Camp Terror

Chapter Five: Boom! Snap! Clap!

After Mr. Kavanaugh took the attendance, the bus driver started the engine. I, Cassy and Shawn got seats in the middle of the bus. Shawn had got a window seat but she argued with Shawn  to sit near the window.

Shawn gave fake sweet smile that I had got accustomed too, as I spent a lot of time with him. Shawn, like the kid he was, was thrilled to get a window seat and when Cassy gave him a disapproving look, he knew he wasn't going to win a war that was brewing up in Cassy' mind. Experience is the best teacher. She pulled his cheek after he got up from his seat. Shawn scowled at her. I laughed silently. Thank God, I don't have a boyfriend.

The tour guide entered the bus. He hugged Mr. Kavanaugh like they were some old friends. They spoke with each other as the students chattered. The tour guide smiled as they spoke, his eyes lighting up in response. I plugged my ear phones in my phone and played some music. Shawn who was beside me smiled at my newly bought phone. "It was a gift." I lied. It was a second hand which I had bought two days before the picnic. My old phone had broken down. The moment I reached home after buying the phone, I scrubbed the dirty edges with soap disinfectant and spray.

Shawn showed me his. It was a shiny new iPhone. Jealousy found its way in me, but I smothered it by forcing a smile. I was surrounded my rich people who made me feel super inferior. Mr. Kavanaugh clapped to get our attention. "Okay students," he said. He glanced at the tour guide who smiled at us. He had worn a jute hat and black aviators that made him look like Brad Pitt.

"Woah, who's that dude?" Cassy asked, staring at him eating her caramel popcorn.

I eyed the popcorn. "You were supposed to save that when we reached the picnic spot." I said.

She shrugged. "I was feeling hungry. No choice." Her attention was on the tour guide.

"I hate you." I said, shaking my head.

That caught Shawn's attention. "Here we go again." He replied. When he saw her eating the popcorn. "What happened to your 'whatever is mine is yours too' motto?"

She made a face. "So, what you want be sit in this weird smelling bus on a hungry stomach?"

"Dude, it's seven forty-five am!"

She ignored him.

He whispered to me. "Damn, I don't get it how I became her boyfriend."

I shrugged at him. "Same here."

"This is Mitch, our tour guide." Mr. Kavanaugh said. Some students cheered. "Mitchy boy!" one boy cheered. Others snickered. "Gareth can you please shut up and let me complete? You can do all that later." Mr. Kavanaugh clipped. His eyes glared at Gareth.

"Such a jerk." A girl muttered from the front seats.

"So, as I was saying," Mr. Kavanaugh continued after taking a deep breath. "Mitch will be with us in Nevada. I expect all of you to behave yourself on this picnic." He said, referring to Gareth. "Let's give him a round of an applause students!" Everyone started clapping. Some students hooted. "Welcome on board." He told Mitch. They both shook hands and Mitch sat on the seat behind the driver's cabin. Mr. Kavanaugh tapped on the driver's door motioning him to drive. The bus began to move and everyone began to cheer. I cheered along with others. Shawn and Cassy clapped.

The bus turned around the school's parking veranda. Parents bade their children goodbye. I stood up from my seat and saw two busses following us from the dark tainted glass at the back. I sat back in my seat as the bus took a turn out of the school gate. "How many students registered for the picnic?" I asked Cassy.

"Around sixty, I think." She said, typing on her phone. She lifted the phone pointing the front camera towards me and Shawn. "Say cheese suckers!" she said as she applied the boomerang effect from Instagram. We posed perfectly with me showing my tongue and signing 'Yo'. Cassy posted it on her Story, a satisfied grin plastered on her face. The bus was now on the main road, early morning sunlight gradually seeping through the clouds. The sky was a shade of blue, a perfect setting for a picnic. The wind nipped my hair as I inhaled the familiar scent of this city. A new song played on my phone and I closed my eyes letting the music entrance me.