Chapter 4


The next morning, I woke up later than most people in my tent, but I was still squished against a small corner of the tent. I rubbed my eyes open and looked around, yesterday's events rushing back. I was in Justin's Ferry on my first Global field trip. After stargazing, I had walked back into my tent and crashed into the sleeping bag that was the closest thing I had to a bed at the moment. And now, I was waking up at the corner of the tent.

"Good morning," I greeted, my eyes adjusting to the light. I stretched my legs out and turned on my side, facing Clary who was still in her sleeping bag. "What time did you wake up?"

"Just a few minutes ago," she answered. "I woke up to the sound of Mr. Rickman laughing. It was terrifying."

I laughed. "What's the time? I think we have to get up at 7:30am."

Jessica looked at the watch which she had worn through the night. "It's 7am. I'm getting up." She ran her hands through the neat braid that concealed her bedhead and got up, hopping over the sleeping bags. Clary did the same moments later, as I shrunk under my blankets, hiding from the cold. Unfortunately, I could only get sleep for five more minutes before I woke up.

Before leaving the tent, I ran my hands through my hair multiple times, reminding myself that I was on a field trip and the people outside were the people who saw me in school every day. Then I grabbed my toilet kit and clothes, and walked into the owner's house, feeling extremely self conscious in my pajamas in front of the fully-dressed students playing volleyball outside.

After getting dressed and brushing my teeth, I took a seat with my friends near the hot coals of yesterday night's campfire. Mr. Marvin and Mr. Rickman looked weary as every and Mr. Gandalf was drinking a cup of coffee.

"What happened?" I asked. Their behavior lead me to think they had stayed up all night.

"Someone came onto the campsite," Mr. Rickman explained. "He seemed suspicious, so we stayed up all night making sure nothing happened."

I nodded, grateful that the Global teachers went to such lengths to ensure our safety. I warmed my hands in my pockets and looked around, still in a sleepy daze. Fifteen minutes later, breakfast crew finished preparing breakfast and I had picked out my food.

Breakfast food was probably my favorite meal in Justin's Ferry. The pancakes were fluffy and soft, sweetened with maple syrup and the orange juice was fruity and tangy. I piled berries high on the side of my plate and took a cup of yogurt. Then, I walked over to sit at a small picnic table.

"So what do you guys think we're doing today?" I asked. I knew we were doing a service activity, but beyond that I didn't know much.

Melissa shrugged. "I think our service activity is pulling weeds and then we're going to get driving home. Besides that, I don't know much. But, I hope the service activity won't be too hard."

I was hoping the same thing. After eating, we all began packing up our luggage. Soon, my clothes and toiletry items were all packed inside my duffel bag and my journal and food was packed away in my backpack. But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't roll up my sleeping bag.

"You need some help?" asked Clary as I panted, trying to make the bag small enough. I nodded and after three tries and two more people helping, we finally managed to fit it in.

"Phew!" panted one of the girls who had helped us. "That is one stubborn bag!"

I gave a sheepish grin. "Yeah it sure is." With all our stuff now packed away and sitting in a large heap outside the tent, we began deconstructing the tent. We had constructed it backwards anyway in the first place, so while everyone was pulling rods up, we were pulling them down. Still, after multiple tries, we managed to stuff it all into a small 2ft by 2ft bag.

I grabbed my olive green sleeping bag and dark red duffel bag, throwing them into the huge pile of student luggage. Then, I threw my gray backpack over my shoulder and fastened the waist buckle. It weighed next to nothing and I pushed my shoulders back, walking into the owner's house.

There, I encountered the lunch crew as I refilled my water bottle with iced tea.

"Hey, can you help us?" asked a boy cutting slices of ham. "We're really short on people... and time."

I nodded. "Sure, but I can't really work with any of the meat. I'm a vegetarian."

This didn't seem to faze him as he pointed to the tomatoes and instructed me to cut them. As I was on the fifth tomato, Mr. Cardinal walked into the room with a large can of bleach in his hands.

"Okay guys," he began. "Lunch is in fifteen minutes, but all the students are packing their bags now. We need to wash all the plates and cooking utensils so they can pack them away. Sandwiches are for lunch, so they don't need plates." He opened a large cabinet by the sink to reveal a dish rack. "Put all the finished dishes here," he instructed, going back outside to bring in a tub full of dishes.

The metallic sink had four sections. The first was filled with soapy water, the second with cold water, the third with warm water, and the fourth with hot water. Mr. Cardinal poured a tablespoon of bleach into the section with warm water and mixed it in. Then, he demonstrated the washing process.

"This is the same process people use in restaurants," he explained. "I scrape off all the food, scrub the plate or cutlery with this nice sponge here and soapy water, I dunk it in cold water and yell 'Ah! Cold!,' I dunk it in the bleach-water, and I finally rinse it off in the hot water yelling, 'Ah! Hot!' Got it?" I laughed and nodded, getting straight to work. After finishing off all 45 plates and 50 spoons or forks, we left them in the dish rack to dry and went back to working on lunch.

