Camp Charlie

1| Pillow fights

If life were a canvas,
Mine would be blank.

Sarah had never been camping, and it was evident from her confused demeanour. Her overloaded bag overflowed with unnecessary things, and there wasn't any space left for the essentials. Her mother, who had always been the one to help her with packing, had gone away on vacation. Her father was as clueless as her. After making out with the bag in different positions to close it, she decided to take help.

"Hannah! I need help with packing. Please come over."

A cheerful and bubbly Hannah replied, "I'll be there in an hour."

"Your house is just a block away! Why do you need that much of time?" questioned Sarah impatiently.

"I'm at the mall searching for the perfect handbag. Okay, tell me what's better. Walnut brown or chestnut brown?"

"What's that?"

"Ugh! I've sent you pictures."

"They look similar. You can buy any."

"No, they aren't! Walnut brown is darker in colour."

"I don't see how that matters. Both are brown."

"Which one do you like better?"

"The lighter one."

"Great! I'll buy the other one."

"What? Then why did you ask me?"

"Oh! It was to confirm which one I shouldn't buy. No offence, but your fashion sense is handicapped."

"That's a mean thing to say, but at the same time it's true."

They laughed in unison, and then Sarah said, "Don't worry, I'll call Maya, and you can join us later."

"Okay."

Fifteen minutes after she called, Maya landed at her doorstep. Her hair had been neatly braided, and she wore gym clothes. She hugged her tightly, but then pulled back in disgust.

"You stink!"

"What else did you expect? I was at the gym and drenched in sweat." Maya handed her the duffel bag and entered the house.

"We can start after I've taken a quick shower."

"Who goes to the gym at 2 pm?"

"I do."

Ten minutes later, she came out dressed in jeans and an oversized black hoodie which she had stuffed in her duffel bag. Upon inspecting the disaster of a room, her eyes landed upon the overflowing bag. While shaking her head in disapproval, she upturned the bag, and all the contents landed on the floor.

"No! It took me four hours to pack that."

"That's not packing. You've put useless things inside it, and your unfolded clothes are taking up a lot of space. Also, you can't carry five novels with you."

"But-"

"I don't want to hear anything. Write down the essentials in a notebook."

After half an hour of bickering and arguing, both of them decided upon common ground. A kindle replaced all five books. They started folding clothes and placing them neatly in the bag. They were almost done with packing when the doorbell rang.

"That must be Hannah."

The moment she entered the room, everything lighted up at once. If Sarah and Maya were neutral shades, Hannah would be a whole rainbow. Her colourful tie and dye t-shirt dress, paired with white sneakers and a half bun made her look like like a school kid. But a very fashionable school kid she was.