The name Clary spoke was, unfortunately, not mine. It was actually the name of a senior in Global who had created a beautiful shirt, which Mr. Gandalf eagerly showed us. It was much more beautiful than my design, a small figure hiking on front and a large Globe with our school coordinates and a inspirational quote.

    "The environment is where we all meet, where we all become one..."

    It really was a beautiful design. I could tell how it had won. I clapped along with the rest of the class and turned back to my computer. I had finally finished editing the movie and had completely shared it on Google Drive. At least that was off of my hands.

    Mr. Gandalf clapped his hands. "There is also one more announcement," he told us. "Remember the big field trip I had told you all about before?"

    The class vigorously nodded, anxiously waiting to finally be told about the field trip.

    "Well that field trip is at Assateague Island," he announced. "It is a three day trip where we will be camping of a sort. We will be kayaking and learning about the unique wildlife of the island."

    We all burst into a round of talking, excitedly, about the trip. But, Mr. Gandalf held his hand up.

    "Now I know that, since this is a three day trip, many of you will not apply," he advised, giving our section of the classroom a pointed look. "But, it is a once in a lifetime field trip, and is all ninth grade. I would highly recommend going." He passed around two papers- an information sheet and a large table. "In this table, you will have to get your grades written down and your teacher's signatures," he informed. "We want to make sure you have stable enough grades to miss three days of school. The students will not be completely chosen on academic merit, but that will play a role."

    I grabbed the form, extremely excited. After what Mr. Gandalf had said about the trip, paired with my pretty much perfect grades, I couldn't have been more ready for the trip. I had high As in all classes, except History, but I could probably get that up. If only he would put in the pop quiz...

    A few weeks ago, I had taken a very difficult pop quiz. I hadn't even read the chapter we were supposed to read, so I was pretty much screwed. I knew I got around a D on it, so I was terrified when it would be put into the gradebook. Mr. Marvin still hadn't put it into the gradebook, and it was frustrating me. Nonetheless, I decided to still go on the trip.

    I held the paper out to Mr. Gandalf, and he quickly signed it, approving my A written in the box above. One down, six to go!

    I turned to Jessica sitting next to me and asked, "Are you going on the trip?"

    She shook her head. "My parents probably won't let me."

    Right. Jessica's parents were apparently really strict, but that never stopped her from hanging out with Hannah and Nancy. I guess it just pertained to us, her friends who went to the best school in the county. No offense, or anything.

    I nodded. "Right. Sorry, maybe next time."

    She gave me an unconvincing nod continued with her work. I leaned over to Clary and Lina and stage whispered, "Hey are you guys going on the trip?"

    Lina shook her head. "My grades aren't that great now. My parents might even take me back to homeschooling."

    Lina had been homeschooled all her life, something not very uncommon for students in the small town of Prestwall. Her parents put her back in school in eighth grade, which worked out well, and helped her get into the magnet programs. But, they were a bit overwhelming for her, and her A grades began to drop to Ds and Es. Her parents threatened to take her out of public school if she began failing classes, so she needed to get her game up.

    I gave an understanding nod. For the past few weeks, we had all pitched in and helped Lina with her grades, which were slowly going up. But, they weren't high enough for her to miss three days of school. "What about you Clary?"

    Clary grinned. "Yeah I'm totally going! You?"

    I nodded, holding up my grade sheet that already had one box filled. She smiled and went back to work, which I followed, but I couldn't wait for the trip.

    I spent the next few weeks collecting make-up work and getting my grade sheet filled out. I felt a strong sense of deja vu, thinking back to doing the same thing for Justin's Ferry. It felt like so long ago, and it was. But it also felt like yesterday I was just hiking down the hard dirt path up the first rocky mountain I would ever hike in Global. And now, I was going on my last field trip of ninth grade. Time passed so fast.

    "Here's your sheet, Anasika," my teacher told me, bringing me out of my daze. "Hope you have fun on the trip."

    I smiled, taking the signed sheet with the last signature I needed. "Thank you Mrs. Karry. Is there anything I will miss?"

    She nodded. "Just some exam review. Make sure to brush up on your subjunctive tense." She winked.

    "Thanks, Mrs. Karry," I thanked, going back to my seat to study for the upcoming exams.

    That was one downside with going to Assateague. It was only a few weeks from final exams, so I had to make up work and study for exams. Most of the grades were finalized, but there was still that pop quiz...

    Pushing the depressing thought out of my mind, I went back to work. I couldn't stop thinking about the amazing field trip that would come in three weeks.

    Only a week later, I received the letter telling me if I was accepted to the trip or not. I was sitting in our hallway on the cool tiles of the floor, leaning against my bulky backpack when Clary brought it in.

    "Hey Anasika," she called. "I think this is for you."

    I took the envelope and flipped it over. Sure enough, it was addressed to me

    Anasika Grandle

    Grade 9

    Global Ecology Program

    I furiously opened the letter, ripping the envelope in half in the process. I unfolded it, only to find...

    You have been chosen to go on this year's field trip to Assateague Island. Information about the trip is listed in the paragraphs below. Please meet in the Greenhouse this Thursday for an interest meeting on the trip...

    I threw the letter down in excitement, a wide grin spreading across my face.

    "I got it!" I shrieked. "I got the field trip! Oh I can't wait!"

    I glanced at Clary and Jason, both of whom had applied for the trip. "Did you guys get it?"

    Immediately as Clary gave me an excited nod, Jason gave me a sad shake of his head. I didn't know whether to grin or give Jason a sympathetic look. I attempted doing both at the same time and they burst into laughter.

