OK, everyone. This is my second story. This one is not a true story like the last one, but it is longer… I think…????     Ya, definitely. 😁😁😁

Me and my Pathfinder club were going to a spring camporee on a fine, sunny Friday. It was going to be pretty cold — I knew that from experience, since this was my fourth spring camporee. I was standing in the fellowship hall, looking around at my chaotic Pathfinder group, the Pine Ridge Trailblazers.

Jenna was jumping in place and squealing like there were a bunch of kittens waiting for her at camporee. (There weren’t.) Marcus was lecturing Ethan about something he “shouldn’t be doing according to the handbook,” even though I’m pretty sure Marcus is the only person who’s ever actually read it. Talia was showing Director Maria how to fix the knotted rope Maria DESPERATELY needed. And Liam… Liam was trying to hang from the top of the door frame that led into the church hallway. He held on for about 0.3 seconds. I covered my mouth and tried not to laugh as he landed on his feet — barely — and almost fell backwards.

Honestly, I don’t mind being silly too, so I went over to Liam and tried to hang on for dear life. I made it to a solid two and a half seconds. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Director Maria — who had finally fixed the rope — suddenly called out, “Pathfinders, fall in!”

I smirked at Liam as we snapped to attention in front of her. There were two rows: one for the girls and one for the boys. I stood in the girls’ row on the left. The boys (🙄) were on the right.

We all lined up by height, so Jenna (11) was at the front, Talia (12) was in the middle, and I (13) was in the back. The boys had Ethan (11) in front, Marcus (13) next, and then Liam (13), who was just BARELY taller than Marcus.

Maria started the meeting with pledging to the American flag, then saying the Pathfinder Law and Pledge, and then the song. She read a devotional to us, and then she started announcements.

“Today, we will be going to the Spring Camporee at the Camp Lawroweld Pathfinder campgrounds. Your parents and all of you Pathfinders have brought your gear to this meeting so we can leave today. We have all the gear by the door, so before we go, let’s put everything into the trailer thst is connected to the small bus we have been blessed with. Please be considerate of others and their items as you put YOUR OWN GEAR on. If you need help, ask someone — either staff or a friend.”

Maria finished by saying, “Pathfinders, fall out and put your gear in the trailer!”

Liam, Ethan, Jenna, and I all made a dash for the door where our stuff and the trailer were waiting. Marcus was calling after us, “You’re not supposed to run because the handbook says—”

“Oh no. Here he goes again,” I said sarcastically.

We arrived at the door and started putting our stuff into the trailer. As if that wasn’t chaotic enough, Talia and Marcus FINALLY showed up after walking.

I threw my sleeping bag into the trailer, and then Ethan tried to move his so he could fit his suitcase right next to it. Instead, all he got was a full‑on avalanche of sleeping bags rolling straight onto him. He screamed. I laughed. A few others did too. Marcus did NOT.

“I KNEW that was going to happen! I told you guys the handbook STRICTLY says you’re supposed to—”

But nobody was listening.

Jenna swung her duffel bag up to toss it inside… and accidentally smacked Liam in the shoulder. He clutched his arm dramatically like he’d been mortally wounded.

Meanwhile, I tried to lift my own bag and nearly fell over backward.

Jenna gasped. “WHAT did you pack?! Rocks?!”

“Maybe,” I said.

The trailer door kept swinging shut every time someone opened it, which made Ethan scream again. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him — it was starting to feel haunted.

Talia, of course, ignored all of us. She noticed the trailer latch was crooked, pulled a multitool out of her pocket like some kind of wilderness ninja, and fixed it in ten seconds flat.

Just when things were finally starting to look organized, someone yelled:

“WAIT! I forgot my pillow!”

Three other kids immediately shouted, “ME TOO!”

And suddenly half the club sprinted back inside the church like their lives depended on it. 🙄🙄🙄🙄

***

Somehow — sometime later — we were finally on the bus, eating our sack lunches or whatever our parents packed from home. The bus took a sudden sharp right turn, and Jenna’s bear‑shaped gummies went flying all over Ethan, who was sitting by the window enjoying the view of trees, trees, and… more trees while munching on a PB&J sandwich.

