August 2025 Short STory

“Brian! If you’re not down here in five minutes I’ll come up there myself and take away your computer for a week!”

Wincing from the loud booming voice of his mother, Brian quickly headed downstairs where his family was getting ready to enjoy a Sunday brunch. There was French toast, fluffy and drizzled with maple syrup; a must-do Canadian tradition, along with crisp hashbrowns, sausages and fried bacon.

After finding a seat, the fourteen-year-old boy fidgeted with his thick glasses, before stifling a yawn as he surveyed the table full of delectable food. His mother noticed the yawn and chided him sternly about his gaming habits. “Brian, you’ve been up all night gaming haven’t you? I know it’s summer break, but for my sake, could you at least think of doing something else other than starring at that screen of yours?”

Lydia shook her head in frustration and elbowed her husband, asking for help on the issue. “Hank, don’t you care that your son is spending ten hours a day on that blasted computer?” Dad lowered his newspaper to look at Brian before raising it again, seemingly in disinterest. “Brian, listen to your mother please.” 

Lydia threw up her hands in resignation and began serving her sons and husband the steaming hot food. “Honey, we need to do something to keep Brian out of that room of his.” She grew silent as she picked her brain over what they could possibly do while school was out.

“How about we send Brian to a nature summer camp? There’s one happening next week in Squamish.” Hank pointed to the ad on his paper, small as it was in the very corner, almost hidden from the rest of the advertisements. 

Lydia clapped her hands in excitement. “Yes! That’s the perfect thing to do. Getting out in nature will be great for the boys.”

Brian’s brother Brandon instantly protested, having been dragged into his brother’s sentencing. “Mom! That’s not fair! I was going to go to Alex’s house next week! Why do I have to go too?”

Mom gave her husband some more sausages as she made up her mind. “You two are brothers, and it’s about time you two spent some quality time together. Also, I need you to watch over Brian for me. I’d hate for him to get into any trouble of any sort.”

Brandon scowled as he chewed his hashbrowns with bitter resentment. 

Hank watched his eldest son grumbling and offered some optimism for the boys. “It’ll only be for a week, I think you both will survive unscathed. You’ll be back to enjoying your summer holidays in no time.”

Brian didn’t say a word during the whole ordeal, playing with his ketchup and imagining that it was an ogre being slaughtered with blood spraying everywhere. In his game, BattleCraft, he was a bold, powerful paladin knight, able to rescue princesses, defeat warlords and save kingdoms. But outside BattleCraft, he was just a skinny little pipsqueak, with weak eyes and a pale complexion. The game was his escape, his alter ego, his home away from home. He was already dreading the week ahead where he’d have no access to his computer, wondering what he’ll be forced to do out in the wild.

A week later, both brothers were packed and ready to go, with Dad driving the family Toyota Prius to Squamish, a small city at the mouth of a flowing river. Brian watched as the forests of Stanley Park whizzed by, with cyclists biking along the Seawall and ringing their tiny bells to signal they were coming from behind. In front was the Lion’s Gate Bridge, a seemingly old bridge connecting Vancouver to the North Shore, and the Sea to Sky corridor leading to Squamish. Traffic was light, but Dad maintained a steady speed, as he always did to ensure he wasn’t speeding, not even for a second. Dad was a stickler for keeping the law. One time, Brandon brought back a pirated DVD of the movie Avatar, and Hank literally blew his top, lecturing his son for an hour about obeying the law, no matter how small. 

Brian wished he was back at home, sitting in front of his computer gaming setup, with glowing LED lights, head phones and two 24-inch-high-definition monitors. The glowing lights seemed to pulse with life, casting colourful shadows on his bedroom walls and ceiling. He remembered how warm it felt next to his computer, which generated so much heat it raised the temperature of his room by nearly three degrees Celsius. In hot weather like now, the heat would be stifling, but Brian bore it patiently, enduring the conditions like a sauna or steam room.

Brrrummppp!

A sudden speed bump shook Brian back to reality, as they entered the city of Squamish. It was a marshy land, with reeds and tall grasses growing in many shades of brown and green. Higher up above the mouth of the river was the university where the camp was to be held. A sign for the university advertised it’s name: Quantum University of British Columbia.

Dad parked some distance from the entrance, encouraging them to walk. The boys picked up their large bags and shouldered them like hockey players did as they entered the changeroom. 

A cheerful lady waved at them and greeted them at the door. “Welcome to Smiling Eagles Summer Camp! Where kids can soar to new heights than ever before! Come, the reception desk is just to your left. We’re so happy that you’re here!”

The smile from the lady was assuring, but somewhat unnerving for Brian, as if she was putting on a façade hiding her true self.

A more serious-faced man offered a quick small smile before indicating them to register and pick up their name tags. “Please write your child’s full name on the tag and any allergies or health conditions you may have on the back of the tag.”

