I had one last dream after the mysterious one. In this dream, I dreamt that I was canoeing on a lake, and clouds of mosquitoes were chasing me. To get away from them, I paddled as fast as I could. More mosquito clouds joined the others, and that meant more chased me. Finally, I made it to a small island, and I quickly pulled up to the beach. Throwing my paddle into my canoe, I quickly dismounted it and pulled it onto the sand. Immediately when I did, the mosquitoes left, but a wave crashed down on my canoe instead. I sighed when I saw that it flooded it. Then, shaking my head, I peered up to the sky and cupped my hands around my mouth.
“Helicopter!” I called. I waited. Within just a few minutes, I heard a helicopter, and it floated down towards me. From the bottom of it came out a rope, and I grabbed it. I nodded, and the chopper pulled me up and out of the lake. Sigh, now if only that could happen in real life.
I enjoyed my dream, but it didn’t last for long. It was soon rudely interrupted by my father who suddenly asked,
“Who’s ready to canoe?” I groaned and lifted my hand.
“Ugh, seriously, Dad?” I said, and I hugged Annie, my cowgirl doll, close to me. Annie has always been very close to me. My mom gave me her a long time ago. She was my very first toy. I never went anywhere without Annie. Without Annie, I didn’t feel like myself. She reminded me of Jessie in Toy Story, which was one of the reasons why I loved her so much. Toy Story 2 was my very first Disney movie, and I always loved Jessie. She’s my favorite character. Don’t laugh! Shut up! It’s the truth! Anyway, my point is, Annie is like a part of me.
After I pulled her close to me, I next put my pillow over my head. Uncle Harrison and my parents got the bed and couch, while Uncle Bart and I got the floor. Sigh, aren’t Uncle Bart and I just the luckiest people alive? He didn’t really mind, but I did. I hated the floor. It was disgusting, dirty, jeopardizing, intimidating, ugh! I just didn’t like it, which was kind of bad because I would be sleeping on the floor of the forest for the next week. I really had to change my attitude. I’ll admit, I was nothing but a little witch the first few days of the trip.
“Wake up, Penelope!” I suddenly heard my dad yelp from the bed, yeah, the bed, “We’re driving to Ontario today!” And Uncle Bart and I had the floor. Seriously, Uncle Bart was an elder. Show him some respect. Sigh, parents. You’ll never understand them aye, kids?
“What?!” I next heard my mother ask, “Already?!” Yes already, Mom! She actually wasn’t that excited about the trip either, so at least I could share my misery with someone else.
“The others are going to be in here in a half hour!” Dad yelped. I heard him jump out of bed. He next clapped his hands together, “Time to get up!” I heard shuffling and groaned again. I did not take my pillow off my head. I hate getting woken up early in the morning. Come on, I’m a teenager. I need my eight hours of sleep. Actually, for teenagers I think it’s ten. Whatever. I don’t feel like doing math right now. I’m sharing my story about my canoeing trip in Ontario. I’m not in school.
Soon after Dad went to go turn on the lights, I heard Uncle Bart.
“I’m ready,” he said in his calm, relaxed voice. His voice is so soothing. It’s almost as soothing as the song Scooby and I heard in my dream.
“I’m ready too!” my Uncle Harrison soon yelled after my Uncle Bart, “I can’t wait to get to Ontario!” This was so sad. Mom and I were the only ones not jumping with joy while the others were. Now that I think about it, I feel bad about my behavior the first couple days of the trip. Anyway, I’m getting off topic again.
Feet suddenly stopped next to me, and I felt a foot nudge me in the side. It was my dad.
“Rise and shine, Kylie!” he announced, “We have a long drive ahead of us!” I groaned for a third time. Dad could try all he wanted, but he wouldn’t be able to get me up. Not him, but maybe Mom. Dad soon left, and next, Mom’s feet stopped next to me. She took my shoulder and lightly shook it,
“Wake up, Kylie. You can sleep in the car.” She did have a point. We were going to be driving for seven hours. Fine. Before taking my pillow off my head, I asked,
“Why don’t we leave tomorrow? I’m not really up for it today.”
