The Ghost of Ontario (Part 1) (10 Grade Draft)

Chapter 10: "No, I'm sorry. Kylie's not in right now."

"It's my mother." Daddy explained, and he tapped the screen of his phone, "She's calling to check in on us. We'll talk later, Kylie." With that, he brought the phone to his ear, "Hey, Mom!" and left me all alone. He didn't even ask about the flowers. At least Mom noticed them. This just told me that Dad wasn't paying attention to me. Nobody was paying attention to me. I remember I brought a Frisbee along on the trip, and I tried to get someone to toss it around with me, but Camp Juniper just simply kicked me out of their circle. This was terrible. I believed that if by any chance Camp Juniper left me in the morning, they wouldn't notice it until after the trip. I would be stuck in Finlayson the entire time. I needed somebody my age to hang out with!

When I toured the campground, I didn't see any other teenagers. I just saw a bunch of little kids. Ugh, could my life get any worse?

        Since all the adults were too busy ignoring me, I just approached my tent and decided not to come out for I don't how long. My tent was green and cone-shaped, and it had a fly over it. The fly would keep me warm at night. I quickly undid the Velcro and unzipped the tent. I didn't waste any time. I kicked off my shoes, crawled into it, and quickly zipped it up again. I was too late. A mosquito had gotten into the tent. I smacked it between my palms, and I wanted to vomit when I saw blood on them. I wiped my palms on my jacket and flicked the mosquito's dead body away from me. I then searched my small tent. Just as Uncle Bart had said, my dry bag, phone, Annie, and sleeping supplies were all in it. If you don't recall, Annie is the name of my cowgirl doll. You know, the one who reminds me of Jessie from Toy Story? She was resting on my pillow, and I picked her up, adjusting the hat on her head.

After doing that, I got settled and set up my home away from home. I blew up my olive green air mattress and tucked my black clothes bag as well as my dry bag in the corner of my tent. After blowing up my mattress, I put it down and set my blue sleeping bag on top of it. I then put my blanket over it and dug my headlamp out of my dry bag. I'm a very organized person. I like to make sure nothing is messy. I set up my tent just like a house. Well, I had to. It was my home away from home. After setting up my tent, I stayed in it for about an hour. I did not dare go out. For some reason, the mosquitoes had found their way under the fly, and they were whining at the entrance and both sides of the tent. They were waiting for me to come out.

I shook my head and said, "No way." I took my bug net off and dug my brush out of my dry bag. The net had made my hair very snarly, which I didn't appreciate. I brushed my hair out and put the two pink, gorgeous flowers behind my left ear. Then I brushed out Annie's hair, but every once in a while, the brush slipped and hit Uncle Bart's whistle instead. Ah hah, I told you not to forget the whistle!

After I brushed Annie's hair, I hugged her to my chest and flopped down on my sleeping bag. My head hit my pillow, and I stared at the ceiling of my tent. I couldn't stand another second of this. I wished with all my might that I was at Gwen's house. Genie, here are my three wishes! I wish to get teleported out of here and find myself at Gwen's house. I wish I didn't have to go on a weeklong canoe trip, and I wish I had someone else my age to hang out with. Of course, Genie's not real, so I knew my wishes wouldn't come true. Or, at least I thought so.

        While I rested in my home away from home and studied the ceiling with my hands behind my head, I thought about all the strange things that had happened that day. I tried to figure out the mystery behind the disappearance of Ranger Kate's son, but nothing came to mind. I didn't have enough information. In terms of clues, I had no idea where I would find some. This was probably going to be one Scooby Doo mystery that never gets solved.

Once an hour passed, it was dinnertime. I heard feet stopping at my tent outside, and then I heard the voice of my Uncle Clement.

"Kylie," he asked, "are you in there?"

I rolled my eyes and continued to stare at the ceiling. I sarcastically answered, "No, I'm sorry. Kylie's not in right now. She's at North Tonawanda, New York resting in her comfy bed back home."

From outside, I heard Uncle Clement chuckling. "Very well," he spoke, and his feet started to leave, "then I guess she doesn't want dinner."

My eyes widened. Dinner! I was starved! I couldn't miss dinner! "Wait!" I shouted, and I shot to an upright position. Uncle Clement's feet stopped. Then they came back. "She has just returned!" I added with, "I'll be right there, Uncle Clement!"

Uncle Clement again chuckled.

        I got on hands and knees and reached for my bug net. Picking it up, I set it gently over my face and head and made sure it didn't hit the flowers. Once it was on, I crawled to my tent's entrance and flicked a few mosquitoes away. I unzipped it and crawled out, quickly zipping it back up again. I was now under the fly. Mosquitoes whined my ears, but I shooed them away and undid the Velcro. I crawled outside to the chilly, Canadian afternoon and closed my tent back up, standing. I saw that I was facing Uncle Clement, and I forced a smile.

He smiled back and said, "Hola, Kylie."

"Hola, Uncle Clement."

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

My tummy rumbled and I reached for it, sarcastically chuckling, "What do you think?"

"Well, dinner is ready," he explained, "We're having dinner out on the docks where there are less bugs. It looks like a very delicious dinner." The entire time Uncle Clement talked, he smiled and jiggled excitedly.

"Are you going to escort me there?" I asked, and he nodded. "Aw." I added with, "Aren't you sweet? Very well then." I held my arm out to him, and Uncle Clement put his own arm through mine.

"Fie fi foe, here we go!" he announced, "Dinner, we are on our way!" and he started to drag me.

I playfully rolled my eyes. Uncle Clement was a kid at heart. He may have been a kid at heart, but he still wasn't another teenager. While we headed towards the path that led to the docks, I shivered, for it was starting to get a little chilly out.

Uncle Clement soon glanced at me, and his eyes brightened. "Oh, Kylie," he said, and he reached for my left ear, "What beautiful flowers. Where did you get them?" Yay, at least he noticed the flowers.

I shrugged, sighed, and said, "I don't know, Uncle Clement. I just don't know."

        Audience, there is a very important part coming up soon. These next few parts are going to be what drive the entire story to the very end, so pay close attention. Whisper, whisper. And yeah, um, look for clues. That's right. Clues.