It all happened so quick, I mean in reality if we're talking about time here then the main part of this lasted around 4 hours but were not and it felt quick anyways so that's the way I’m going to tell it. I mean who hasn't had one of those times where something just feels so fast for some reason when in reality it not I mean who hasn't, one second you're doing something the next you look at your phone and five hours have passed. Then again there's also those times where time never seems to pass you look at the time 5 times and still a minute hasn't passed but it feels like an eternity. Time it's a weird thing, anyways let me digress, I’m going on a tangent here. It took place in the summer of 8th grade; let me take you back there. I guess that all this started was on a cool summer night and that's a homophone the temperature was cool and the night was awesome I’m not even sure if that's what they call it I’m not big on English and all that anyways. Whatever so this thing I'm talking about I’m sure everyone reading this right now is very interested or wait let me use a big word “intrigued” to know what I’m talking about. Well maybe I don't want to talk about it I mean it wasn’t the best time in my life but you know that phrase stuff happens. Anyways if I wasn't going to tell you what happened then I wouldn’t be here right now writing this right? Wrong I’m writing this because I want to and this is my story my essay not yours so stop telling me what to do. Okay so I guess I should give you a little background information, I was 14 it was summer but you already know that and it takes place right here at home, so being a 14 year old and also it being the summer of 8th grade or the summer after 8th grade ended I’m not sure how I would classify it but its unimportant. I would say it was about 1 week into the summer break and I couldn’t be happier school was over summer was here the days were sunny and the nights were cool and at the time this story starts it just so happens that it was a cool summer night around 8pm and my mom was driving me over to my friends house to spend the night I go over quite often and this friend always invites my entire friend group over as a big group and we all hangout which is what was happening so it wasn’t anything unusual for some reason I just had this feeling and I’m not talking about my stomach hurting or some magical force or anything I guess I cant really explain it but for some reason I just felt at unease and for that I was nervous. So I pull up on his house and its 8:10 I say bye to my mom and go inside down to his basement and say hello you know just the usual type of stuff. Were just sitting there just hanging out when around 8:30 I can hear a loud bang from upstairs we run up and there is his brother on the floor and a table knocked down as well his brother was fine I guess he tripped or whatever but the table was not it broke but no one cared about this table it was what was on the table that mattered it was my friends bird cage that he had since he was born it was a present to him and he loved it more than anything I mean he spent time with it everyday and it was a pretty cool bird too it talked and everything. So there it was the table broken, the bird cage broken, and the bird dead gone after 14 years of having it just gone his first reaction was to beat up his brother for doing something like this but he didn’t instead he picked up the bird put on his shoes walked outside and motioned the rest of us to come follow so we do. So when we get outside its a nice 70 something degrees out there so none of us are complaining but it is pitch black I mean like no light and he is just there walking right into the abandoned property across the street from his house right into the woods not a care in the world and I mean as much as we didn’t want to go with him we weren’t about to let a heartbroken kid wonder into unknown territory by himself. So we did the only logical thing and followed him but looking back at it now it was not logical at all I mean there were probably a bunch of other ways to deal with it like telling him to stop or calling his parents but it what we did so stop complaining. We went into the woods running after him, “Yo what are u doing dude were blinding following you into this place and we have never been here before and I’m not trying to get lost.” He responded, “We need to burry him he deserves to have a good burial ground.’ So we followed and followed until eventually half an hour later we were deep in the woods, “Okay this is good we will burry him here who brought the shovel.” Everyone looked around blankly at each other, “You dumbs no one brought the shovel?” Everyone was still silent He sighed and placed the bird on the ground then placed some leaves over, “this will do lets go back now who knows the way back. I Shouted out, “wait you don’t know how to get back this was your plan your idea how could you not know how to get back.” I was so mad I could have punched him right they’re lucky another one of my friends tackled him, “this is all your fault with that stupid bird we will be stuck here for hours.” We pulled him up and calmed him down none of us had phone connection so it was pointless to call. Wait pause we never named anyone but the only names who is important right now is my friend with the bird so we will just call him Josh. So josh pulls out a sweatshirt and puts it on, “Don’t worry guys this is my magical sweatshirt every time I wear it I always find my way home.” Another one of my friend chimes in, ”What are you on dude.” Josh replies in a confused look, “Never mind” my friend chimes in So we all start following my friend Josh which I may add was also not our best idea but we did something about that sweatshirt just felt really comforting but it was too late to realize that it wasn’t a magical sweatshirt it was just a regular sweatshirt that persuaded Josh and the rest of into believing it would take us home I mean how stupid can a group of kids get so we followed Josh with that dumb sweatshirt on further in the woods may I add it wasn’t taking us home it was getting us more lost. So about another half hour passed an hour in total by now no one talked yet because all of us were super angry I was just feeling like an idiot for following my friend into the wood for half an hour to burry a bird I mean who does that. Anyways we come across a river and we stop Josh begins to pass it but I stop him with my words, “Dude we didn’t pass a river on the way here and there is no shot I’m passing a river and getting wet onto of other this other stuff. Josh stood there and pondered his answer, “I’m wearing the sweatshirt trust me.” That statement just got me so angry I replied with rage. “The last time I trusted you is the reason we are here in the first place. He ignored me and crossed the river me and my friends followed because we sure as hell weren’t going to let him go by himself By now anger was building up and so was time we left around 830 and it was now almost 11 we were lost for sure and we were a bunch of 14 year olds lost in the woods with no idea where home was. Everyone shoes were soaked and the dirt didn’t help because it just made everyone more angry and we were all angry at josh. Around 1130 we were all at our breaking points sad, depressed, angry, cold, wet, and tired. We just wanted to go home when we hear josh chime in, “Don’t worry guys were almost there I can feel it with my sweatshirt.” I’m not sure if it was the fact that we were just all super angry at him or his super happy mood but for some reason it just made one of my friends super angry so he tackled him right into the mud, “I hate you I just want to be at home right now that stupid sweatshirt is not magical and you’re the worst friend ever all this for a stupid bird that you could of buried in your backyard.” We weren’t going to calm him down this time but after josh began looking like he was going to cry. His sweatshirt was all muddy so he took it off and left it right there then said, “I guess we burry three things tonight my bird, my sweatshirt, and this friendship.” We all just stood there so much arguing had been going on I forgot that we were just all a group of friends but everyone was just done with this entire situation so I took it upon myself to try and get us home so when I began walking they followed. It was now 1 in the morning about 4 and a half hours into this expedition may I add and some of were seriously starting to consider sleeping in the mud and waiting until morning. My biggest thought is how Josh parents were probably upstairs asleep thinking that we were in the basement unaware that we were lost out here. Lost deep in my thoughts and imagination I hear some branches crackling, “ Who did that?” no one responds when I see a shadowy figure off in the distance I stand there and it was in that moment I think to myself that if this figure is either a bear or a ghost both ways I’m dead so I just bolt it and my friends follow I was so scared and I don’t think I’ve ran faster and longer in my life I guess what they say is true when you’re scared or running from something you do run fast. We ran and we ran and we didn’t stop running I think we ran for a good 30 minutes before we stopped when we arrived back at the river. Frustration filled my body to know that we arrived back at the same spot we started when I hear Josh’s brother “What are u guys doing in there. We look the left and I can see his brother at the end of the river an opening that all of us were too stupid to see when we first arrived there. I ran to his brother and I don’t think I ever hugged another guy my own age but that was a first we finally were back home in the comfort of josh’s basement happier than ever. Our friendship wasn’t ruined but it was made stronger and as for this shadowy figure well lets just say we never saw it again. And as for Joshs sweatshirt well we got it back the next day and this time we didn’t end up getting lost