A Not So Miserable Experience

The sun had just risen, and my belongings were packed. I was a quiet and shy sixth-grader preparing to go on a two-night camping trip with my grade. I wasn't looking forward to it. We were staying at a campground called Mount Misery, located in the sprawling Pine Barrens. The area was filled with mysteries and is the home of the Jersey Devil.

Before I knew it, I had been dropped off at school. My friend, Chris, was with me as we boarded the buses to leave.

“Man, this trip is gonna be awesome!” he said as we sat down.

I nodded nervously and looked out the window watching as the camp entrance came into view and, we went into a central building. I sat down with some other people and watched as a group of camp staff made their way to the middle of the building.

“Welcome to Mt. Misery students! You will learn a lot here,” he said with his words echoing around.

Chris and I were together with some people we knew in one of the more isolated cabins. Soon, the announcement rang out that dinner was being served. We made our way to the center of the camp. The wind was howling and, it almost sounded like an evil laugh. I started feeling my stomach lurch as I started thinking about all the strange noises.

"Caleb, are you ready to go?" Chris asked, tapping on my shoulder. "We're going back."

It had become pitch black outside. The rest of my cabin was gone, so it was up to me to go alone. I decided to run to avoid anything creeping around in the dark. I sprinted carefully to avoid objects that popped up in my vision. Before I knew it, I had reached our cabin. I took a deep breath and sat in my bed. My face drained of color and my hands felt clammy as I barely slept.

The next morning, we went on trails around the campgrounds to make scientific observations. My mind felt more at ease. We had the rest of the day to ourselves afterward.

We spent our time playing games until the night. The worries I had were washing over me again. Tonight, they would show a movie about the Jersey Devil and it was infamously scary. It was my defining moment.

We were ushered into a huge hall where a projector had been set up.

I gulped as it started. The narrator explained the story behind the Jersey Devil. While it played on, I realized I was enjoying the movie, my nerves were relaxed as ever too. The documentary came to an end and the lights were turned back on.

Once we left, everyone was pretending like we were being chased by the Jersey Devil. People were yelling while running back to their cabins. I was laughing by the time we were back. I sat back in my bed remembering the first night when I almost passed out from fear, but it was all a distant memory now.

The buses began arriving to take us back the next day. Mt. Misery opened my eyes to just having fun and not fearing everything.

The bus pulled up to our school and we hopped off. I waved bye to my friends and went to my parents' parked car. They greeted me with open arms and helped me put my stuff in the trunk.

“So, did you have lots of fun?” my Dad asked with an amused tone.

“Yeah, it was fine,” I said back smiling while I thought about all the memories I made.