Not Having Fun

035

I got really scared when I was camping with the Scouts, so now that it's the Easter holidays, we're going family camping! Mum says it's so I can get used to camping but still have my parents here, so I feel better at the next Scout trip.

"Are you ready to go, Max?" She calls up to me.

I hate long car journeys. I hate them I hate them! But we can't go in the car if I don't have any shoes. So I hide them under my bed. "I can't find my shoes!"

Mum comes in. "Have a look for them, alright? I'm going down to help your Dad pack the car,"

I pretend to look for them while she's downstairs. I watch them packing through my window and listen to them talk.

"We do not need five pairs of trousers, it's one night,"

"What if they get wet?"

"Four pairs?!"

I giggle, Mum and Dad are so funny together.

After a while of pretending to look for my shoes, Mum comes back up. "Have you found them? We need to get going soon,"

"Noooo," I sit ion my bed. "Will we unpack the car now?"

"No silly, we'll just take you school shoes instead,"1

No! They're tight and I'm not allowed to play in the mud wearing them. "Wait... I'll keep looking," I pull the t-shirt away and pick up my shoes. "Here they are!"

Mum looks down at me and gives me that mean parent look. "You knew where they were the whole time. We've lost twenty minutes of driving time!"

I look down. "I um... just lost them and then- then I thought about it and then- then I um..."

She grabs my arm and pulls me forward.

Smack!

"Ow!"

"That's for lying. Get your shoes on and hurry up,"

I pull on my velcro shoes and run after her. Getting in the car, I cross my arms and slouch down in my seat. I don't feel like playing with the Pad or reading a book. Sitting still is stupid! And I got smacked.

"You better not be sick on my shoes, you little baby," Chris whispers to me. He's still angry about last month when I got my revenge on him.

"I won't!"

"Leave Max aloe, Chris," Dad starts the car. Roxie whines form the carseat beside me.

"Max, can you read to her please?" Dad asks. "Hopefully she'll fall asleep on the journey,"

"But I don't want to," I cross my arms over my seatbelt.

"Do as your Dad tells you," Mum says while setting up the satnav. I roll my eyes and start reading one of her storybooks. I remember this one! It's about a Christmas angel. Chris says angels aren't real.

"I'm putting my headphones in, don't bother me," he tells Mum and Dad. He plays his music for the whole car journey, and I just sulk once Roxie falls asleep. What am I supposed to do? Be happy about stupid scary camping? No thank you.

We get to the larger forest nearer the countryside. There are lots of fields and they all have sheep and horses.

"Look Mum, horsie!" I point out the window.

"Ooh, that's a big one Max!"

I smile at Roxie. "Horsie Roxie!" She's too low down in her seat to see it but she claps a few times anyway. I smile, the horse made me feel better. "Can we go and feed them?"