Unexpected Buddies

16: The Annual Camp

The much awaited Annual Camp is finally happening! Last night, Bella and I stayed up late to pack our things. Fleur was also pestering me about what to wear, what to bring and what to buy. We finished packing everything by 1:30 in the morning and slept for about 3 hours before waking up at 4:30 in the morning.

Twenty five seniors were selected to be a facilitator and I was one of them. Specifically, I was tasked to handle the first aid. To be honest, I didn’t know why I was given that task. I didn’t even have the faintest idea what to do and the sight of blood and injury repels me so much. My friends even laughed in disbelief when they learned about it.  But who am I to argue with my professors?

The campsite was divided into two areas. The left side is allotted for the girls while the right side is for the boys. After unloading our things from the bus, we were tasked to build our own tents. I shared the tent with Fleur and Krissy. After that, we were all called for the assembly where they put us into groups and showed us the flow of the program.

There were twenty teams overall with twenty members each. Since I was one of the facilitators, I wasn’t included in any team. Instead, I was seated beside Ms. Dimarco, the school’s head nurse, holding the first aid kit on my lap. I wished I was not one of the facilitators. It is more fun to be included in the activities than be a first aider.    

The first activity was Amazon Race. There were twenty two stations all over the campsite and the goal was to be the first team to finish all twenty two tasks in a short time. During the course of the game, a lot of students were brought to us due to wounds and other injuries. I applied first aid to the minor injuries while Ms. Dimarco and Mr. Ben, Brandon’s dad who is apparently a medical doctor, attended to the major ones.

There was a case when a sophomore student bumped his head on a metal post which caused it to bleed. Good thing, he didn’t become unconscious nor get any serious and fatal head injuries. After Mr. Ben examined the minor scratches on his head, he instructed me to apply antiseptic liquid around the wound.

“Hello, I’m Angie. Will you please sit here for a while as I prepare the antiseptic liquid?” I told him.

He just nodded and did as he was told.

When I came back, I asked his name and the reason behind his wounds. According to Pat, which turned out to be his name, they were in a “follow the leader activity” and all members except for one who will be the leader were instructed to put a blindfold. Unfortunately, Pat didn’t hear their leader’s signal correctly so he just walked and walked until he bumped into a metal post.   

I bent slightly and move closer to the right side of his face where the injury was and started applying the antiseptic liquid using a cotton bud. I was applying antiseptic when I saw Brandon in my peripheral vision, standing a few feet away from me with his arms crossed over his chest. I briefly looked at him and saw that he was frowning. I raised my eyebrow and mouthed a “what?” at his direction. He just shrugged his shoulder and walked away.

So what is his problem now?   

As I finished with the antiseptic, Ms. Dimarco put bandage around his head and told him to rest in his tent. Pat thanked us and walked back to his tent with his two friends. The Amazon Race finally ended and the winning team was no other than Bella’s team.