Lydia promptly wrote down on the back of Brian’s tag: Autistic with non-severe OCD. She draped the tag around Brian’s neck as she did with Brandon and kissed him on the forehead before ushering them to the other kids who had already begun to get to know each other.

“If there are any emergencies, we will contact you immediately at the phone numbers you have provided us.” Lydia nodded and took one last look at her sons and mouthed the words to herself: Be safe my dears.

Brian and his brother decided to put away their belongings in their room before checking in with the administrators. The room assigned to them was at the very end of the hall, up two flights of stairs and past the cafeteria, where dinner was already being prepared.

The key card automatically unlocked the room, and the boys gasped at the comfy-looking room, all neat and tidy with two bunk beds, a desk, sink and mini-fridge. Beautiful beige curtains provided privacy and a ceiling fan offered them some respite from the hot summer air.

Ding-Dong! Please report to the lounge area for the beginning of our camp! Ding-Dong!

As the group of boys gathered around the speaker, everyone hushed as their listened to their itinerary for the following week.

“So, we’ll begin our activities tomorrow morning with a short bus ride to Garibaldi Park and a nice five kilometre hike up the mountain trail. After dinner today feel free to explore some of the amenities we have at this camp, including a pool table, foosball table and some basketball hoops. Everyone must be in bed by nine o’clock at night, and you must get up by eight in the morning. That is all, you are all dismissed” 

Brandon introduced himself to a small group of the boys, and immediately made several friends, but Brian stayed at the dining table, playing around with his leftovers.

It was going to be a long, long week before he would be safe back at home with his beloved computer.

Breakfast was a trivial affair and soon after the boys were bused to a nearby park where the five-kilometre hike was to take place. Some of the boys told Brandon that they were planning on deviating from the trail and exploring a nearby river before rejoining the group.

“Brandon, you and your brother coming with us? We won’t be long, just a fifteen-minute detour. They’ll never know we’re gone” Brian didn’t like the idea of going off the trail, but he went along with the idea along with his older brother.

When they arrived at the trail, the boys filed into the forest in a single line, grateful for the shade of the tall trees, sheltering them from the scorching summer sun. Brian heard a soft whistle, and noticed Brandon was waving at him and pointing at a small fork in the road. Five of the boys had already separated from the group, and the brothers quickly followed suit, hoping not to be caught by the supervisors. 

The small group of boys quickly encountered a small stream, and they frolicked in the water, splashing at one another and jumping in shallow pools. At a particularly deeper section of the stream, Brian dipped his feet into the water, enjoying the cold relief while staying a safe distance from the other boys. 

Suddenly, Brandon heard a cry and saw Brian lying dazed among the slippery rocks, with a small trickle of blood on the side of his head. “Brian! Wait! I’m coming! Don’t worry!” Brandon rush to his side and helped him up, before realizing that Brian had severely injured his ankle when he slipped on the rocks. He also checked on the small wound on Brian’s head, which looked a lot worse than it really was. “We need to get back to the group!” Shouted Brandon, and the other kids nodded, with some helping carry Brian and the others going to look for the main group. As they were carrying Brian back to the trail, they realized the main group had left them, and it would be two hours before they would come back this way on their way down. By now, Brian’s foot was swollen like a balloon, ranging in colour from pink to a dark scarlet looking colour. His head injury had stopped bleeding, but his leg was giving him intense pain.

“I’m sorry Brian, it’s all my fault. All my fault. I shouldn’t have taken you along with me.” Sobbed Brandon as he held onto his little brother.

“It’s okay Brandon, I’ll bet mom never expected this to happen.”

Brandon’s eyes widened as he realized how Mom would react once she heard about what had happened. “Mom’s gonna kill me.” He said before shaking his head with his hands.

Brian closed his eyes, ignoring how fragile he was and imagining he was as strong as a knight, able to withstand this small injury and keep defending the land from bloodthirsty monsters. This injury was only a minor setback, back home he would be someone again, someone courageous, brave and powerful. Someone everyone looked up to. Someone important. He winced as a shock of pain travelled up his ankle to his thigh. 

“Man, that really hurts. Feels like my foot is on fire.” There was an awkward silence amongst Brandon’s sobs before Brian spoke up.

“You remember that camping trip where me and you sneaked out in the night to explore the lake?”

Brandon looked up, nodding his head.

“Well, honestly, I was super scared, and I was glad to have a bigger brother protect me. You’re always there for me brother, and I, I’m glad I have you.”

Tears began streaming down both boys’ cheeks, as they continued talking, realizing how lucky they were to have a brother. Soon, after two of the boys had reached the main group and informed them of what happened, the supervisors reached Brian and immediately carried him to the bus heading to Squamish General Hospital. They figured it would be faster than waiting for an ambulance to drive up to Garibaldi Park, and since Brian’s injuries were not too serious, they decided that was the best course of action. Brian’s parents were contacted, and they immediately headed for Squamish again, worried sick about their poor little boy.

