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The Fifth-Grade Nature Retreat
Overview
August anticipates the three-day fifth-grade nature retreat, torn between excitement and anxiety about sleeping away from home for the first time. He recalls early medical fragility and a past sleepover panic that ended with Dad retrieving him at night. Despite fears, August resolves to face the trip.
Summary
Beecher Prep’s fifth graders prepare for a three-day, two-night trip to Broarwood Nature Reserve, a four-hour bus ride with cabins, campfires, and hikes. While classmates are thrilled, August admits mixed feelings: he is eager for the experience but nervous because he has never slept away from home.
August explains that when he was younger, frequent medical needs—managing a trache tube and a feeding tube—made sleeping out impractical. Even after those issues eased, he never chose to stay elsewhere, with parents always present for hospital nights.
He recalls a single attempted sleepover at Christopher’s when they were eight. After a fun evening, panic set in at bedtime; Christopher’s mom, Lisa, tried to help, but August insisted on going home. Dad drove late at night to pick him up, and they returned at 3 a.m. This memory fuels his current anxiety, yet August ends by acknowledging he is also excited to try the retreat.
Who Appears
- August PullmanNarrator; excited yet anxious about first nights away on the class nature retreat, recalling medical history and a failed sleepover.
- DadPicked August up late at night from a failed childhood sleepover, underscoring August’s past anxiety.
- ChristopherChildhood friend; hosted August’s only attempted sleepover that ended in panic.
- LisaChristopher’s mom; tried to help August settle during the sleepover before calling his parents.
- MomPreviously stayed overnight during hospital stays; part of August’s reliance on home support.
- ViaWas with the family the night of the attempted sleepover; went home before August panicked.
- Beecher Prep teachersPrepared students all year for the nature retreat’s activities and logistics.