Mom chuckled. “Sorry, dear, but today’s the only day we can go. We’re running under a tight schedule. Now chop chop. Get changed, pack your dry bag, and get ready.”
I sighed, and finally, I took my pillow off my head and sat up on my sleeping mat. Bright light blinded me, and I closed my eyes against it. My nostrils picked up the scent of coffee, and I gagged. I hate the smell of coffee. I hate coffee overall. I don’t drink it, and I’m kind of glad I don’t. I seriously don’t know how adults can take it. Don’t answer! Just let me continue. You can ask questions afterwards.
When I finally decided to open my eyes, I searched the canal house. It really was tiny. The sliding door was open, and cool North Tonawanda air blew in and washed over me. The sliding door led outside to our dock. Yeah, we had a dock and a small boat out back resting in the canal. I’ll admit, it was actually a very nice area. My parents and I love our canal house. I didn’t like it right now, though, because I knew I wouldn’t be kayaking today; I would be stuck in a car for seven hours.
While I continued to scan the canal house like a lighthouse, my eyes landed on Mom, Dad, Uncle Bart, and Uncle Harrison. They were all in the kitchen, waiting for coffee, and Uncle Bart was the only one in his clothes because fun fact: Uncle Bart sleeps in the clothes he wears the next day. So there you go. That’s another thing about my Uncle Bart. Today, he wore tan pants, a gray, long-sleeved shirt, brown shoes, and his whistle. He wears glasses, and the top of his head is bald. He’s also a little plump. Mom currently was wearing a pink nightgown that had “I Don’t Do Mornings” stitched across it. Sigh, I was so jealous. I wished I could have a nightgown like that. That defined me perfectly for camping trips.
Mom and I look very alike. I took after her instead of Dad. We both have red hair and green eyes, and no, we’re not Weasleys. My hair is shorter than Mom’s, though. Mine went down to my spine while hers went down to her hips. She had very long hair the time of the trip. She was growing it out for Locks of Love. Mom is a very kindred spirit. Anyway, back to the story. Dad, who was making the coffee, was dressed in white socks, boxer shorts, and a gray, short-sleeved t-shirt. Yeah, that’s what he wears when he sleeps. You can laugh. Go ahead. Are you done? Okay. Dad has brown hair and baby blue eyes, so I of course look nothing like him. Finally, Uncle Harrison has brown hair, blue eyes, and a beard like Uncle Bart except his is brown while Uncle Bart’s is white. He was still dressed in his sleep clothes too, but I could see a bundle of clothes under his arm.
Mom sniffed the air, and she took Dad’s arm, saying, “Ooh, that coffee smells delightful, darling.” No it doesn’t, Mom. It smells poisonous. Seriously, coffee to me smells like bare feet, rotten fruit, and fish cooked wrong. That’s how much I hate it. I don’t even want to think about what it taste like. Ugh. Just thinking about it is causing me to shiver. Nevertheless, I remained on the ground for a few more moments. I peered down on Annie and my green nightgown and rubbed them down.
As the adults continued to wait for their coffee, I slumped to my green dry bag and grabbed it. Green is my favorite color. From my dry bag, I pulled out my clothes I would wear for that day; the long, tedious drive through Canada’s wilderness. I still wasn’t totally awake. I propped up my head as I buckled my dry bag.
Dad soon glanced at me and said, “Wake up now, Kylie.”
“Don’t worry, Dad.” I yawned, and I turned my dry bag onto its side, “I’m wide awake.”
Dad chuckled. I watched him through my barely opened eyes. Soon the coffee was ready, and he poured each person a cup. He gave the first cup to Mom and asked her,
“Isn’t this exciting, Penelope?”
“Oh yes.” Mom sarcastically answered, “Exciting indeed.” She took a silent sip from her cup. Yeah, she wasn’t too exited either.
