“They’re going to make me do it,” Olivia said.

It was around eleven at night. We sat on two cots in a patched-up tent illuminated by an outdated lantern. Crickets chirped and other members of our troop muttered in the distance. Light rain pattered on the fabric of the tent. 

“I’m just glad I’m not you right now. All that pressure put on one person.”

“I don’t really care. I mean, it’s just a competition” she replied, clapping at a mosquito buzzing in her face.

Olivia was the shortest in the group. It would only make sense if she rowed the boat. We were supposed to build a cardboard boat as a team and beat the three other teams competing. I had decided already that I probably wouldn’t contribute anything unless they needed someone to draw something for whatever reason. It was a cardboard boat though, so I likely wouldn’t be needed. 

“To be honest, I think it’s kind of stupid,” Olivia said, “I bet you Lexie’s gonna try and control everything so it goes her way.”

“I feel so bad for Ella. Imagine having to be tentmates with Lexie. She said she was screamed at on the first day. I don’t think Lexie’s a bad person, but she needs to learn that not everything’s about her.”

We sat there in silence for a while, staring off into the dark night. Yellowy-green light flickered across Olivia’s face. Laughter echoed in the distance. 

“Wanna go to bed?” she asked. 

“Sure,” I responded. 

“Girls! Come out of your tents! We need to work on the boat while we have free time!“ Kiera yelled in her strong, deep voice. 

Kiera was our counselor. She was the only person we allowed to yell at us. 

We emerged slowly from our tents into the sweltering heat. I sat on top of a picnic table next to my friend Eva. Kiera brought a piece of notebook paper and a red pencil to the table next to ours. The group crowded around the two tables and stayed quiet for a couple of seconds. Eventually, my friend Grace stepped forward and grasped the pencil.

“Okay. We need to come up with something,” she stated. 

“Let’s think back to actual boats first and then base our boat off of that. It’ll be more likely to float that way,” my friend Riley suggested. 

“Alright. Let’s add in a border of some kind so the inside of the boat doesn’t get wet,” Grace added on. 

So far, it was going pretty well. Eva and I craned our necks to see what Grace was sketching. We couldn’t tell over everyone else’s shoulders. After a minute, she turned the sketch so everyone else could see it. 

“No,” Lexie insisted, “It should be longer. Then, she’ll have more room to row in it.”

“We don’t have enough cardboard for that, though. What we really need is to build a second layer of cardboard to surround the box. The water will have to get through two layers instead of just one, so it’ll last longer,” Sofi responded. 

“I can just kneel,” Olivia remarked.

It was like Lexie didn’t hear her. She kept arguing her reasons for why the boat should be long. Other girls began building without a blueprint of any kind. They were going based on Sofi’s plan. Sofi was livid. Even though people were using her plan, Lexie continued to resist the idea. 

“You’re taking this too seriously! Nobody else wants your idea!” Sofi wailed. Eva and I looked at her in shock. This was very out of character for her. Sofi retreated back into her tent and didn’t step back out. 

“Guys! Everyone needs to keep the peace!” shouted Ella, “This is supposed to be a team activity for us to work together on!”

They were quiet for a minute, and then the arguing picked back up.

Eva, my friend Anna, and I decided to return to our tents since we knew we wouldn’t add anything to the conversation.

We were climbing up a sizable hill on a hike. Late afternoon sunlight shone through the green canopy above. My calves burned as we descended up step by step. 

“It’s so dumb,” Riley complained, “We’re supposed to be working together. It’s just a race for fun.”

“We’re going to lose. Not that winning this is really that important. But if we wanted to win, there’s no way we are now.” I responded.

Riley kicked at a rock on the trail. 

“I’ve never seen Sofi this angry before,” they said. 

“I know,” I agreed, “I never expected her of all people to freak out over this. She’s even less talkative than normal.”

We arrived at the top of the hill into a clearing. Our view overlooked the lake and the mountains in the distance. Flowers decorated the sunlit meadow. At the end of the field was a crumbling wooden church altar. The steep roof touched the azure sky. There was nothing on the altar except for a statue of the Virgin Eva placed in the center. Not that I believe in God, anyway. Most of my group was either atheist or agnostic, but the people who made the camp must have been religious. Whether or not I believed in the religion, it was still a marvelous building. 

It was hours before the competition. No one knew what to do, so we were just throwing together a cardboard box with the bottom of another cardboard box duct-taped to the first layer of the boat. We were rapidly taping together the pieces, but the tape wasn’t strong enough. Everything kept falling apart. 

Midway through, one of us decided that we needed a flag to hold up while the boat sailed. Some of my friends and I moved over to the other table so we could work on the flag. We were using Crayola markers on a giant cloth. The marker was blotchy, but it was a lot better than having to deal with the bitter attitude of the others. We finished and all of us signed the flag. We took it to Kiera and presented it as a surprise. She was delighted. 

I looked back at the boat. It was done, but it was rickety and was about to collapse. 

It was time to compete. We sat by the lake, where mountaintops stretched across the horizon. Vivid shades of orange and purple painted the sky as the sun sank lower. My friend Anna and I waited patiently for the race to begin. We were doomed. 

After what seemed like centuries, Olivia and three others brought their boats to the dock. The contestants placed their boats in the water. They boarded the boats and someone handed them oars. On a count of three, they began rowing. After trying to row just two times, our boat folded into the water. It was a visual representation of the way our team had fallen apart when we argued. We lost. The team groaned in disappointment. We had anticipated this, but we still had a little bit of hope in our hearts that by some miracle, we would win. Both of the boys’ boats sank. The other group of girls were almost there. They were just about to reach the other dock when their boat was capsized. The other team erupted in joyful squeals.

Out of nowhere, the counselors charged onto the docks. They began to shove each other and some of them plummeted into the chilly water. They crawled back on and just as they regained their balance, someone would thrust them back into the darkness. One by one, the counselors left, until there were just two counselors left to battle. They wrestled each other back and forth. Members of the two groups they were from started chanting forcefully. One man grabbed the other’s arm and slung him into the water. The fight was over. 

The stars were glittering in the night sky. Orange and green echoes of the sunset shown from behind the mountains and fireflies flickered above the lake. Even after the loss, our team was lively and full of energy. We congratulated the other team and returned to our campgrounds. 

We sat on an old wooden bench while a fire glowed in front of us. It was a cool night, so the scorching fire was comforting. I devoured my popcorn. It was plain without any salt, but I was starving. A girl named Mya attempted to braid Olivia’s corkscrew curls next to me while Eva took up half of another bench. She was babbling on and on about different types of pasta. Riley hopped onto the bench where Eva was lying and began to belt out “Molly Malone”. Our group was finally back to normal. In the end, all of us had learned to work together and listen to others’ ideas. We never had another disagreement for the rest of our time there.