Standing Up

I read about this monkey

that the Russian government sent to outer space.

They figured out that after a few weeks, he would die,

because the heat from the sun would become unbearable.

They said his journey would prove to be invaluable

to the advancement of the space program.

I wondered how they chose that monkey...

Whoo-hoo!

Oh, nice!

that specific one.

And why, if he was so special,

would they put him in a situation

where he could die.

If that monkey knew what they were choosing him for,

would he have behaved differently?

Did he cry when he realized what they had done to him?

Ready? Lift.

Shh! Quiet. Move.

Sometimes popular kids can be really cruel.

They can bully you into thinking

that there's nothing special about you.

They tried to do that to me at Camp Tall Pine.

I thank God for sending me someone who changed my life.

Guys, come on! Come on!

Hey.

Go grab some firewood.

We need you to keep the fire going.

All right. I'll go find some wood.

Good.

It's time now.

Wait! Wait! Come on, get off!

Bryce, get off!

Guys! Guys, come on! Help!

Bryce, get off! Come on!

I don't know about this, Bryce.

Hey! Do I have to do everything by myself?

Come on!

Get off of me! Get off me!

No! Stop!

Get off me!

No!

Get off of me!

Guys! Please stop!

Bryce, no!

No! Stop! Please!

Come on!

No! Stop! Please! No!

Look, he's cold.

Come on, man. Don't you get it?

That was awesome.

I don't think he gets it.

Let's go.

Have fun!

You think he's okay?

Who cares?

Aah!

Go away!

Hey! Hey!

They left me... I said go away.

I can't!

They left me out here with nothing.

Please let me in.

The mosquitoes are killing me, and I'm freezing.

They ditched you, too?

Did they ditch you, too?

Yes.

Did they leave anything?

Nothing but a backpack with some junk in it.

No blankets or clothes?

I'm freezing.

There's only one blanket.

I have it.

So I guess we're this year's joke.

They'll be back in the morning to laugh at us, I'm sure.

I hate them.

I really hate them.

There's a candle and some matches.

I'm gonna light it.

Don't look at me.

I mean it!

I thought this was supposed to be a cookout.

I'm so stupid.

How'd they get you?

They told me we were going to desert Julia Christiansen.

We were all supposed to go skinny dipping,

and we were going to ditch her.

Ditch Julia Christiansen?

Isn't she kind of popular?

I thought they liked me.

What if we weren't here when they came back for us?

What if we swam to shore?

We could sneak back into camp and get some clothes,

and then just show up for breakfast tomorrow

and act like nothing ever happened.

I don't ever want to see them again!

I don't want to talk about this anymore!

Just kind of shut up, okay?

I'm gonna get some wood to build a fire.

We need to stay warm.

They're coming back!

What?

They're coming back!

Oh, no! Oh, no, why?

They're probably gonna take our picture

and make us eat sand and stuff.

You sure?

We can go down to the water,

and when they come sneaking up, we'll grab their canoes.

Are you gonna come with me?

I don't know.

I'm going. Wait!

I'll go.

Should we put out the candle?

No. If they see the light,

they'll think that we're in here.

There's still some kids down there.

What do we do now?

Sara?

We swim. Come on.

But I can't swim.

You tell me this now?

All you have to do is hang on.

Can you do that?

Yes. I can do that.

All right. Stay low.

This will hold us.

Come on out.

I told you, I can't swim.

You won't have to.

I'll push you on this.

Come on!

Come on!

It's too cold!

I'm gonna fall!

No, you're not! Just hang on!

They're not here.

They wouldn't try to swim for it, would they?

She can't swim. She's scared of the water.

What about him?

He can swim, but that's about a mile.

I don't understand how anyone could think

this would be remotely funny.

That poor girl told me she wanted to go home,

and I convinced her to stay,

that she'd make friends eventually.

Oh, she'll recover.

That's just what kids do.

It's a tradition.

Well, tradition sucks.

I feel sick.

There's a cottage up the hill.

Can you walk?

I think so.

Come on.

Where are we?

In the cabin.

We broke in.

How far away from camp?

I'm not sure.

The current took us a bit off course.

You put the blanket over me?

On the beach, the blanket.

If you ever tell anyone about this, I'll kill you!

I found us something new to wear.

Here.

Here. Eat these.

Might make you feel better.

The sink doesn't work.

I've gotta get some water out of the lake.

I think we should move somewhere else.

Move where?

I don't know. Somewhere.

Somewhere?

I want to find a phone.

I need to call my mom.

Okay, we'll find a phone.

You should really call your parents.

They're somewhere in Greece right now.

What are they doing in Greece?

They're archaeologists. They're working there.

They didn't take you with them?

No.

They wanted me to make friends my own age this summer.

Yeah.

My mom said the same thing.

Maybe if I make my mom come get me,

she can take you and drop you off

at a relative's house or something.

Your mom wouldn't mind?

She gives rides home to my friends

all the time after school.

I have lots of friends.

We should really pay for all this stuff.

I mean, the shirt, pants,

all this food, and the camera?

I'll keep a list,

and we can come back later and explain why we took it.

I need to find a phone.

I think we should hitch a ride and find a town.

No. No, I'm not supposed to hitchhike.