I tucked my clothes under my arm and slumped over to the bathroom. Opening it, I stepped inside and closed the door behind. Just like the rest of the canal house, the bathroom was pretty small too. There wasn’t even a bathtub in it. All it had was a toilet, a sink, and a shower. And some pictures of Grandma and cardinals on the walls. I woke up a little more as I changed. I changed into one of my favorite outfits. It consisted of: sneakers, long, tan pants, a black, short-sleeved shirt, and a lightweight, green jacket that was slightly unzipped. After changing, I next brushed out my hair and washed my acne-free face. Afterwards, I admired myself in the mirror. I have to admit, I’m a pretty beautiful girl. Go ahead and laugh, but it’s the truth.
Once I was satisfied about my appearance, I wrapped my nightgown around my neck like a towel and exited the bathroom. Uncle Bart, Uncle Harrison, Mom, and Dad were still sipping their cups of Jo, and I saw that Uncle Harrison had picked up a book about canoeing. He set down his cup and flipped through its pages. Uncle Harrison loves canoeing. He always gets excited when somebody tells him about or he finds something about it. This book he found is a great example. Tears appeared in his eyes, and he announced,
“This book has everything about canoeing in it! It’s so beautiful…,” He sniffed and rubbed his eyes, “I think I might cry. Excuse me, Bart.” With that, he picked up Uncle Bart’s hankie and blew his nose into it.
“Ugh!” Uncle Bart announced. Uncle Harrison soon took the hankie off his nose, and he showed it to him, saying,
“I got a little mucus on your hankie.”
Uncle Bart nodded, “It’s okay,” and he held his hands out to him, “That hankie belongs to you now. Use it wisely.” He lowered his hands and took his glasses off his eyes. He, Uncle Harrison, Mom, and Dad started to chat, since they now had all had at least one cup of coffee, and I eavesdropped. I didn’t say anything for a bit. They didn’t even notice me yet.
Dad glanced at Uncle Bart, who slipped his glasses back on, and asked, “Don’t you think I’ve made the right decision, Bart for putting Kylie in the canoe with you?” What? I was going to be in the canoe with Uncle Bart? Awesome. Yeah, my parents did put me in the canoe with him because they knew how much I loved him.
“Oh absolutely!” Uncle Bart answered, and he cracked a grin, “No need to be ashamed, Azul! You did amazing! We’ll be the best canoeists out there! We’ll tell stories, and we’ll make new friends!” He laughed and elbowed Dad in the ribs.
“True, Bart,” he spoke, and he rubbed his ribs, “She’ll surely have fun with you. You know how much she loves you.” Here, I came in. I had stayed too long.
Wide awake now, I brought my fist to my lips and said, “Ahem!” They heard me. Uncle Bart, Uncle Harrison, Mom, and Dad looked up from what they were doing, and their eyes landed on me. “I’m ready,” was my next sentence.
“Kylie.” Mom said after a bit. She brought her hands together, “You look absolutely gorgeous. Oh. My grown up daughter.” She sniffed and fell into Dad’s arms, starting to cry.
“Um, okay.” I said, and I slid in the direction of the sliding door, “Excuse me. You guys enjoy your coffee, and I’m going to say goodbye to the dock one last time.” I liked our dock, so I wanted to spend a little more time there before we left.
“Careful, Kylie.” I heard Dad say, “Don’t fall in the water. Save that for the trip.”
I narrowed my eyebrows and slightly glared at him. Yeah, like I would fall off the dock, Dad. You were the one who forced me to come along! Don’t be telling me to be careful. You should be careful because you’re about to get a good beating from your daughter. However, if I do that then I won’t be able to get my driver’s license, so whatever. The beating will come later. Still watch you’re back, though, Dad. I was so mad that morning. I peered back to my parents and uncles sipping their coffee and scoffed. Then, I peeked outside to the Erie Canal and stepped onto the dock.
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