Camp backyard

Wi -Fi, check.

Gear, check.

Snacks ,check.

Mind and hands working in sync, always!

Today is the day I make history,Today I will win the online death rally and become the new world champion I thought to myself.With all those years of hardwork ,sleepless nights and all the money I spend on my new g-force gaming computer i finally qualified for the race. This the dream coming true.

After grinning for about half an hour it was finally time. I logged into my Death rally account, my Nissan GTR gleaming on the race track, I did few final checkups. One minutes left until they blow horns. Now it was time to recite the battle hymn, I am speed!

“I got this”, I  said to my self.

Players ready,get set. and boom.

“what just happened” , I screamed . I monitor went black and so did the entire room. What about the race! . I was completely doomed and before I can even complete this thought a strong familiar voice interrupted me .

“Are you okay, my son ?”

“Yeah Dad , why the power cut , did you pay the bill this month?”

“Well unlike you , I am responsible and the power cut is because the transformer grid in our block ,blew up.” ,Dad answered in an irritated tone.

“So that was the boom all about.”

“Were you scared?”

“Dad ! I am not kid anymore , I am just frustrated”

“Not a kid anymore , then you should prepare for college rather than whinning about your stupid game.”

“It was the world championship.”, I grumbled but he didn’t care to listen .

Well that’s how it always ends, older generation doesn’t understand the concept of esports. I heard a rumble downstairs and staying any longer in a dark spooky room was not cool, so I stepped out. Though dark it was slightly visible . It looked liked the scene from the conjuring, I regretted recalling that scene.

I somehow reached the living room and saw light coming out of the storage room. I opened the door and saw girl in a white robe holding a candle , that was it. I screamed and so did the white figure . Luckily it was just Lena, my younger sister wrapped in a blanket .

My mom was giggling behind her taking something out of the cupboard , I enquired what she taking out.

“ A tent.”, she replied .

“Tent ,for what ?”

“For camping in the backyard. boo-yaah!!”, my sister shouted in enthusiasm.

And before I could even object the idea I was already roasting a marshmallow.

I am usually an indoor person and didn’t quite enjoy camping . Worst part was I had Lena by my side babbling non stop about her experience with camping, that was inevitable as she was a girl scout. Dad was setting up the tent and gave me an side eye for not helping .Mom was grilling the beef ,that was the only good thing happening that evening. Soon we all sat around the bonfire with plates and beef in them. Lena started singing a country song she learned in summer camp, joined by Dad , obviously as he was a boy scout back in his day . Mom looked proud eating what she made , she looked at me and prompted me to join but I hesitated .

Then she asked me if I was doing something important when the powercut happened. This question silenced the other two members of the family .

“Well not exactly but I had an important competition.”

“It was just a game.” , Dad exclaimed.

“Its esports .”

“ I think you should put more time for college entrance exam.”

Then he started telling about his youth . “here we go again.” I mumbled .

Mom then got up and said that we should prepare for dinner. According to 

her working together deepens the family bond. We were assigned different tasks, Dad and I were going to cut vegetables , Lena would be incharge of the rice and mom would take care of the chicken.

I was washing the vegetables and Dad was peeling them. Even though mom makes him work in the kitchen he still peels them in cuboids. I laughed and remakeme . I asked him about work and his face droped and became like melted icecream.

Then he took a deep breath and said “over worked but fine.”

I asked him if he liked his work to which he said that his work is just like cutting vegetable and would have opted for the job of the cook and be creative. He used this metaphor for his job as a insurance company manager.

“You should apply for a computer degree college.” He said .

“But I want to be a game designer.” I blurted out.

“Didn’t you wanted to be a softeware engineer.”

“Thats what you wanted me to be.”

We didn’t spoke a word after that just silently cutting potatoes and carrots , its was a very awkward situation. A minute later mom called for the vegetables .

Then I was helping mom with the curry .

She asked , “ How did it go with Dad? You guys don’t talk much lately.”

“we just have different perspective, so the problem occurs.”, I replied.

“ Well ignoring it is not the solutions.” She said while sprinkling salt.

I was stirring the curry and thinking how could I express that what I wanted to achieve was different from their expectations . suddenly I realised that someone was pulling my shirt from behind , it was my sister asking for my help to carry the pile of woods for the bonfire. As I was helping her she told me that she wants to be a weight lifter and some would be able to lift heavier logs than I can , I mocked her. She made a grumpy face, I felt pity so I patted her head and said “if you have a dream don’t let a moron like me talk you out of it.” She smiled .

Soon enough dinner was ready we took our plates and surprisingly Dad came and sat next to me on his own. He said “I know I have pressured you a lot since child hood forcing my dreams on you , but in actuality i just wanted you to have a stable future unlike me. But now I want to you to pursue a career you truly want.”

I thought that was cheesy but it better than otherwise . “Thanks Dad.” ,I said.

I saw smiling at us from the other side of the bonfire. Maybe camping in a while is good. Later Lena started singing that country song and this time I joined.