The Okitwawa Camp

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Last Activity

Saturday July 18, 2020, 13:00 P.M

I already took my dinner, but I won't describe every single bite..Okay, it was salad...Caesar salad.

I'm feeling nostalgia towards the Okitwawa Camp. Tomorrow morning, our parents will come to pick us up. My throat tightens every time I think about it.

So many things happened in so less time! Happily, I think that I made a great impression to the campers, the younger as much as the older!

Reluctantly, I step to the canoe site, where Mary-Phoebe, William and Olivia wait for me patiently, every single one of them wearing their bathing suits.

Mary-Phoebe. I'll remember her angelic face, her way to make me laugh without even realizing it. Her clumsiness, and her big heart.

William. The one I judged by his cover. He doesn't look too interesting, but he's a big softie when you get to know him.

Finally, Olivia...She betrayed me, then had her redemption. Her sense of self made her believe that she did the right thing, when she's actually a good person.

- Ready for the kayak? Eva calls me out, handing me a life vest

- Obviously! I reply, grabbing it as I sit on my bench, my paddle in my hands

Eva starts the kayak, as we all head to the rapids for the last activity. I try to follow her, moving my paddle through the water.

- Did you know that the canoe was invented in 1535?, asks Eva, It's five centuries ago! We used to use it for traveling, but now we focus its activity on summer camps and nautical activities!

- We can still travel with it though! Audrey snorts as she follows along

- Yes, but it's mostly for the pleasure; to enjoy lake, rivers, it's not like the years with Christophe Colomb! I correct her politely, mentioning the man's name with a thick accent from Quebec

*For those readers who are left puzzled, Christophe Colomb has discovered America in 1492, and the camp is in Quebec*

- What do you think you know about it? Reprimands Audrey, rolling her eyes, It's not the time to share your historical informations!

- Okay, girls, it's not the time to have a conflict! Focus on your paddle! Eva declares, sending us both a warning look

I stop talking and listen the camp songs. Olivia and Lana are singing the famous camp song from Quebec!

- Quand j'étais p'tit gars, j'embarquais sur mon cochon. J'allais voir les filles l'autre côté du pont!

*When I was a small boy, I jumped on my pig. I went to see the girls the other side of the bridge*

The girls keep on singing, as Audrey complains and grumbles.

- That can also work for the traveling, you idiots!

- What can that do to you, if it also works in summer camp? I question her

Suddenly, I feel myself falling down from the canoe. With difficulty, I try to grip the border of it, adjusting my life jacket. I feel the rocks brushing my legs and making small notches.

Slowly, I feel myself failing to get a grip. The icy water sticks to my skin, as my hands leave the canoe, my vest becoming weaker from my weight.

My body becomes all dizzy, my eyes closing tight, as it makes me float around in the rapids.

Before not being able to feel anything, I can hear someone inquiring others to come and save me. Then the noice of someone jumping right in the lake.

Then, nothing else.