The Day Begins

Okay, I’m back. I saw Mike in the hall. He said, “You just keep writing until you write yourself out of here and back home” —which is what I am planning on doing. (I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I really would like to see my mom, ASAP).

I arrived in Jackson, Montana after a million hours on a bus. It was late. That was the first time I met Mike. He showed me to a dorm where the three other guys from our group were already asleep. There was a lot of snoring going on, but I guess I finally fell asleep myself.

I know I must have slept at least a little, because I woke up to some horrible bugle call at what must have been 5am or something. It was still dark outside. Mike came running through barking, “The day begins now!” He pulled the blankets off anyone who wasn’t up yet—like me.

That morning at breakfast I met the guys from the bunk—Tomo, Seth, and a guy named Pinky. Tomo and Seth seemed okay. They appreciated my grasshopper story. I wasn’t sure about Pinky yet. I mean, what guy has a name like Pinky? His skin was kind of pink, and it turned out he sunburned really easily, but still. You’d think he’d have more pride than that. Or at least, that’s how I was thinking then. Then, we met the four girls and the other counselor, Nina, who would be part of our group, too.

After breakfast, Mike and Nina spelled out what we would be doing over the next ten to fifteen days. They explained how the program works and what we needed to do to be “successful.” They said that our program had a theme: “The Power of Water, The Power of Me.” I groaned when I heard that. It sounded really dorky to me. Nina and Mike were totally into it, which made it that much cornier.