The Five Friends

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It was the beginning of summer and these five friends, Lilian, Abigail, Marcus, Vivian and Raymond, gathered once again in a campground far from the luxury of civilization. It was a tradition they had upheld annually. Every year, towards the beginning of summer, these five friends would come out to the woods and subject themselves to nature for one week, without any technological interruption of any kind. No phones or Ict Gadgets of any kind were allowed. Raymond was in charge of taking all their phones and laptops. He would put them away and only give them back at the end of their camp.

This year, these inseparable friends decided to camp at Forest Pine campsite. A place deep in the woods, known for its beautiful lake and naturistic aura. They had arrived early, and chose a spot a few distances away from the lake where they could pitch their tent. Raymond began pitching the tent while Marcus helped, when Lilian suddenly shouted.

“Oh my God! "Is that a wasp nest?” She exclaimed, pointing under the tree, close to where Marcus stood.

The group all turned to look at it. Indeed, it was a wasp nest.

“We need to get rid of this? "I hate wasps," Vivian said anxiously.

" Already on it”, Marcus replied by googling something on his phone.

“Nope, no phones," Raymond said, taking the phone from him.

" Let's at least call an exterminator" Lilian offered.

“We are miles away from civilization. "No exterminator would be willing to travel that far for this, we have to get rid of it ourselves,” Raymond said at last.

“There's no way I'm going near that. ""I’m allergic to insects," Vivian spoke, first feigning illness.

" And I’m not particularly skilled at getting rid of insects, especially their nests." Abigail spoke up this time

“Yeah, me too”, Marcus piped in.

" Well, someone has to do it”, Lilian said in a matter-of-fact tone.

The group all turned to look at Raymond expectantly.

“Woaw woaw woaw!” he exclaimed, raising his hands up in a dramatic gesture.

“I’m not doing it," he said.

“But you suggested it”. Abigail fired at him.

“If I remember correctly, I said we have to get rid of this, not me,” he said in defense.

“Well, we’ve chosen you, brother!” Marcus said, tapping him on his shoulder.

“Yeah, you've been chosen” the group all agreed.

" No, that's not how it's done,” Raymond said, nodding his head in disagreement.

Going to his bag pack, he brought out five straws, and showed them. They all groaned as they saw the straws.

“Not the straws again” Abigail whined.

Every time the group had a task no one was willing to do, it most times often led to a conflict or disagreement. Until they finally agreed on drawing straws. Whoever picked the short straw became the chosen one to do whatsoever was required of them. For long, this method worked for them and Raymond took it upon himself to carry the straws along wherever they went. This is because, with these five friends, disagreements were inevitable.

There was a moment of silence, as each picked their own straw from Raymond's hands. Raymond went first, picking a straw from his own hands. It was a long straw. Then Lilian followed after. It was a long straw also. She let out a breath of relief. Abigail went second. With apprehension, she slowly reached for one straw and drew it out. It was a long straw. She smiled happily. It was now between Vivian and Marcus. They stared at each other with unspoken words. Marcus reached for it first, hurriedly pulling out one. It was the short straw. Everyone gasped. Vivian couldn't help but jump with joy as she confidently picked the last straw, which was obviously a long one.

“I guess you're the chosen one now, brother," Raymond said cockily, tapping him on his shoulder as he had done to him earlier.

Meanwhile, Marcus shot daggers with his eyes on the straw.

“Why do I always pick the short straw?” he whined at last.

Reluctantly, Marcus suited up, wearing a coverall that barely showed any skin. Armed with a broom stick, insecticide and a helmet on his face, he lunged forward towards the wasp nest. The four others hid behind the back of a large tree, just far enough to watch the drama that was about to unfold without exposing themselves to the wrath of the wasp. Using the broom stick, Marcus flung it at the nest, tipping it over to the ground. Immediately, millions of wasps sprung out of the nest with full force, charging towards him.

Marcus wasted no time. He dropped whatever he was holding and ran for his dear life, while the wasp chased after him.

“Help! "Help! "Help!” He kept on shouting as he ran over the area where they had decided to pitch their tent. The group watched in horror as the wasp went after him mercilessly. Marcus ran until he finally jumped into the lake, not knowing what to do. After a while, the wasps disappeared little by little. Only after the wasp had entirely disappeared, did the group finally come out of their hiding place.

“ Wow! "That was such a brave and stupid move. "I think I’m beginning to understand why the short straw chose you.” Vivian said playfully and everybody laughed at that.