late because you were so excited to go rock climbing that you forgot to press the wash button,” Kyle added.

“Like you can talk, Kyle. You missed a whole row just because you were in a rush to talk to your talking stage,” John clapped back at Kyle.

“Can you guys lock in and clean? I think everyone is ready to go,” I said after putting the last dish in the dishwasher.

“Ok, let's double‑check so we don't do this tomorrow morning,” Andrew said, sounding as if he regretted putting us down as cabinmates.

“Finally, we’re ready to go to the others. I hope Marie wasn't waiting too long for me,” Kyle said after rushing out the door.

“Guys… did they leave or did I take the wrong door out?”

“What on God’s green earth do you mean wrong door? There is only one door we always use to leave this dump,” John said while putting on his jacket.

“The group said they’d wait for us. I told you it was a bad idea to watch The Cabin in the Woods at night. You're probably just tired from sleeping for 3 hours,” Andrew called out while turning off the lights.

“Alright, why are you guys just standing at the door? Is there a bear or something?” I said while waiting for everyone to move out of the way.

“Huey… they’re all gone. They already went on the trail,” Andrew said, saying “trail” with the longest L I ever heard.

“NOOOOOOOOOO MARIE LEFT WITHOUT ME!” Kyle screamed as if Marie died.

“Dude, our cabin leader would surely remember us, right? I mean… he’d notice, right?” John said with the look of a guy who chugged a whole pot of coffee.

“Yeah… the chances are low since David is with his girlfriend. What if we go look for them?”

That was the worst decision we all agreed to.

Crickets chirping in the dark in the middle of a forest.

“God, you know Huey, why on earth did we not stay and wait for someone to pick us up?” Andrew said with tears in his eyes.

“Don’t blame Huey, blame Kyle. He’s in his lover‑boy era, running in the woods as if Marie would magically appear like an angel,” John said while dragging Kyle by one hand.

“In my defence, it was a sarcastic joke that shouldn’t have been taken seriously,” I said while dragging Kyle by his other hand.

“My poor Marie… she must be so worried.”

This was the most I’d seen Kyle cry, but it was hard for me and John not to laugh at the fact he wasn’t fighting us like he did before.

“Ok, but like for real, how do we get back with the others? Because I remember David saying at the crossroads to go left,” Andrew said after regaining his sanity.

“Nah, I swear it was NOT left,” John said with the most confidence he ever had.

“I’ll go wherever Marie would go,” Kyle whispered.

“Yo, I’m just saying I’m going to throw this kid down this hill. What y’all think?” I said, tired of his lover‑boy BS.

“I’M DOWN! HOW DOES A 10/10 FALL FOR KYLE’S CHOP‑CHEESE ASS? ON THE COUNT OF 3!” John shouted at the top of his lungs, somehow.

“First off, we are NOT sacrificing Kyle, unfortunately. Secondly, we’re at the crossroads and we are NOT splitting into groups of two. Do I make myself clear?” Andrew said as if he were a single dad.

“SIR YES SIR,” me and John said as we dropped Kyle like a sack of potatoes.

“So now which way should we go?” Kyle asked, trying to dust himself off.

“I’m saying let’s go wherever the wind blows,” John said as his 3 hours of sleep caught up to him.

“I’m gonna follow your lead. Let’s go left,” I said, tired.

CRACK.

For the first time on the trip, I heard a group of boys, whose average height was 178 cm, scream like chickens as a figure slowly appeared, revealing Marie.

“Oh, it’s just you, Marie. Did you get separated like us?” Andrew asked.

“You know I could hear you guys screaming. Also, I don’t want to ask what’s happening next to you, Andrew,” Marie said with a concerned look.

“What do you mean—ohhhhhhh… what are you guys doing?” Andrew’s face slowly shifted to concern.

What they saw was John in Kyle’s arms while I was holding back a random stick I found in horror.

“Oh my god, Marie, is that you?” Kyle said as he dropped John and ran toward her.

“Ow—really man? That was not cool doing that to your bro Kyle,” John said while rolling in pain.

“Wait… you came from the right path, didn’t you?” I asked with a confused look.

“Yeah, they changed plans. The lake is really nice—you can see the moonshine off the water,” Marie said while petting Kyle as if he were a dog.

“Oh, good to see you losers didn’t kick the bucket, huh?” David said behind me while John was still rolling in pain.

We all got quiet, and all in unison—except for Kyle, who was whining to Marie about his experience—we threw whatever we saw at David.

“Mate, if you ever have kids, I’m calling CPS on your ass, just know,” John said while getting up.

“How on earth are you the student president of our school?” Andrew said with an “I’m not mad, just disappointed” face.

“I hope you enjoyed your time with your girl while we were suffering,” I said with a sour face.

“In my defense, when me and Marie went back for you all, we saw you guys chasing Kyle.”

“Yeah, we should’ve dropped Kyle, Huey.”

“Yeah, we really should’ve.”

“David, can we go back to the others? I’m done with this already,” Andrew said with disdain.

“Alright, loser man named John, let’s go back with everyone else,” David said.

As we finally got back with the big group, we saw the beautiful moonlight as Kyle and Marie had their first kiss and tied the knot and became a thing.

“My god, maybe he isn’t that chop,” John said, trying his best not to ruin the moment.

“Damn, let the poor guy have his moment, man,” we said, staring at John with that type of face.

“Damn, my bad.”

“Alright losers, get your lame selves up. It’s time to go back to our cabin,” David said with a smirk.

“Nah, that’s messed up. You know what you’re doing—trying to move the golden retriever away from its owner,” I said with a disappointed look.

“Marie, please walk Kyle home. I’m not dragging him home,” Andrew said.

“You got it. Let’s go, Kyle.”

“Yes dear, on my way.”

30 minutes later, the group got lost because of David’s horrible instructions.

About the writer

Hi! My name is Huy (Huey). I’m a Grade 11 student from  Brebeuf College School who is actively involved in multiple community events. I am a member of the ICT SHSM, so I took many roles in events like Sound Operator for my school plays, setting up equipment for mass/events, and making lights for concerts. Some of my hobbies are playing video games and exploring the city.

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