Chapter 1-ish of the Tree Idea

July 1st
Dear Journal,

It all started that first Friday we got out of school. I came through the door, mind whizzing at about 100 milles per hour, reliving my last day of 8th grade- all of the people I'd miss, all of the teachers I hated and hate to lose, and the crazy time I had with Sarah and Jack in those 7 hours. I ignored my mom as usual, going to one side of the kitchen to get some orange juice, pouring a glass for myself, back turned to the woman who is definitely the anti-me- black hair, perpetually happy with everything, never changing. it makes me sick. Anyway, she was sitting down on the bar stool under the island near the wall opposite of the one I was standing by. Her head was parallel to the table, her shoulders hunched up, her hands clutching the daily newspaper. (Mom's weird like that. She doesn't read the paper when it gets through the door- she waits until 3 or 4 in the afternoon until she pulls the rubberband off of the folded paper and reads the printed stories typed on them.) Then, when I just start praying that she won't talk to me, she starts yapping.
"Hey Eliza. How was your last day of school?"
Yea, that's my name- Eliza. Really corny. I hate my name. I would have rather been named Cassandra or Jessica, names that are more than 5 letters long. But, my full name, Elizabeth, though long, is more of a name to put someone to sleep rather than impress them. Still, Eliza's better than Elizabeth, but Cassandra beats all.
"Well, nothing out of the ordinary. Just your average last day of school."
"Oh, ok. Well, what do you want to do this summer?"
"What?" That came as a shock to me. She knows I just hang out with friends and do whatever I want during summer.
"I was just reading an ad in the paper, and it's for a summer camp. Listen to this- 'Camp Blitzen is home to a multitude of cabins for your little camper and their soon-to-be newly made friends. Wooded areas surround the camp, and the grounds of the actual campsite have been known to attract woodland creatures such as deer and even porcupines, though mostly after dark. For a month, your child will discover themselves in the woods while rock-climbing, going down Porcupine River in a canoe, and flying through the air on a zipline.' I think you'd love it."
Zipline? Rock-climbing? Porcupines? Um, Earth to Mom, NO!!!! "Mom, um, no, not really the thing for m-" I started, but mom, as usual, didn't hear me, and started planning, like she also always does.
"-Ok, it's settled. So, there's the June month, but we've missed that month since it's the 19th. So, you can go in July or August, so let's make it July since we have your uncle's wedding in the middle of August. Now, you'd need the huge suitcase in the attic, and we'd need to wash all of your clothes by July 1st... You'd need your old toiletry kit that you got for your birthday two years ago, a flashlight, tons of batteries, oh boy, we'd better get packing now!!!"
So that's how it happened. A newspaper, an over-eager mom, and a teenager who would rather be with her friends than with a forest full of bugs for a month, who's mother controls her life as much as possible, and ruins it with every decision.
The Sunday following this dreaded day, my mom met up with the McDonalds, a fairly interesting family that I would try to be as far away from as possible, but thanks to mom, I'm in their small group who meets every Monday and the only almost 14-year-old besides April. She talked with April's mom for a while, and finally gave her a hug and walked back to me.
"Well, it's settled. April is going to camp with you."
"WHAT?!?!?!" I yelped, causing heads to turn and eyes to glare.
"Eliza, she needs this. You know that. Now quit whining. At least you'll have a friend there with you. Let's go into church, it's starting." And that was the end of that.
That's the story of how I'm in this packed van, going to a camp in the middle of nowhere, with a pareniod "friend" and dying to be anywhere else.
This should be interesting.