    Jason shrugged. "It's fine. I'll go to the interest meeting anyway. Maybe if I go, they'll consider me more if someone drops out."

    I bit my lip. "Sorry you didn't get it."

    "It's okay. But, I only had one B, so I don't know," he shrugged again. "Oh well.

    Clary grinned. "So I guess we're going on this thing together!"

    My smile became wider. "I guess we are! Get on your hiking boots, because this girl is going to Assateague!"

    That evening, I called Vanessa at the same time as usual. Due to filming the movie and a bunch of field trips, I hadn't been able to call her for a week or so. Suddenly, dialing the number seemed foreign.

    "Hi Anasika," spoke the calm voice of Vanessa's mom. "Should I give it to Vanessa?"

    I gave a polite smile, even though she couldn't see me. Your expressions were always conveyed in your words. "Yes please. Thank you."

    After a crinkle of static and some muffled voices, Vanessa's voice came into my ear. "Hey Anasika! Long time no see... or speak in this case."

    I grinned. "Yeah. How's life? How's Southeast?"

    "Oh it's great!" she told me. "But, it's pretty annoying how everyone complains about physics. I mean, I get that it's hard, but come on. You don't need to whine about it."

    I laughed. That was the thing about Vanessa. She got annoyed by the things that society would consider normal now, but scoff at in a decade or so. "I'll bet it gets annoying. Don't even get me started on how annoying it was when people complained about Astrophysics last year!"

    Vanessa snickered. "Dude, you were amazing at that class," she pointed out. "Didn't you and that kid compete to see who could maintain a 100% in the class for the longest time?"

    I nodded. "Yeah, and I won," I bragged. "But, then we competed to see who could get the higher grade on the final exam." My face contorted in annoyance.

    Vanessa burst into an unstoppable peal of laughter. "Oh gods..." she managed between breaths. "You were so annoyed... He got just a little bit better than you... One percent right?"

    I shook my head, frustrated with myself. "Not even that. Point. Three. Percent! I got a 97.3% and he got a 97.6%!! Gah!"

    Vanessa took a deep breath from all the laughter. I could practically hear her clutching her stomach. "I still can't believe you remember the exact percentage."

    "Astrophysics is my favorite subject!" I protested. "I should have been the best at it, not Max."

    Vanessa gave me an amused smile. "Of course," she agreed. "Now, what else is new?"

    I looked down at the letter from today's lunch and grinned. "So we have our last field trip coming up... and it's an optional."

    Vanessa smiled, "So did you get in?"

    I nodded. "Yep. And I'm going!"

    "Nice!" she encouraged. "Did you finish all the make up work?"

    "Yeah," I confirmed, my mind flashing back to countless nights where I completed homework until I fell asleep. "It was pretty hectic, but it's gonna be worth it."

    "I'll bet," Vanessa agreed. "Well, I gotta get to bed. Talk to you tomorrow?"

    "See ya," I parted, turning off the phone with a final beep.

    The interest meeting was pretty ordinary, just telling me what to bring on the trip and elaborating on what Mr. Gandalf had told us when introducing the trip. Apparently, the trip had been at a different location called VIMS last year, but they stopped accepting high schoolers. Still, Assateague seemed way better, from the kayaking to the horses and oceanography. I couldn't wait.

    Only two weeks later I was packing my bags for the trip. My countless clothes were rolled up in a duffel bag, packed much fuller this time, and my gray hiking backpack was stuffed. I had way more clothes this time because of the extra day and the many water activities that we were doing, that would require changing often.

    "I can't believe you're going on your last field trip of the year!" my mom remembered. "It seems like just yesterday you were going Justin's Ferry on your first overnight trip."

    My face warmed at the trip down the memory lane. "Mom..." I complained, embarrassed. "I'm getting to bed."

    In an attempt to escape any more trips down the memory lane, I dashed up to my room and pulled out my diary, beginning to write about my past few weeks.

I can't believe it's already the end of the year, or at least pretty much the end of the year. It's been a crazy few weeks, I can assure you that. A few weeks ago, we began filming the movie. It was so much fun! We got to go to a restaurant down the street from Prestwall High and film there. The restaurant was so much like the 1960s... it was crazy. My group was pretty good at acting, and following directions for that matter. We finished filming in only three days! Of course, it was a lot of work, and the resolution wasn't exactly amazing considering we were filming from our phones, but it's still pretty good! We have a field trip tomorrow. It is to Assateague Island. It's a three day trip, so that's going to be pretty crazy. I kind of like that we began with an overnight field trip and ended with one too. I can't wait for the trip... I'm really excited. We're going kayaking and we're going to have campfires too. Well, it's getting pretty late. Sorry this entry was so long, but I'm so excited! I'll tell you about it in three days! ~Anasika

My fingers throbbing from the amount of writing, I set my black pen down and capped it, quietly turning my desk light off. With a final sigh, I slipped under the warm blankets of my bed.

But my peace lasted for little time. My mind began wandering to the fun of the trip... but also the worries.

What if the trip was boring? I had never been too interested in marine biology... so why would the trip be fun? Or what if I was so slow in kayaking that I got left behind? Or what if I stank up the whole tent because we couldn't take showers there? What if? What if? What if?

I pushed away the worries. I had worked hard to get accepted into this trip and there was no way I could back out now. It was long awaited and there was no point worrying about something I couldn't control. Whatever happened, happened.

Suddenly, a thought popped up into my mind. My Global Journal! I hadn't packed it! I turned on the lights and jumped out of bed, running to my bookshelf and grabbing the journal. I ran down the stairs and packed it in my backpack in my sleepy daze. And in a few minutes, I was lying back in my bed, all worries gone, anticipating a dreamless sleep.