To read part one of day seven, click here.

As I was passing the bowls back, it started.

“Jen, what’s this?”
“Katie, what are we having for breakfast?”
“This looks like cardboard. What is it?”
“Um, I don’t want to eat this.”
“Is there any granola left from yesterday?”

I got my bowl and poured some water in it. Once I had poured the water in and stirred up the powdered milk, I could kinda see what it was. It looked like it was grape nuts, the crunchy kind that I had only ever had on yogurt.

I knew that it was going to be bland. But I was not prepared for the flavors that would fill my mouth when I took a bite.

Not only did it look like cardboard, it tasted like cardboard. Like, really stale cardboard. I knew that I needed to eat. We were going to have another hard day on the water, and I needed the calories. I managed to eat two or three bites before I couldn’t eat anymore.

I asked who had the trash bag and it was handed up to me. It was already half full from everyone else who didn’t want to eat it. I dumped mine in and passed it up to the front – Kayce was a picky eater, and I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to be eating it.

I wiped my bowl out as best as I could, wincing at the nasty taste. I took a big drink of water to try and rinse out the taste, but it didn’t do anything. I gave up and leaned against the back of the chair, enjoying the air conditioning, music, and soft seats.

We were driving through a town, so I looked around. It was a small town, and it looked pretty old. But it was rather pretty, so I enjoyed looking at it.

We pulled into a parking lot next to a bridge, the river right next to it. Everyone tumbled out of the van, ready to get going. I hung back – I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t. I wanted to stay back with our crewmate who wasn’t going.

I got out of the car and went over to Jen. I’m not proud of the fact that I did what I did. Looking back, I don’t really know why I did it. Fear probably played a big part in it. But I’m still ashamed of the fact that I actually did it.

“Jen? Can I stay with _____ today? I don’t want to go on the river, and he/she will be lonely, and I really don’t want to go on the river.”

A part of me knew that I shouldn’t be asking her that, but the scared part of me was a lot stronger than my conscience.

Click here to read the next part of Day Seven.

*Everything here is from my own memory and may not be correct. Outward Bound is not responsible for anything I post here. Thanks too NCOBS for letting me use their photos.*