Little Roly-Polies and Life Long Rivalries (Week 7 Story)

 

    Samantha and Cameron had lived across the street from each other since they could remember. When they were younger, they had sleepovers at each other's homes just about every weekend. No one at school would believe that though, as the two are constantly at each other's throats when they are seen anywhere in the same vicinity. Sam is the captain of the girls' volleyball team and she is a member of the swimming and softball teams. Along with excelling in sports, Sam was also at the top of her class, scoring As since childhood. Like Sam, Cameron excels in several sports, captain of the boys' baseball team and part of the football and track teams. However, Cameron falls a bit behind in academics, and Sam loves to hold that over him. Why do they fight any chance they get? Well, even Cameron might struggle to tell you that. It is just how it has been for the past decade. On the flip side, if you ask Sam, she can pinpoint the exact moment their rivalry started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Don't tell me that you're scared to touch bugs!" Since he was a baby, Cameron always hated bugs. The way they wiggled and their slimy appearance always gave him the heebie-jeebies. But, if he kept on like this, there was no way he was going to win the bug-collecting competition! His daycare had many old and rotting logs dispersed throughout the playground. These logs were the perfect place for roly-polies to live and hang out. The day was one of the nicest in a while, with the sun high in the sky and a slight breeze brushing through the bushes and trees. Since the day was so nice, the daycare workers decided that the kids would spend a little more time outside that day.

Creepy-crawlies, a source of all the heebie-jeebies for some kids.

    Hearing that they were going to have extra playtime outside, the kids immediately began to murmur about each other, excitedly screeching what they should do. Somehow, all the kids decided that a roly-poly collecting competition was perfect for the day. So here Cameron was, staring at the log he had managed to turn over with his best friend, Sammy. Sam knew Cameron was scared of bugs, so she decided to help him out, dumping all the roly-polies she had found into the little bucket that Cameron was carrying. Cameron had smiled over at Sam, glad that his friend knew about his fear and was there to help. After dumping her roly-polies, Sam wandered off to go find more so she would have to show off as well. However, right after turning over another log, the teachers began to call all the kids to come up to count their bugs so they could put them back.

    With everyone else's roly-polies counted, Sam told the teachers that she had not had time to collect more roly-polies. But, of course, the other kids began to mock Sam, calling her a baby and saying she was too scared to touch the roly-polies. Sam didn't want to out her friend's fear of bugs though! Looking to Cameron for help, Sam saw him joining in on the teasing while giggling to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    So yeah, Sam knew exactly why her and Cameron's rivalry still carries strong to this day. Maybe it seems to silly to others, but her mom had always told her to be loyal and there for her friends, but Cameron had failed to do the same. 

    Author's Note: For this week, I took my inspiration from the Chinese Fairy Book, from the story Why Dog and Cat are Enemies. The original story explains the origin of the rivalry between the dog and cat. The dog and cat were pets of a couple who sold a golden ring that had always ensured that they had enough to live by. When they sold it, the dog and cat went on a journey to retrieve the ring. Standing between them and the place holding the ring was a river, which the dog helped the cat cross, as the cat cannot swim. However, on their way back, the cat went over the housetops, while the dog had to go all the way around. The cat made it home first, ring in its mouth, and was praised by its owners. But, when the dog returned later, he was scolded and punished by its owners for not helping with the ring. All while the cat sat off to the side, happy with its praises and promises of an easy life.

    Like most other stories I have written, I wanted to make it into a more modern-day story, with consequences we are more familiar with. In this case, I wanted to depict a rivalry started from something seemingly silly. However, as someone who was once a young girl, being seen as weak when you are not can be really infuriating. So, for Sam, who had collected many creepy-crawlies, and Cameron, who was scared of the creepy-crawlies, a deep-set grudge can form.