Brandon was allowed to stay with his brother in the hospital, but the other boys headed back to the university to continue their summer camp activities. Some of the boys even wrote a get-well card for Brian, with stick figures depicting the group carrying Brian over their shoulders in an over-dramatic sketch of the rescue.

A nurse unraveled the dressing from Brian’s ankle to see if they swelling had gone down. It still looked red but was somewhat back to normal size now, much to everyone’s relief. The hospital buzzed with activity, with nurses chatting away, and the sound of trollies being pushed around. At dinnertime, a smiling nurse brought the boys a tray of food, figuring they were hungry while they waited for their parents to come. Brian picked at a patty of mystery meat, while Brandon chewed on some mushy broccoli. 

“I miss mom’s cooking. I wish we could eat her Maui Ribs with arugula salad,” said Brian as he took his cup of orange juice.

“I miss her Tandoori chicken with samosas and dip. I remember the whole house would smell like an Indian restaurant for a whole day,” added Brandon.

“Maybe when we get home, we could ask Mom to make those for dinner,” said Brian hopefully.

“Knowing Mom, she’s gonna make you eat chicken noodle soup till you’re all better,” said Brandon with a smirk. Suddenly there was a commotion at the nurse’s station as Lydia and Hank rushed to their son’s bedside. “Oh Brian! Are you okay dear? What happened?” Lydia ran her fingers through her son’s hair, stroking his head as if he were a newborn babe. 

“I’m okay Mom, just…twisted my ankle a bit at the stream.”

Hank’s stern gaze fell upon Brandon as he looked to him for a more thorough explanation. “The camp leader said you boys went off the trail away from the group by yourselves. Is that true? Brandon?”

The teenage boy looked away shamefully, his face growing red and flushed with embarrassment. He took a while to think what to say before quietly uttering an admittance: “Yeah Dad, we did.”

Lydia held her hands on her hips as she chided Brandon for not looking after his younger brother and leading him into danger. “You both could have been seriously injured! What were you thinking Brandon?”

“The other boys said it would be fun to explore a bit…I didn’t think…I didn’t think it would be dangerous…I just…”

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Watson I presume? I’m Doctor Harris, and we’ve done a fully examination of your son’s injuries. There’s nothing too serious, just a twisted ankle and a small abrasion on the side of his head, which has been treated to prevent infection. His ankle should heal in a week or two, but I’d suggest keeping him in bed till it gets better. He’s free to go home anytime, whenever you’re ready. Oh and the camp director dropped off the boy’s belongings earlier so you can pick it up at the nurses station. 

When the doctor walked away, Hank resumed his talk with his eldest son. “We’re gonna have a nice long talk when we get home Brandon and Mom and I agree you should be grounded for two weeks. That means no screens and no going out with friends. Do you understand young man?”

Brandon nodded, knowing that the punishment could have been worse. Mom helped Brian sit up, and after some discussion they decided to get ready to head back home to Burnaby, a bustling metropolis with high rises and glamourous shopping malls only a short drive from Vancouver.

Lydia got Brian’s crutches and together they hobbled to the car before heading South on the Sea to Sky Highway. “Brandon told me you were craving Maui Ribs with arugula salad. Would you like that for dinner tomorrow Brian?” 

The teenage boy nodded his head, smiling as he thought of the delicious sweet and savoury meat made just the way his mom cooked it. The chewy bits around the bone were the best bits; hard to get at but worth putting in the effort gnawing at it. The arugula salad would have a tangy, sweet dressing, countering the bitterness of the greens. 

“Mom, could you make Tandoori chicken with samosas the day after?” Asked Brian, shocking Brandon in surprise. 

“Of course dear, but our house will smell like an Indian restaurant for a day or two if you don’t mind.”

Brian smiled and looked at his brother, who mouthed the words “Thank you” back to him. He knew the whole ordeal was an accident, and even though he had every right to be angry at Brandon for leading him astray, Brian chose to forgive him and use the opportunity to strengthen their brotherly bond.

Zipping past the forests of North Vancouver and heading into the urban regions of Metro Vancouver, Brian reminisced about the whole ordeal, the first time in weeks that he’d been away from his beloved computer. He thought it would be the most boring week of his life, going out in nature and socializing, but strangely enough, he felt some sort of good had come of it. He realized that he had an older brother who cared and looked after him when he needed him most. He realized despite the rough exterior, his brother was emotional as well, crying as he apologized for getting them both in trouble. While the two days at nature camp didn’t change his passion for videogames, in the end it helped him realize that one didn’t need to be a paladin knight to be part of a loving family. 

The End