Utter and complete insanity.
It's the only phrase I can come up with
Which could describe the game
And its invention.
Utter and complete insanity.
The towel is slick from the water
Which drenched my hand a few moments before
When I didn't get there fast enough.
Charlie slaps the towel and it's all I can do to hold on.
But - cool it, we have to be ready for the serve...
I run, Charlie runs, Frank runs, Alicia runs...
We're all running to catch the balloon
In the towels we hold outstretched before us.
I cringe upon hearing the SMACK
Of the desired balloon colliding
With the ground
As we collide with each other,
Rather annoyed.
The water splashes Alicia's ankles.
The yells from Frank,
The whining of Charlie,
And Alicia moaning about the water...
I just laugh.
And the game continues.
People yell in the background,
Caleb runs onto the field,
Brandishing a new balloon for us to serve over the net.
The other team looks scared
Despite our balloon-dropping-skills.
Good.
They should.
We've won every single game we've played
And we're not about to lose now.
Especially to the team that hasn't won once.
Finally, Alicia and Frank catch the balloon
With the satisfying THUD of success.
I'm happy with myself.
For once.
I couldn't be happier than any time spent at Camp Wearami.
Yes, you heard me right.
Camp Wearami.
But it's not spelled that way...
Never mind.
I sigh, inhaling the bitter smoke
From the garbage fire across the campground.
It burns my throat and I cough.
But I don't care.
I could live here.
Garbage fires or not.
We all go to bed smelling like the smoke,
We eat smelling like the smoke,
We play water balloon volleyball smelling like the smoke,
But nobody here cares.
It's worth anything to be here.
The fires burn all day long and late into the night
An orange smudge
In the completely, utterly empty wilderness.
Empty, that is,
Except for us.
We're loud little campers,
And there's only twenty or so,
But somehow we manage...
It's a good thing there's no one around
For miles
And miles.
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