The Manhay Reunion and Campout
by Keri Wilson

Cock-a-doodle-doo! It was one fine morning at the Hayman campground. Keri, Nate, Tim, Sarah, and Matt were all coming out of their tents ready for breakfast. But then, as they all headed over to the campfire and table, they realized Matt was gone. They all looked around frantically, but Matt was nowhere in sight. Then, Nate piped in and suggested he might have headed to the garage to play with all the other kids. So, they all went in the garage and looked around. He wasn’t in there either. However, they could hear Matt’s voice from outside the back door.

Once they all got out there, Matt was staring at some kind of puddle, but it hadn’t rained for days. Sarah put her finger nail in the water, and when she took it out, it was painted. Tim clapped his hands and said that was an awesome magic trick. Sarah didn’t reply, but her eyes were huge. Keri didn’t know what to think. Matt laughed, and Nate didn’t say a word.

All of a sudden, there was a beep beep, and a van pulled up in the campground. It was Sandi, Wendy, and Russ! Everyone went running to them except for Keri and Sarah. Keri asked Sarah if that was a trick? Sarah shook her head no. Keri went quiet. Then Matt ran up with Sandi, Wendy and Russ who were close behind. Matt showed them the puddle, then he jumped in it. Keri and Sarah looked at each other. There was no doubt about it. Matt was gone.

Tim asked where he went. Keri and Sarah shrugged their shoulders. Then, Tim said “Cool” and jumped in as well. He was also gone. All Keri and Sarah could say was they had to find them. Keri waved her hand, and signaled for Nate, Sandi, Wendy, and Russ to jump in too. They all jumped in, and in a split second, they weren’t in the campground at all.

Keri tried to say something, but nothing came out. She wasn’t trying to move, but she was. Then she realized it, she was trapped in another body that looked just like hers. Then, after that moment, she knew whose body she was in, Irek’s. Her backwards self. Keri couldn’t do anything, so she just decided to observe what would happen. But all she knew was she had to get everyone who came through the puddle, and together, make it rain.

Irek walked along on what was her campground, which was completely backwards from Keri’s. It seemed deserted, but Irek realized it was 2:00 in the morning. It was sunny outside too. But then again, shouldn’t Etan, Mit, Haras, Ydnew, Idnas, Ssur, and Ttam be out here? They were in the same situation as she was. Anyway, Irek had to get to sleep. So, she wearily walked over to her tent, and went to sleep.

Finally, it was morning. Nice and dark outside. Irek’s eyes were nocturnal though, so she could see perfectly. Sure enough, there were all Irek’s friends. Haras looked at Irek, but looked away. Irek felt a certain hate for her. But that’s because friends were now enemies. Irek walked towards the fire, which said to keep away. Deep inside, Keri was nervous. Irek was strange to her, and how would she get all of her friends together? They were Irek’s enemies.

Ttam was excited as usual. He was trying to catch lightning bugs and put them in a jar. However, mosquitoes were all around him. Then he felt something on his back. It was a sign that read, “All mosquitoes bite me! ”Mit was running away laughing. Ttam was burning mad.

Etan was riding a bike in the garage. Then, Enahs walked in. Etan said “Hi” but kept on riding. Then Etan paused, and asked Enahs if he wanted to play red-light-green-light. Enahs said sure, and they started playing. Then, still laughing, Mit ran in to the back of Etan’s bike. Etan just thought he was pedaling really fast, but he couldn’t stop, So, he ran a red light which ended up making the garage a chaotic, scary place to be.

Irek was looking for Ssur, Ydnew, and Idnas. Then, she came to Ssur. Irek asked if he had seen Ydnew or Idnas. He said Ydnew was over by the lamp post and that she just threw a can at a mosquito, but he didn’t know where Idnas was. Irek decided to go ask Ydnew. On her way, she looked up and saw one single cloud. There seemed to be a face on it – a familiar face too. Then, still looking up, Irek walked on, but then she bumped into something.

It was Haras! She was looking at the cloud too. “Watch where you’re going!” she said. “Sorry” Irek said. That face in the cloud just looks too familiar. “So what?” she said. Irek put up her hand and walked on. Keri, however, knew exactly who it was. Sarah probably knew too. It was Sandi! Keri knew it. That is the cloud they had to get to rain. Sandi must have not gone through the puddle. Keri knew exactly what to do to get all of her cousins out of here.

To solve their problem, they would all have to fight. When you fight, you’re usually angry, and when you’re angry, thunderstorms come to mind. But Keri’s only problem was, how? How would she get all her cousins and her to fight? Keri didn’t know, but right now she was going to watch Irek’s next move.

Irek finally came to Ydnew. She seemed to be swatting and yelling at something. It was the mosquito. Irek could hear only a little bit of what they were saying. “Get away from me you evil bug. ”The bug said “Evil? Evil? You call me Evil? I’m not even trying to bite you! I’m just flying around this light.” Ydnew then said “Why are you down around me then? ”The bug said “Because you threw a can at me! Wouldn’t you be mad if I threw a can at you? ”Irek shook her head and left. She didn’t want to talk to Ydnew anymore. After all, the reunion was tomorrow, and she just couldn’t miss that!

Yippee! It was finally the day of the reunion. Everyone seemed joyful and happy. They had a great breakfast, and then it was off to the reunion.

When they got there, everyone had a good time. But time was running out for Keri. She didn’t know if they would ever have a fight. Then, the adults called all the kids to eat. They all tried to eat all the food, but there was a bunch left over. Even the kids had to sit around for a little while because they were so full. The grown-ups had their usual talk time.

Then Elcnu Det decided to get some ice cream, but unfortunately, he dropped it. Ttam picked it up, and threw it at Mit. Mit flew in to some cake and it splattered over all the people around him. They picked up their food, and threw it at each other. Before long, a whole food fight had started. Keri screamed with joy as Irek threw some mashed potatoes at Mit. Then, all of a sudden the sky clouded up, and there was a big rumble of thunder.

Before long, it was raining cats and dogs. Keri knew all of the cousins would go out into the rain. In fact, Irek was heading for the water now. So were all her other cousins. They stepped in the rain, and they totally disintegrated.

“Boy, I’m glad I’m home” said Keri. Sarah totally agreed. “Did you know that would happen when we stepped in the rain?” Keri asked. “Yep!” she said. “Boy am I glad it worked out too!” she said.

After a lot of talking and “Boy I missed you” they all went off to their business. But they all had to say one thing. “If you ever see something fishy, please, and I mean please, do not touch it!”