I had a small pizza from Rusty Lantern that I almost dropped. I reached out and caught the box with one hand because my other hand was holding a frozen chocolate from Dunkin’ Donuts. Priorities.

Liam, who was sitting next to me, dropped a pretzel onto the floor. He stared at it like it had betrayed him.

Joe, Director Maria’s husband, called back to us, “Sorry! I should have warned you about that turn!” Everyone groaned.

Soon enough, Joe called again, “I’m going to warn you this time, but there’s a sharp left turn coming!”

Everyone braced themselves—except for me, because Liam had dared me to catch my pizza box with one hand again.

The bus lurched left.

I grabbed the pizza box mid‑air like some kind of snack‑saving ninja.

Liam’s eyes widened. “Okay, that was impressive, Claire.”

He handed me his pretzel… and also one of Jenna’s gummies that had fallen on the floor.

“Ew,” I said, but I “cleaned” the gummy on my shirt and popped it into my mouth before anyone could see it and make a big deal out of it.🤫🤫🤫

We FINALLY made it to Camp Lawroweld and started unloading the trailer and getting our tents set up. Liam, Ethan, and Marcus were in one tent; Jenna, Talia, and I were in another; and Director Maria and Joe had their own separate tent.

The boys had horrific trouble setting up theirs — poles going the wrong way, the rainfly upside down, Marcus insisting the handbook had a diagram (it didn’t), Ethan screaming because a spider crawled across the tarp, and Liam pretending he totally meant to drop the tent stake he just dropped.

Meanwhile, we set ours up just fine. Obviously.

Finally, we headed to dinner. It was haystacks! My favorite! Not Ethan’s, though. Jenna was bouncing like a bouncy ball, practically vibrating with excitement.

Liam was across the table from me, so I heard him when he whispered, “Ethan, you don’t like haystacks, right?”

Ethan shook his head so fast he looked like a bobblehead.

Liam smirked. “That’s what I thought. Maybe you could fling an olive at Marcus. That would be funny.”

Man, I wish I could describe Ethan’s face. It lit up like a Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

And yes. He DID fling an olive at Marcus—right when Marcus was looking down at his precious guidebook. Marcus looked up slowly and locked eyes with Ethan.

“According to the guidebook—”

“According to the handbook, you shouldn’t blame someone that quickly. You don’t have any evidence,” Liam interrupted smoothly.

He pointed toward a group of TLTs laughing in front of Marcus. “It was—oof!” he started to say, before Ethan jabbed him in the ribs.

“No, it was me,” Ethan blurted. “I’m sorry, Marcus. I bet the handbook says no lying.”

Ethan shot Liam a glare so sharp it could’ve cut haystack chips. Liam squirmed.

“You’re right!” Marcus said. “Thanks for telling the truth, by the way. And I forgive you.”

“Thanks!” Ethan said, relieved.

All of that happened right in front of my face. It was like watching a suspenseful TV show unfold live at the dinner table.

***

We had worship, and then we went to bed. The next morning, we had breakfast, brushed our teeth, and headed back to our campsite. That’s when we heard about the Sleuth Honor. We REALLY wanted to try it out — especially me. No one loves a good mystery more than I do.

When we got back, we had our own mystery waiting for us.

Someone had taken the bucket of extra tent stakes… and the hammer… and even a clipboard! They had even grabbed one of Talia’s socks. A sock. Who steals a sock?

There were footprints leading straight into the woods… and then into a SWAMP.

Talia immediately went to help Director Maria, because Maria’s clipboard had been taken and she couldn’t find the spare. Talia is so smart. She rarely talks, but when she does, it’s something GENIUS. She is so cool.

We went to the Sleuth Honor place, under another Pathfinder club’s canopy. But the boys were whispering about the “robbery.” Marcus leaned toward Talia and whispered, “That is wrong! The handbook says—”

He didn’t get to finish, because Maria shushed him so we could hear the instructor explain what we were supposed to do.

But honestly? None of us could focus. Not with a thief running around camp. Not with footprints leading into a swamp. Not with Talia’s sock missing. Something weird was going on.

And I had a feeling it was only the beginning.