I finished slicing the tomatoes and neatly arranged them on a plate. Soon after, Jeanine asked me to make a drink for lunch.

"What drink?" I asked. The cabinet was filled with pink lemonade and regular lemonade mix.

Jeanine thought for a moment, until a boy behind her named Brett suggested, "Let's mix them both!"

We got a large water cooler and filled it with gallons of water. The mixes already had pre added sugar, so we mixed in half of each. Soon, the water was a pale orange. I took a sip of the odd concoction and recoiled at first, then smacked my lips.

"This actually isn't that bad. It just tastes like fruity lemonade," I noticed. The other five students drank some, too, and agreed. Another girl walked in, Kelly, and asked to fill her water bottle.

"You want to try the brand new juice?" asked Jeanine. Kelly filled her water bottle with it and drank some, sputtering when she realized it wasn't orange juice.

"What is this?" she asked incredulously. I inhaled the tangy lemonade powder and explained to her that we had mixed the two types of lemonade. Laughing, she agreed that the students would love it.

After closing up the water cooler and fixing on the spout, Brett offered to carry it onto the picnic table outside. The rest of us followed, each of us carrying a few lunch items. Soon, the table was set up.

Mr. Marvin stood on top of another picnic table and told us it was time for lunch. With dirt-covered hands, Clary and Jessica ran up to me.

"Where were you?" asked Jessica. "We were doing the service project." She held up her garden tools.

I pointed to the food covered table. "I was helping out with lunch."

Clary frowned. "But you weren't on lunch crew."

"I just walked in and they needed help, so I helped," I explained, shrugging my shoulders.

"Lucky! You got out of the service project!"

I grinned to myself. "Huh, I guess I did. Well, you must be hungry. Let's go eat lunch."

By the time we reached the table, it was also covered in leftovers from last night and this morning. I grabbed a few slices of bread and fashioned myself a sandwich with slabs of cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce, complete with ketchup globs on the sides. Then, I finished that sandwich, and another while walking to the bus with Clary and Jessica. It tasted rich and filling, just like the veggie whopper I would always get at Burger King.

We helped load the bags onto the bus along with our backpacks. Finished with all my work, I went back to sit near the hot coals.

The beach chair was empty, so I sat there and talked for a little bit with a few of my classmates. But soon, everyone was gathering around the picnic table on which Mr. Marvin and Mr. Gandalf were standing. Mr. Rickman and Mr. Cardinal were sitting on the bench.

Mr. Marvin summarized the trip and congratulated us on finishing one Global trip. Mr. Gandalf asked us to thank the owner, which we did from our hearts. Then, they passed around tiny blue steel mugs. They were covered in little white stars and the front of the mug listed the address of Justin's Ferry and the year, standing out against the navy blue steel.

"We will be having a hot chocolate day next week," Mr. Rickman told us. "Make sure to bring your mugs or some other reusable container to fill with hot chocolate."

I clipped the mug onto my backpack with a small blue carabiner they had given us with it. It dangled there against the murky gray, a symbol of my first Global Ecology trip. Then, we were all told to get back onto the bus, but I walked slowly.

I took in the campsite for the last time. The fresh, sweet air, the tall trees around us, the soft, dewy grass under our sturdy hiking boots. All the tents were dismantled, the picnic chairs inside the bus. I took a look at the finally cool, black coals and remembered the campfire from last night. I looked up at the sky with wispy white clouds against a vibrant blue background. Had it really only been two days? I felt so different than I had felt at the beginning of the trip.

"Anasika?" called Jessica. "Are you coming?"

I quickly ran towards the bus, my sturdy boots pounding against the hard-packed ground. As I took the first step onto the bus, I craned my head back. This was it. My first Global trip was almost over.

I stepped onto the bus as Brett with the counter clicked me in for 45. I slid into a window seat, followed by Clary and Jessica. I looked outside the window.

Soon, the bus was rolling down the asphalt road and I took one last look at the campsite as it faded into the distance. I watched as we passed the mountains and the river and the tiny town. People mingled on the streets and ate in the ice cream parlor we had eaten in before. And before I knew it, we were crossing the bridge, out of Justin's Ferry.

We drove for a while and talked. I pulled out my Global Journal and sketched the view of the valley at the top of the mountain we had hiked before. But, before I knew it, we were pulling into the familiar grounds of Prestwall High School. When we stopped in the same parking lot we had left from before, except it was far more crowded. Cars pulled up, driven by the parents of many students on the bus. But, before we could even stand up, Mr. Cardinal stopped the bus and began talking.

"This was your first Global trip," he stated. "There will be many, many more to come and I don't doubt that you will enjoy them just as much. But, you will never forget this one. So remember it, reflect on it, and come to school on Monday ready to learn."

There was one clap. Then another. And soon, everyone was clapping, happy that we had passed this final landmark, this beginning to a four year journey.

So, that afternoon when I was driving home and my dad asked me, "How was the trip?" I replied from my heart.

"It was absolutely amazing."



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