Chapter 1
It all began on a day that seemed very familiar to the five sons and five fathers. Arnold, Gerald, Harold, Side, Eugene and their dads had all packed up the familiar orange van and were now driving along singing songs to pass the time. No, they were not driving to the lake for another disastrous fishing trip. This story takes place a few months after that fiasco, about halfway through June. And rather than camping out in the woods, where wild animals and bad weather had ruined their trip before, they planned to stay in a beach house for the week to relax and renew.
"You boys excited?" asked Martin Johansson, who was driving the van.
"As long as this is an improvement to the last father-son trip, then yeah," Gerald replied.
"Oh, come on, Gerald," said Arnold (Mister Optimistic). "Nothing's better than summer at the beach. Besides, I think we can all agree that anything's better than the last trip."
The answer he received was a unanimous, "Yes."
"Honestly, I'd really never talk about that again," said Sid.
"Then let's stop talking and start singing!" said Eugene.
"That's the spirit, son," Nate, his father, replied. "It's your turn to pick. What'll it be?"
Eugene needed no time to think. "How 'bout we stick to tradition and go with 'Miss Susie…'"
"No!" shouted Harold. "Not that song! Anything but that song!"
The others all stared at him in shock.
"Why, Harold?" asked his father Jerry. "I thought you liked it."
"I did," Harold confessed. "But we sang it on the last trip and everything went downhill from there. I want this trip to be as unlike the last one as possible."
For several seconds, everyone was silent.
"You followin' this?" Gerald whispered to Arnold.
"Nope," Arnold whispered back.
Jerry was the first to break the silence. "Son, it's nice that you want the trip to be a good one, but I seriously doubt that the song was the thing that ruined everything last time."
"I know, but still," was all Harold managed to say in response.
Jerry put a hand on Harold's back. "Harold, I can't make any promises, but it seems pretty safe to say that this trip won't end like the last one. We'll be at the beach, pretty much the exact opposite of where we went last time. That means there won't be any bears."
"Or canned beans," said Gerald.
"Exactly," said Jerry.
"Or rabid raccoons," said Sid.
"Or tents to lose," said Arnold.
"Or biting fish," said Ray, Sid's father. "… Hopefully."
"Or skunk cabbage," said Martin.
"Or rain," said Eugene.
"Or hale," said Nate.
"Or frogs," said Grandpa Phil.
"Alright, everyone," Jerry interrupted. "I think we've all made our point: This trip will be more of a success than the last one."
The others nodded in agreement and continued talking amongst themselves.
As soon as the others were out of earshot, Jerry cupped his hand over his mouth to whisper something to Harold.
"Also, I didn't want to let the others know, but I have something special planned for you and me."
Harold liked the sound of that, so much in fact that he forgot to whisper. "What is…"
"Shh." Jerry put his hand over Harold's mouth to silence him. He then looked around to make sure no one else had heard him. They hadn't, so Jerry continued. "I can't tell you now, it's a surprise. You'll find out on Friday."
"Friday?" said Harold, this time he remembered to whisper. "That's four whole days away."
"Trust me, it'll be worth the wait," Jerry said with a wink.
"Okay."
"And remember," Jerry continued. "Not a word to any of the others."
"Got it."
"And one more thing," Jerry said, in slightly less of a whisper than before.
"Yeah?"
"This time, don't eat any old whipped cream," said Jerry with a hint of a laugh.
Harold rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone still remind me of that?"
Harold remained silent for the rest of the van ride. A lot of questions were on his mind. What was this big surprise his dad had planned for them? Why did he have to keep it a secret from the others? Would this trip truly be better than the last one? Most importantly, what were they going to have for lunch when they arrived at the beach house?
End of chapter