because it came up in another plurk, the story of my multiple-times-ill-fated elementary school senior trip

first off, we don't really do middle school here except for, like, one weird private school, so keep in mind this is a K-8 school and thus I was 13 when this happened

Every year, the grade eights would go on an overnight trip someplace at the end of the year, usually a summer camp but sometimes something else interesting.

And the year I was in grade 8, we were supposed to go overnight to... a haunted sanatorium.

I, of course, thought this was super cool and not horrifying.

But that year seemed to be cursed for school trips. We'd already had our winter ski trip postponed twice and then outright cancelled due to weather conditions, and had to sit around at school doing busy work and watching The Wedding Singer while the teacher fast-forwarded through the inappropriate parts all three times.

I can't remember what happened that we couldn't go to the sanatorium, but as the date approached, the teacher announced that we would instead be going to this ranch Bible camp.

That was fine, it was still a cool new location and I had had a horse phase a few years prior and still thought riding was an exciting prospect.

But then I guess they didn't have the money for that that year, so that got replaced with a closer, less expensive summer camp with no horses.

This is fine. Still interesting. I had always wanted to go to summer camp anyway and the closest I'd ever gotten was a day camp that had one overnight portion at the YMCA camp.

But then, in the end, that got cancelled at the last minute anyway, something about weather or ticks or something.

So after a series of less exotic and exciting events proposed, our grade 8 trip was just walking to the science centre, which we had seen maybe 1,000 times by that point, and watching a movie about "the entrepreneurial spirit of California" (we lived nowhere near California) and another one about the circulatory system.

We didn't even get to stay overnight in the science centre.

I have been bitter ever since.

Entirely valid.

My brother, when he was in grade 8, ended up going to the horse camp and came home with ticks, so maybe I shouldn't have been jealous, but still.

after hearing this I am confident that someone in your class was a main character in a sitcom

man i'm so sorry

also andy is right this really sounds like some kind of tragic comedy bit