Chapter Three

I scream in frustration for what seems like the 100th time. Unintentionally it was loud; it was so loud that the people walking 30 feet ahead of me turned back and looked at me. Once they saw they saw who had let out the horrible and grueling sound, the person on the right made the infamous cuckoo gesture, while the other person snickered in twisted delight. I just squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to let the salty tear roll down my cheek, like its predecessors had been doing ever since the fall. Oh, the famous fall! It turns out that somebody had recorded the humiliating moment and had decided to post it on their youtube channel under the name " Loser Girl's embarrassing trip." I am so lucky to have such caring and sensitive classmates!

I wipe my tears, and a small smile made itself onto my lips as I breathed in the cold outdoors air. It was ironic honestly, that I was having such a horrible time, in such a beautiful place. The trees were extremely tall and full of vibrant green leaves. The cloudless blue sky glistened above, an occasional bird flying through it. Many small habitats were present in the dirt-filled ground, and insects buzzed throughout the sweet air. Thankfully, I had remembered to put on the insect repellent spray that my grandma had packed for me in my dull backpack. Even though it smelled horrible, it felt really nice to see Lindsey Walters trying to scratch all over her body at once. You really find happiness in unexpected moments, don't you?

Speaking of happiness; Mr. Harrison exclaimed in delight, as he spotted our campsite. His enthusiasm turned out to be quite infectious because a big cheer went through our class. I decided not to participate in the hurrah, as I was sad to leave the tracking behind. I had often gone hiking with my brother, in the woods in my grandma's backyard and to be in an environment that felt like home, really helped cheer me up.

All of my fellow classmates ran towards the campsite and yelled out where they wanted to place their tent, however, I calmly walked towards the now busy campsite. As I was doing so, I unintentionally overheard a small argument happening between two girls; a brunette and a blond. Apparently, they were talking about the basketball game that occurred in Madison Square Garden last night. Since basketball tended to make me yawn, I resumed my attention towards finding the perfect spot to set up my personal tent.

As I was setting up my midnight black tent, my mind unintentionally went to the road trip my family and I had once embarked on. It had lasted several days, and it had given me a new meaning of the word serenity. As we had driven along the bright blue waters of the pacific ocean, I had felt peaceful, like I was right where I wanted to be. I remember imagining dolphins leaping out of the calm waters; large strands of coral swaying with the ocean current; bright colorful fish darting within the water. I remember feeling happy.

That memory was evidence of the fact that even though the world could be a cruel place, there is still pureness. And that is why I still have hope. I have hope that one day the world will not be as cruel; I have hope that people that are different than us will still be accepted; I have hope that there won't be more any videos titled " Loser girl's Embarrassing trip "; I have hope that the future will be a better place. Some people might call me a fool for still having hope in the human species, but you know what, I couldn't care less. Although the events that took place after that touching thought made me re-think the whole humans can improve idea.

Apparently, Lindsey Walters had thought that since she was miserable, everyone else should be as well. So, she had taken out the candy she had snuck into her backpack and dropped all of it around our campsite. Basically, she invited a whole horde of ants. To say that Mr. Harrison was furious would be an understatement. He practically had smoke coming out of his ears and his face strongly resembled a ripe tomato.

" How could you possibly be so stupid! " screamed Mr. Harrison. His arms started flying around as he explained the consequences of her selfish actions. Well, at least there is a silver lining; Lindsey will be receiving detention! As soon as she heard her sentence, Lindsey paled immediately. She was the type of girl that never got into trouble; she was the ideal good girl. Well, she really should have thought of the repercussions of her actions.

Speaking about the repercussions of her actions; groups of ants have now started to infect our campsite. " Fire ants!" shrieked a nearby person. I whirled around to see who and discovered that it was Nick Anderson. " Fire ants can be as long as 1/4 inch and their color can vary from reddish-brown to black. They also sting! " He exclaimed while running in no apparent direction. As soon as I heard his statement, one thought immediately came to me; why in the world does this kid know so much about fire ants?

Then I comprehended what he had just said.