The (extremely goofy) adventures of Max

Entry 15: Final Countdown

Monday, May 6

It's officially the week of the camping trip, and the whole school is buzzing like a swarm of bees that found a soda spill. Every conversation in the hallways, at lunch, even in the dreaded math class, is about what everyone's packing, who's bunking with who, and wild stories about the "legendary" camp from past years. You'd think we were all prepping for a survival mission to the moon.

As for me? Still nothing packed. Yup. Classic Max. I did manage to scribble down a few items on a crumpled piece of paper during history class today—socks, a flashlight, some snacks. Lo saw me making my so-called list and snorted, "Dude, you're just now thinking about this?" I told him I work best under pressure. He just rolled his eyes and said, "Can't wait to see what you forget."

Ben's still parading his mega trail mix like it's the most valuable treasure known to mankind. Leo's got his gear perfectly lined up at home, according to his 15-step checklist, which I know about because he's mentioned it about a million times. Honestly, it's like he's planning a military operation, and I'm the guy who shows up with a bag of marshmallows and a questionable tent.

Today, there was even an announcement over the speakers reminding us to bring our permission slips and double-check our packing lists. It felt like a countdown to a space launch, except, you know, with more bug spray and less rocket fuel. Mr. Dreadmore even cracked a joke about bringing extra notebooks to write a novel on the trip, which surprisingly got a few laughs.

I'm starting to feel the hype, though. It's like a mix of excitement and nerves because I know, deep down, that something unexpected is bound to happen. It always does when the whole grade is packed into cabins in the middle of nowhere.

But for now, I've got to survive the rest of this week and, maybe, actually start packing. Maybe.

Fingers crossed.