Campfire - Chapter 2

Quick note: This story is not about me, just in the perspective of a kid like myself :)

Looking out the front window, I see dark purple clouds above us. I know dad checked the weather forecast for our camping spot, but it wasn't supposed to rain there. I think this is just a passing storm. Our spot is supposedly still 30 minutes out, which would place us well beyond this cluster of clouds.

"Doesn't look very sunny anymore," I say. What better conversation starter than the weather? It actually looks like dusk, since the sun is well behind the clouds. The temperature has also dropped 5 degrees already, according to my phone's weather app. Reminds me of my room in the afternoon, I thought.

"Well, it isn't supposed to rain where we're going, so I wouldn't worry about it. We might get poured on now but that's it, nothing bad at our little spot."

"It's also getting colder, but I guess that won't last either." I didn't pack any really warm clothes, which might have been a mistake. I did bring a blanket, which takes up half of one of my bags. I can hear the rattling of my cooking supplies in the bed of the truck.

"HEY GET OFF!" my dad screams all of a sudden, probably as loud as he can. Our truck swerves to the left a bit, then gets back on track. We're in the left lane of a two-lane road, and some other car from the right lane had almost hit us trying to switch lanes. I'm telling you, people forget how to drive in bad weather, at least in South Carolina. Our state has some of the worst drivers in the country, but I blame that on the people who keep moving here from other states. Charleston is famously one of the most beautiful cities in the United States, and brings in millions of tourists each year. I love this city, but I'm kinda scared to start driving because of morons like the guy who almost hit us.

"Ugh, Oscar I'm telling you right now don't be texting and driving when you finally get on these roads. You'll end up in a ditch somewhere upside down." I fully expected this from dad. He's always talking about me driving, since I should be practicing by now. I've looked at the road rules and stuff for our state, but that's it. I haven't even tried to drive a car yet. I would probably be driving my mom's Subaru, dad wouldn't feel comfortable with me taking his scratchless GMC for a ride around our neighborhood. He might yell as loud as he did just now. Sophia can drive since she's a Senior, but mom doesn't like her driving either, at least when they're in the car together. Surprisingly Sophia doesn't text and drive often, so I feel safe when she picks me up from school. She isn't stupid. She wouldn't put both of our lives at risk.

"I wouldn't even consider looking at my phone when at the wheel dad," I respond. I don't get the appeal of not looking at the road when driving a car going 65 miles per hour. You're begging for the hospital at that point. Anything could happen in the split second you look down at your phone.

It starts raining when we pass a sign that has the name Columbia on it and some directions. Columbia is our state capital, but we're avoiding the major city if we can. No need to waste time sitting in all that traffic. Our destination is some more miles past Columbia, but not all the way into the mountains. Just within the forested region of the foothills. I've never been camping this far out, so it may be a completely different experience. That's kind of what I'm hoping for to be honest, a new adventure in a new place. Exploring the woods filled with unfamiliar trees and smells is something I would enjoy doing.

It's raining even harder now, and I think we're in the middle of the storm. Thunder rumbles in the distance, so dad reaches over and turns down the music. I would've thought he might turn it up.

"Such a pretty sound, thunder is," dad whispers for some reason. I like sounds, but not too many sounds. Only natural sounds I guess. The station he's on is playing some sort of Jazz, something I don't like all to much but can handle. Music is another thing I've never really gotten into. I find peace with the sounds of nature, not so much artificial noises. My friends are always encouraging me to try their music choices, but I can't listen to any of it.

CRACK! A huge bolt of lightning rips through the air right in front of us, striking a tall tree of to the side. The bright light it produces combined with the regular oncoming headlights from passing vehicles blinds us for a second, and the thunder that follows sounds like a cannon being shot inside my ear. The lightning split the tree in half, and it goes toppling over, breaking in the middle like a twig. It comes close to landing in the road, but stays within the forest. A small fire is noticeable on the trunk, as well as some smaller branches on the end of the tree.

All of this happened within a matter of seconds. Nature is unpredictable and doesn't show mercy.

"We just can't get a break out here man," dad grumbled. He seems rather calm about everything that just happened, as I can't imagine he's seen something like this before, especially so close.

"That was insane though, the tree was completely cracked." I try to play it of as a cool little spectacle but can't hide it through my voice. I know I sound excited, and I am, because it's not every day you get to witness something like that.

"Yeah, I wonder what the ladies thought of it all." I forgot that the rest of my family was behind us, following. I grab my phone to text Sophia, but notice she's already sent one. I'm going to assume she isn't driving.

The text says, "what a hit, the ball's outta the park"

I respond with, "grand slam fs, what did Katie think?"

Within 30 seconds (I don't know how someone types that fast) she replies saying, "oh she loved it. scared at first, but when she saw the tree she couldn't look away lol. mom screamed a little"

"Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of us. dad didn't move a muscle it was quite an underwhelming reaction imo. but i def enjoyed the show" I text back. My phone's at 15% so I plug it into the charger in the truck.

"dad's probably seen that happen 20 times, I would pay 20 to see it again" Sophia comments. I would enjoy to watch another tree get absolutely crumbled to a crisp as well.

"it came quite close to toppling on the highway, so maybe don't go driving into storms looking for cool beams of death light" I say, hoping she thinks it's a little funny.

"if I had to die it would be to a cool beam of death light. not any time soon though, I'll stick around on earth for a while. don't wanna miss this amazing forest family gathering" she says back.

"it'll be fun, just wait to see what dad has up his sleeves" I tell her. I know neither she nor Katie are pumped about this trip, but dad always brings something fun or does something entertaining for us.

"I hope it's a movie theater and some little puppies, that would make it all better. oh, and a swimming pool ofc, I brought my bikini just in case this happened". Another lovely sarcastic comment, although this one is quite funny. Texting with Sophia is always amusing.

"if dad pulls out a barbie dream house we'll all be happy. just try to look around at some leaves if you get bored. who knows what this old campsite could have laying around". Finding an old pocket watch would be a cool addition to my junk draw, but I'm sure nothing very valuable would by sitting on a stump. Who knows, she might get lucky.

"yeah, im expecting to find a new Ferrari and some unopened bubble gum. enjoy the view young explorer, couldn't get any rainier if the clouds took steroids. I know you love watching the clouds move" she says with the same sarcastic format of hers. Clouds don't peak my interest, but a combination of wood and rocks can.

I leave it at that, since my phone's battery hasn't gone up at all yet.

"What did the ladies have to say," dad asks, pulling me back to the real world.

"Sophia said she and Katie enjoyed it, but mom screamed a little."

"Quite a fantastic sight indeed. If this rain ever stops we might be able to see some mountains off in the distance. I don't think the skies will clear up any time soon though," dad says in a sort of disappointed voice. It's not everyday a kid from Charleston gets to see some mountains. The joke is that there isn't a single hill in all the city, since it's a harbor barely above sea level. But, I don't need to see the mountains, I need to feel them. I don't think our spot will have mountains, but many rocks and creeks to mess around with.

I don't know how this trip could get any more exciting than it already is.

Sorry for the rather long chapter. I'm enjoying writing this story so far, and I hope yall have enjoyed reading it. Tell me if yall are okay with the longer chapters or like them short and sweet. I can do either.