Authors note: This is my first story ever. Please bear with me as I get it written. I am a little nervous about it, so please excuse any imperfections so far.
It was a cool morning in Kalispell, Montana. The sun just began to rise over the snow capped mountains. It was just getting to the end of fall and into early winter, so it was already about 8:30AM when I heard my alarm going off. I sat up in bed & rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes and looked at the calender. "Great" I thought, "Monday again...Time to get ready for hell, I mean school." So, I get up and head to the bathroom to wash up and get ready. I take a quick shower and go to my dresser to grab my clothes for the day. Simple black cargo pants, black "World of Outlaws" T-Shirt & a white with black trim lines overshirt. I walk down stairs to get some breakfast and water before I go to school.
As I'm cooking some eggs and bacon, my mom walks in and asks "When is your winter break again, sweetie?". I turn to her and say "It starts next week. Tuesday to be exact. Why?". She says "Well, your dad and I were thinking...Maybe we take a family camping trip while you're off school. What do you think?" I think for a few seconds and tell her "Sounds good to me. Where are we gonna go?". She says "Well...I was thinking how you said you wanted to visit that place in Canada...What was it again...Prosper Park?". I think for a minute and say "Oh, you mean JASPER Park, right?". "Yes, that's it. I know you like the movie Alpha & Omega and you're always talking about that place, so we figured we might go camping there for a while. What do you say?".
"I'd love to! Think there may be actual wolves there?", I ask.
"I don't know, maybe. When you're getting all your stuff packed up, remember your 870, ok? I'll ask your father to call the wardens office there and ask If we can bring your trap gear, ok?".
"That sounds like a great idea! Maybe I'll be able to get in a little more practice before the season starts back up again."
"I thought you might think that. Well, you better eat quick or you'll be late."
I look at my watch and see it says 8:55 and say "Oh, you're right! I need to get going! Thanks, mom! I'll see you later, k?"
"Alright. 3:30, right?"
"Yep, I should be home by then. Depends on traffic."
"Ok, see you when I get home. I gotta work the late shift again. Your dad should be home by noon, so ask him about that when you see him."
"Ok, got it! Later!"
With that, I run out the door and hop in my car. Nothing special, just a '93 Jeep Cherokee my dad got me. It has 4 wheel drive for the snow & when I go off-roading sometimes. Little 4 cylinder engine with a 5 speed manual transmission. Good little SUV for me.
It's about a 20 minute drive to Kalispell High School (by the way, I am in 12th grade). After I get onto the road, I start playing my music and just enjoy the morning scenery. My favorite morning drive song is "Days Go By" by Kieth Urban. Just seems to fit the morning so well to me.
After a few more songs and about 15 minutes, I pull into the school parking lot and find a space close to the front entrance. I shut the car off, get out and lock it up. As I'm turning around to walk to my first period class, English, my best friends Kaci and Eugene walk up to me. They are brother and sister and always get there before me since they live just up the block from the school.
"Hey, man!" says Eugene. "Hey, what's up? Has class started yet?" I ask. "No, you still have about 10 minutes" he says. "Great, that means I can finish these last few questions for math class." "That reminds me." Says Kaci. "I was having some issues with my algebra homework last night. Would you be able to look it over and see if I did alright?"
"Sure. Just gimme a second to do this".
"Okay. I'm gonna go get some water real quick."
"Alright, see you in a bit."
After about 5 minutes she comes back and I look it over.
"Seems everything is okay to me."
"Great! I was kinda nervous about it."
Just then, the morning bell rings.
"Hey, I gotta get to class. See you guys later at lunch!" I say.
"Alright. Later." says Kaci.
At around 12:30, the bell rings for lunch break. I walk to the cafeteria and get a slice of pizza and a Rockstar Rehab. Eugene and Kaci walk over and sit next to me without any food.
"You guys not hungry or something?"
Kaci looks at me and says "Not really. Had a hotdog just before you got here."
"Same here."says Eugene.
"Well, just stopped by to say thanks for helping me out this morning. I did pretty good on the homework. Got only one wrong."
"That's great! It gets easier the more you do it."
"Yeah, it seems that way. Oh, hey, almost forgot. What're you doing for winter break this year?"
"Well, my mom says we're going to take a camping trip to Jasper. Might even get to take my trap stuff and get in a little practice."
Then Eugene finally says "That reminds me. Coach said the season will start a little early this year. Actually, the day after break is over."
"Oh, cool. Maybe this year we'll beat Billings."
"Maybe. We came close last year. I just missed those last two shots. Otherwise we would've won."
"Yeah, everyone remembers that. I told you to get a single barrel gun. That way you don't need to worry about which barrel you load."
"Yeah, well, you know the gun was from my grandpa. There was no way I couldn't use it. Way too much family history there..."
"Yeah, I know."
Just then the bell rings for the end of lunch. I get up and tell them "Okay, guys. I gotta go. I'll see you tommorow."
The rest of the week went by pretty smooth. Trap practice was Thursday and I only missed one target, so I was ready for the new season. My dad had called the wardens office and he told him I couldn't shoot unless it was in self-defence, which kinda bummed me out. But, it was okay. Saturday afternoon, we started loading up the RV and pickup to go camping and left Tuesday night. That was the start of a great week to come.
