Backward Day was here and inwardly I groaned. I hated Backward Day. Some returning camper elected to the activity council always remembered how much fun they'd had last year dressing like an idiot.
Backward Day had become an unwelcome tradition here at Camp Wannabeehive. Truth be told, most of my second grade campers didn’t know the front of their t-shirts from the back. Pancakes for dinner was fine, but the thought of fish sticks for Friday morning breakfast set my gag reflex into motion just thinking about it.
Walking backwards was tedious and not too smart on the rockier paths, but don’t even get me started on singing grace AFTER dinner and trying to pronounce names in reverse. I’d been through this mess enough times that I’d changed my camp name to WOW.
Reveille echoed through the woods. Six sleeping bags began wriggling like giant caterpillars. One messy little head emerged from its nightly cocoon. And that’s when it hit me. The solution to my problem.
“WOW, it’s BACKWARD DAY!” whispered Maisie.
“BINGO, Maisie!” I grinned. “But don’t you worry about getting up. After all, on Backward Day, since it’s morning, it’s time to go to bed!”
Daphne Rice [Portland, OR] spent years working at 4-H, Camp Fire, Girl Scout, and Outdoor School camps. After teaching school for 30 years, she now enjoys writing. Her previous CCF stories include: A Seventh Guest, A Bolt from the Blue, Evergreen Station, A Little Bit Irish, Seagrapes, A Burnt Offering, and Behold! The Wolverines!
© 2009 Daphne Rice. Original for CCF. (Compton grants CCF first electronic rights for one month; CCF may archive the material indefinitely and include it in an eBook anthology).
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