[Insert pretentious name here]

Well: here it is. The long awaited "book". It will probably be a little boring, but it is only the first chapter, so stick with me! ...please ;)



It was Marcel's first boy scout's hike, and his mother was worried sick about him. She was running around the house, getting everything he would need, from a fully equipped first aid kit, to insect repellant, to SPF 50 sun screen. Marcel was a 14 year old slightly over-weight boy who lived in Toronto with his single mother, Jo-anne. Marcel was very slightly immature, though not in a bad way. He was very dedicated to everything he did, and he always listened to his mother, he just sometimes didn't act his age.
Marcel, the opposite of his mother, was a mirror of calm. He knew he was prepared for anything, even if he got lost. He had spent the last 2 weeks reading and re-reading the scout manual, and he knew exactly what to do, in every situation. None of this re-assured his mother though. He was leaving for seven days, and the longest time he had been without his mother was overnight at a friend's house.
Even though Marcel was the "perfect child", always doing everything on time, never disobeying his mother, she had her hands full. When Marcel was two years old, his father died of cancer, and ever since then Marcel's mother had had trouble supporting the small family of two, both financially and emotionally.
She stood there in her apron with the smell of fresh cookies wafting down the hall of their cramped two bedroom apartment gripping Marcel's shoulders with tears in her eyes, "You be careful! And have fun too, but most importantly stay with the group and...."
"I know Mom, I know," interrupted Marcel, "Stay with the group and listen to the leader. You've only told me, like, 20 times," Marcel said impatiently. "Bye Mom. See you next week!" Marcel said cheerfully.
"I love you," she whispered at Marcel's back as he ran down the steps, into the rain and down the street to where the bus was waiting for him.

Waving a last goodbye to his mother, Marcel finished the sprint through the rain and jumped into the bus. He immediately sought out his best friend, Edwin Adams who was saving him a seat. Marcel threw his kitbag on top of Edwin and threw himself into the seat blabbering about the trip before he finished sitting.
"Shut up already, Marc!" complained Edwin playfully, who had listened to Marc brag about how good a woodsman he was all week.
"You're just jealous!" joked Marc. "The only thing I'm looking forward to on this 6 hour bus ride is getting to go over the woodsman's manual a couple more times. I almost have it all memorized." bragged Marc.
"When will we ever use any of that stuff? We will be with the group and leader the whole time! We will never need to know what plants you can eat and stuff like that. It's a waste of time!" said Edwin, proceeding to take out his Game Boy, place his tongue determinably between his teeth and start to play "Sonic the Hedgehog."
About halfway through the trip, when Marcel had re-read the scout manual two more times, he got bored, so he started to rummage through his kitbag looking for food. He pulled out the first aid kit, and underneath that was his lunch. As he opened his lunch bag, he noticed something he hadn't put there. There, underneath his tuna sandwich, was a big, sleek silver Swiss army knife, with the white flag on a red background on the top. There was a note from his mother, saying "Have fun in Blind River!"
"Ed look at this!" Marcel shouted.
"Marc, stop shouting! People are staring." Edwin whispered.
"Look at the Swiss army knife my Mom got me!" Marcel whispered excitedly. "It has 10 parts! This will really come in handy in the woods."
"That's awesome!" whispered Edwin. "It even has a key-chain so you can put it on your belt. How much further to the camp do you think now anyway?"
"Probably no more than two hours... I hope. This bus ride is really boring" complained Marcel. "Did you know that sitting in public buses for prolonged periods of time can cause arthritis in your lower vertebrae? I read it in a book," Marcel commented dryly, tired of sitting in the bus.
"Mmmmmmm...." mumbled Edwin, already too engrossed in his Game Boy to pay attention to what Marcel was saying.
"Wow! The forests here are really varied! You can't even see two of the same kinds of trees together! We must be really close. The manual says the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forests are the most varied in Ontario, and that's where we are going. It also has the most wildlife." said Marcel, rattling off some facts that he had memorized from the scout manual and other books he had studied.
"Mmmmmmm..." replied Edwin, still absorbed by his Game Boy.
Suddenly a dry, monotonous voice crackled over the bus speakers: "We will be arriving at Camp Okonowga in five minutes, so if you could start to pick up your garbage and baggage, it would be greatly appreciated."
"Well, I guess it's almost time!" Marcel exclaimed excitedly. Looking at Edwin, he noticed he looked a little pale, and slightly nauseous. "Are you O.K. Ed?" asked Marcel.
"It's just that...I don't know. I have never been away from home, and I guess I'm a little nervous," explained Edwin. He sighed. "I guess I'm regretting not preparing like you did."
"Ah, come on Ed! I'm sure I studied for nothing. Besides, it's like you said: When will I ever use all of this useless knowledge? You'll be fine!" Marcel exclaimed.