"Mom, I'm seventeen! Summer camp isn't fun for me anymore! Why are you making me go?" Cody Grayson never did understand why his mother was so thick-headed. This was probably the fourth time they had had this argument over the past week.
"Cody, I have told you time and time again" his mother, Martha, said. "The troop needs you. You are the oldest, most experienced boy in your group. The Scouts all look up to you."
Cody, at this point, was fuming. "But that is your only argument. I have three. First, I already have my Eagle Scout (see footnote 1), so I don't need anymore merit badges (see footnote 2). Two, I have four Eagle Palms (see footnote 3), so I REALLY don't need any more merit badges. Lastly, stupid Camp James Ray doesn't have a high adventure program (see footnote 4), so I would literally be sitting in camp all day. I'm not going, hands down." Cody sat back and crossed his arms, clearly trying to end the conversation. Martha, however, had other plans.
"Young man, I don't care if you are thirty five and have every award in the book. As long as you live under my roof, you follow my rules and do what I tell you to do. Daniel, back me up."
Daniel Grayson was Cody's stepfather, but everyone except Martha called him "Danny the Drunk." Prime example, it was only 10:00 in the morning and Daniel already had drank four beers while still recovering from one of his oh-so-common hangovers. He response to his wife's remark was something along the lines of, "Cody, listen to your mother." But, if one did not live with and learn to understand Daniel, they would have heard, "Co-ed-ey, lishten thu yourm mater."
The phone rang in the other room. No one rose to get it. Two rings in the silence. Three. Four. Five. On the fifth, Martha finally stood up and walked into the kitchen, and the sixth ring was cut off abruptly. Cody heard her begin talking, then leaned over to his stepfather.
"You are a fat, lazy, drunk old bastard and I hate you" he whispered.
"Awsh, Co-ed-ey, I loffe yew thoo!" Daniel whispered back, his breath heavy with the stench of cheap beer.
Cody laughed at the stupidity of his stepfather, and tried to think of other ways to make fun of him in his drunken state, but he heard the phone being set back in the cradle, and the telltale shuffle of his mother's slippers on their old, wool rugs.
Martha re-entered with a smirk on her face. "That was Mr. Mathewson." He was the one in charge of the group going to summer camp.
Cody shot up, already knowing the answer to the following question. "You didn't"
Martha sat down, her smirk growing larger. "I did. Four weeks. Straight."
Words Cody didn't even know he knew popped into his head as his face grew red with fury. He kicked a chair across their small living room, then stormd into his bedroom. "I hate you, you stupid bitch!" All he could hear was Martha laughing to herself.
One more year Cody thought to himself, then I'm out of this house for good.
But, at the same time this rebellious thought entered his mind, he knew he had to resign to the will of his mother, and began packing for summer camp.
Four weeks of sitting, doing nothing, in the heat of a Texas Summer. Awesome. Cody tried shaking the depressing thought from his mind, but it wouldn't budge.
Just as he began placing clothes on his bed, he heard the shuffling of feet, and a napkin was slid under the door. It read "It may not seem like it now, bu I do love you. Your father would have wanted you to go. You leave tomorrow, be at camp by noon. Love, Mom."
He crumpled it up and threw it in the trash basket, then started packing.
Footnote 1: Eagle Scout is the highest award a Boy Scout youth can earn
Footnote 2: Merit badges are awarded for completion of certain skills, from swimming, to aviation, to nuclear science
Footnote 3: Eagle Palms are awarded to Eagle Scouts that earn more merit badges and perform more service to society
Footnote 4: High Adventure programs are for older youth that don't need merit badges. This includes scuba diving, float trips, and hiking in the mountains
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