New Story <3

Nari and the Family Camping Trip By Aileen Tran

Twelve-year-old Nari was over the moon when she learned her family was going on an overnight camping trip to Bear Lake with her favorite cousins - Fei, Sana, and Akira - and their families.

The thought of spending time with them - playing games, going on hikes, and roasting marshmallows - filled her with excitement.

The family arrived at the campsite just as the sun was setting, and they quickly set up their tents and started a campfire.

Nari quickly spotted her cousins and skipped over to them, excited. Fei noticed her first. “Nari!” she squealed, excited. “Fei!” Nari squealed back, teasingly. Sana and Akira laughed, hugging them.

“Dinner!” Aunt Mei called, interrupting the cousins’ happy reunion. “Itadakimasu!” the girls called, as they sat down, quickly indulging in the homemade savory broth of the ramen Uncle Koji made.

“Do you have any water?” Nari whispered to Akira, who was sitting on her left. “Yes. Here you go,” Akira smiled, handing Nari a plastic water bottle from her knitted teal tote bag.

All the girls had matching knitted tote bags they had knitted themselves during a sleepover. Nari’s tote was lavender, Akira’s was rose gold, and Fei’s was a pale sunny yellow.

“Thank you,” Nari replied, gratefully downing the water.

After everyone had finished inhaling the succulent noodles, Nari's favorite aunt– Aunt Mei, announced, “An awesome dessert-making contest!” Aunt Mei and Uncle Koji (Sana’s dad, who was a sushi chef) would be the judges.

Nari's eyes lit up, and she immediately started huddling with her team, brainstorming ideas with her cousins. Nari loved desserts and had been looking forward to this trip for weeks.

“What about a roasted fruit salad with a chocolate drizzle and marshmallow fluff?” Fei suggested. “Or a dip, maybe? For the roasted fruit!” Sana added, grinning. “Perfect!” Akira smiled, licking her lips.

They decided Sana would handle the presentation of their special treat, and Fei would make a s'mores dip, with melted chocolate and marshmallows. Nari would help with ingredients, and Akira was in charge of the roasting fruit served in a cast-iron skillet.

“I miss Pao,” sighed Nari, putting down the whisk she was using. “Hey, it’s okay.” Sana comforted, rubbing her back. “We all do.”

“Wait!” Fei exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “What if we made the dessert look like Pao?” she grinned. “A panda?” Sana asked. “But we don’t have any black fruit, and chocolate is not black. What would we use?” Sana wondered aloud. “Unless you don’t mind using rotten fruit, we don’t have anything else black.”

“Oh! I know! Could we add boba to the fruit?” Akira suggested, enthusiastically. The cousins’ eyes widened.

“That’s awesome, Akira!” proclaimed Sana. “Perfect,” Fei smiled. “We’ll steal some from Jingwen and Yanghao!” Nari suggested. “I heard they were making marshmallow chocolate boba ice cream. And they still owe us anyway.”

After shaking down Sana’s reluctant older brothers, Abeoji (or Uncle Hiro to Nari’s cousins) started a story-telling competition. Each person had to tell a spectacular story, and the winner would receive a prize. Nari's cousin Akira went first, telling a tale about a haunted cabin in the woods.

Sana followed with a story about a cursed necklace that brought bad luck to anyone who wore it.

Fei's story was about a ghostly figure that appeared in the middle of the night. The ghost figure was once a beautiful princess turned bear by her mother when she refused an arranged marriage.

When it was Nari's turn, she was nervous but excited. She told a story about a magical forest where fairies lived and a young girl, Sophie, who stumbled upon their secret world. Her cousins were spellbound, and even her aunts and uncles were impressed.

“Congrats, Nari! You earned it!” Aunt Mei smiled, handing her– a plastic medal. “Seriously?” Nari laughed. “Plastic?”

The families sat around the cozy campfire that night and tried each other's desserts.

The girl’s roasted fruit and boba Pao salad with dip was a hit, but all the desserts were delicious and could easily win.

Nari’s parents and Sana’s mother had made some scrumptious caramelized apples and strawberries in a marshmallow chocolate swirl.

Grandma and Grandpa made a simple strawberry marshmallow ice cream, which, as expected, was a real crowd-pleaser!

Fei’s mom and Akira’s parents were on a team together and they created adorably kawaii hollow strawberries with marshmallow and chocolate cream filling. “A little too sweet,” Sana whispered to Akira when they tasted it.

Reluctantly, they all had to agree that Yanghao and Jingwen’s chocolate marshmallow boba ice cream deserved first place.

They spent the rest of the night laughing, telling jokes, and making memories that they would cherish forever.

Soon, it was late, so the cousins tiredly tucked themselves in, whispering excitedly.

“That story was so good, Nari! I loved how you described Elvendale!” squealed Fei. “Yeah! And that marshmallow dip– so good!” Akira raved. “Thanks, guys,” Nari smiled.

“You gotta admit though, Yanghao and Jingwen’s ice cream was pretty good, too,” Fei said. “Second place isn’t bad,” she said reasonably. “YES, it issss,” moaned Sana. “They’re not your brothers.” The girls laughed, gently dozing to sleep.

As they packed up their tents and said goodbye the following morning, Nari hugged her cousins tightly, already looking forward to their next adventure together.

“Promise you’ll write,” Nari said dramatically to her cousins. Akira rolled her eyes and smiled. “Or, we could just text.” she teased. “It’s not the end of the world, Nari.”

“But it issss.” Nari moaned jokingly, imitating Sana, and the girls laughed.

A few minutes later, Nari reluctantly trotted into the Prius, herded by her parents. She buckled her seatbelt, smiling out the window at the gorgeous lake.

The camping trip was a huge success, and Nari was grateful for the memories she had made with her family. She couldn't wait to see what other adventures were waiting for her in the future.

THE END.