Anecdotes || Story Times

1: Cabin in the Woods

When one thinks of a group of teenagers heading up to a secluded cabin in the woods for a week, one might think that's the perfect recipe for a horror movie. So when one of my friends invited the group to her family's cabin, I hesitated for the briefest of seconds.

But then I eagerly started packing because it's my friends and I can't think of anything more amazing than staying in a cabin, swimming in a lake, hiking through forests, and just having the best summer vacation with them all!!

So who was going to be coming on this trip? I gave all my friends aliases, of course.

Iris, she/her, the most organised individual I will ever meet, definitely going to be a doctor someday, makes the best cheese scones and grilled cheese, has an unassuming mischief streak, and the one whose family had the wonderful lakeside property for two generations.

Benjamin, he/him, the childhood friend of Iris who I hadn't met until this trip, but he is always injured or getting injured but is a very chill dude who can cook gorgeous+delicious food.

Harper, they/them, creative as all heck, enjoys salads, loves snakes and has a pet python named Orpheus, responsible for getting me into Dungeons & Dragons and then stole my character's soul (don't worry they gave it back eventually).

Imogen, she/her, extroverted and hyper, is pure energy, loves music and can name any song from listening to the first 0.0001 seconds of it, very short but is ready to throw down with anyone but usually with Chloé because they're like toddlers.

Chloé, she/her, strawberry blonde but I swear she's a ginger, chaotic and you can tell she was a Naruto kid in middle school, loves planes excessively and will be a pilot, and Jess' girlfriend thanks to a Lovejoy concert.

Jess, she/her, tells the best stories, proud horse girl, probably immortal, drinks water every blue moon, got me into Supernatural and I hate+love her for it, Chloé's girlfriend since they realised their feelings at a Lovejoy concert.

Alice, she/her, literally a dancing queen because she did ballet and now does hip hop and modern dance, super tidy, the most poised person I will ever meet, funny when I least expect it, if our friend group had a fight she would probably win.

Sol, she/they, bubbles and sunshine, cuddly, loves nature and all things living, does Ukrainian dance and tried to teach me, playful mischievous spirit like a fairy, happiness is contagious, laughter is contagious, literally just radiates good vibes.

And moi, Mallow, which makes nine of us! Iris' family would also be coming up to the cabin, but there was a main house that they would be staying at while the cabin was off in the forest a bit, and our group had it to ourselves! We had Iris' little brother, Grover, visiting us sometimes, mostly to hang out with Benjamin.

Iris' family dog, Dogwood, came too. She's a white lab who's very lovable but maybe not as aware of her surroundings as she should be. Iris' family also loves nature names, so all their family and pets have plant and flower names, which I think is super cool.

So, the story starts with actually getting to the cabin. Others were getting different rides to the cabin, and Iris herself had headed up earlier with her grandparents to get things ready. I was getting a ride with Iris' dad, Grover, Benjamin, and Sol.

I hadn't met Benjamin until that point, and when I heard Iris was going to invite him I was worried my parents wouldn't let me go, since they had met all my other friends before but not this random GUY, but if Iris is inviting him he's probably cool.

And Benjamin was cool! Sol, Benjamin, Grover, and I talked for ages in the car, me being excited to find some crayfish at the lake, Sol saying what types of flowers we all were, Grover teasing Benjamin about his past relationships with German exchange students, and Benjamin telling us about reggae music. I had purposely sat in the middle because I'm an older sibling like that, but I had somehow fallen asleep on the ride with my head tilted back, so the four hour trip only seemed like one! Sol also fell asleep on me, which was nice since they brought their fluffy sheep jacket so they were like a big fluffy blanket.