When I was going to Gretna Jr. High (part of New Orleans West Bank), 9th grade was still "middle school" & not high school, unlike other schools. The end of the day of my real life 9th Grade Day experience was ruined by my favorite swimming goggles being stolen. But, I miss Jellystone Park & wish I could visit there again. Every year, towards the end of the school year, in May there was 9th Grade Day.
Here's Jellystone Park website.
https://www.jellystonela.com/
https://www.campjellystone.com/campgrounds/louisiana-campgrounds/
New Orleans has Bayou Segnette on the West Bank. We went there for other school field trips, but not for 9th Grade Day. I went there for the 1st time in 7th grade on a field trip.
Here's Bayou Segnette.
https://www.lastateparks.com/parks-preserves/bayou-segnette-state-park
I had fun there, too. But I visited there in 2017 or 2018 (I can't remember), & the park entrance cashier was SO hard, mean & rude that I wanted to cry. She probably was a perp. I also got lost, walking through there. It was a maze, & I remember getting frustrated & anxious. No one wanted us to help me find my way to the wave pool. I was forced to find my own way. It was confusing, even with a map. But I had fun at the wave pool.
In high school, at West Jefferson High School in Harvey, LA, Air Force Jr. ROTC students went to Pensacola Beach here every year for their "End of the Year trip", but the year I went, we went to Houston TX. I was so mad! But I'm glad I not only got to FINALLY experience Pensacola Beach, but I get to live here close by! Unfortunately, I'm homeless, due to this targeting. But I love Pensacola, Florida so much, & don't want to leave. I just hate the dumb ass people here!
I was already an adult, but I lived in Greenville, SC for over a year. I miss Paris Mountain. My 1st & only time I ever got to swim in a natural lake. Lemme tell you. it was AMAZING! Phenomenal! I barely had any money, but I was DETERMINED to get there! What a shame that the transit buses don't take you there. You have to ride the bus to Cherrydale & then take a cab. I struggled to get there. I found a kiddie bike & bought it for about $5 or so, at a garage sale, & I couldn't ride it because I was too fat, & the bike was too small. Thankfully, some people offered me a ride, & I think they gave me some cab fare for on the way back home. I remember being treated mean by people at the lake. It was like the Costa Rica trip. I loved my personal experiences with nature, but everyone was so mean.
Lemme tell you about the LAKE in Paris Mountain, though! I don't know where to begin. It seemed like it temporarily healed every skin ailment. I remember sleeping much better for I don't know how long! My feet were smooth for days. The clay was reddish orange. 1 thing I hated, was I had huge red ants that I couldn't get rid of, once I got back home. I had to get rid of that kiddie bike. I remember having a frustrating moment with a rude cab driver on the way back.
So, I like to sometimes give y'all a background of a real life experience of mine, to explain the inspiration behind a fictionalized short story idea. This short story, "9th Grade Day", is going to be a fictionalized reenactment of the 3 above real life experiences, rolled up into one. I hope you enjoy it. If you think the story sucks or is poorly written, that's because you're a narcissistic gang stalker 😝! Now, there! Even though my real life experiences weren't that great, be happy that this story is going to be something positive!
Oh, & here's the website of Paris Mountain State Park.
https://southcarolinaparks.com/paris-mountain
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Don't get mad. This is TOTALLY FICTION!
I'll be using baby names for this website, for the fictional characters.
https://kidadl.com/baby-names/inspiration/top-literary-names-for-your-baby
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The 9th graders at Nixon High School are excited for this camping day trip. Mrs. Haughton gathered the students into the school cafeteria to call roll & then lay out some rules. The kids were on their best behavior, JUST SO they could get everything done efficiently & out of the way. No disruptions. They loaded up on the tour bus & rode 2 hours distance to a campground. On the ride towards the campground, they ate luxury gourmet catered breakfast food from a popular, local restaurant & bakery, called "Potter & Clay Bakery", while they were on the bus. The teachers encouraged the children to eat a heavy breakfast because, as Mrs. Haughton said, "Expect to burn some calories!"
1 of the students, Duncan, said, "Aww, man! I just want to go clear my mind & take a hike. Look. I don't wanna be bothered with nobody! I'm ridin' solo dolo like a cholo, rockin' my khakis & polo."
"Of course, you're joking!", sighed another teacher, Mr. Ryder.
Everyone snickered.
Duncan dorkishly said, "Well sir, if I'm jokin', then I'm blokin' & cokin'." Everyone fell out laughing.
Rowena & Caspian asked Hermia & Edgar if they wanted to join them in paddle boating & canoeing. They didn't want to do the canoeing, so they all agreed on paddle boating. The children were paddling, & Edgar kept singing the Row Your Boat song. The other 3 children never heard of the song before. He tried to sing, "Row, row, row your boat... Gently down the stream". He wanted to try to sing it in a way, like a 90's R&B song. Trying to impersonate K-Ci from Jodeci. Then, he was like, "Ooooooh, ooooooooooooh, yeah!" & then he was doing some more humming. They were impressed at his singing skills of singing nursery rhymes in 90's R&B style.
It was noon, which meant time to meet up for lunch. Milo, Gilbert & Wilbur asked Duncan in unison, "Did you take that hike, boy!" Duncan responded, "No. Adrian pushed me into the lake, & the water was feeling so good on my skin, with the sun beaming on me."
Adrian said, "Now come on, Duncan! Why you gotta lie?"
Duncan said, "Why croak like a frog, just to joke like a dog?"
Mrs. Haughton, Mr. Ryder, Mrs. Clinton & Ms. Shexnayder called roll, to get a head count for the children again. Lydia was missing because she got lost. No one was allowed to eat lunch until Lydia was found. The students started to panic & become impatient. Fortunately, Lydia found the picnic seating area within less than 5 minutes after roll was called.
The students were surprised with a Lobster Boil (Like a New Orleans crawfish boil, but with lobster instead) picnic & pool party. Boiled spicy lobster tails (instead of crawfish) with shrimp, turkey necks, corn on the cob & boiled red potatoes. They also had a fruit & vegetable salad mix. & they had a dessert that was like a mixture of strawberry shortcake (but blueberries) & bread pudding. The dessert was like this. It was as if the cake part of ordinary strawberry shortcake cups were made out of bread pudding, & then topped with blueberry filling, instead of strawberries. More like a blueberry shortcake, instead. (I hope that I "the author" am explaining this in a way that you could understand. I'm having difficulty putting it into words to try to describe it, for some reason. Maybe because of my sleep deprivation.) & then with Cool Whip, fresh strawberries (not blueberries), caramel drizzle & pine nuts, confetti & edible glitter on top. Everyone thought it was a HIT! The teachers were somehow able to acquire Fanta Tropical Splash from Costa Rica. The students loved it. They had a marvelous time. They partied like it was 1999, just like the Prince song. The song was even played at the pool party portion of the field trip during lunch. The party lasted from lunch time until the day ended.
The trip was finally over, & everyone packed up & left. They got on the tour bus, & everyone was worn out & tired. Mrs. Haughton was right. They done ate some calories, burned them, ate some more, & then burned some more. They had a good time. Mrs. Haughton called roll 1 more time, & then the tour bus rode back to the school. The children slept throughout the whole bus ride because they were exhausted, tired & worn out. The parents were ready to pick up the kids from school, after hours, & everyone went home.
The next day, Mr. Ryder asked his students to do a descriptive English project & essay about their trip experience.
THE END