Father's Day

A Story by Luke Romero

A boys final essay before he graduates

Father’s day is coming soon. I cannot wait. It will be so much fun. Every year we celebrate father’s day with a big feast. There is always lots of food and soda. I love soda very much. It tastes sweet and it stings my tongue but I like the sting. Daddy always gives us gifts on father’s day, to our whole camp. We don’t have a lot of people in our camp but we get new visitors every year. We do lots of activities at daddy’s camp, and I mean lots. We can watch TV whenever we want to, we can play any videogame we want, even the ones with blood. The blood is very gross though. Blood doesn’t make me feel good. I don’t even know where blood comes from. All I know is that blood is blood.

Daddy makes us do a lot of stuff though. We all have jobs and if we don’t do them we go to the Baby Room. I don’t know what the Baby Room is though, but it is not good. I always make sure to work my hardest. Daddy always needs a neat low. I mow the lawn every day. It only takes two or three hours. Every peer has a job though. Daddy’s camp always looks neat. One day I asked him if we could ever leave the camp and he got very angry. He hit me a few times but I deserved it. He said that I shouldn’t think like that because I need to stay ignorant. I don’t know what ignorant is but I hope to meet it one day.

Daddy doesn’t talk to me a lot, he never looks at me but I think he likes me. He always tells me stuff that he doesn’t tell other kids. Like how there is no land outside the Fence. I have never been outside the Fence but Daddy tells me he saved us from the madness. The Fence is very big and scary and if we go to the Fence we go to the Baby Room. Nobody comes back from the Baby Room.

Every day Daddy gets every peer and teaches us about The Jesus, who started our religion. He gives us the Bible and we have to read two chapters each night. I have already finished it a couple times but he still makes us read it. We don’t get anything else, paper is forbidden and anyone caught with it is a transgressor. Transgressors go to the Baby Room. Nobody comes back from the Baby Room

Daddy does not like it when we speak up. Daddy says that it is not good. Peers who speak up often are sent to the Baby Room. Daddy is also really funny. He calls us funny names. I am Sheep and lots of other kids are also Sheep. Some are Cattle. Only a couple are Pigs. Daddy is very helpful; he tells us how to think. He gives us opinions and makes us think them; it is really helpful because I don’t like to think my opinions. If we do think our opinions Daddy will be very angry. If we are good Daddy gives us a pat on the back and a “Good sheep.”

Not a lot of kids go to our camp. There is maybe twenty for each age. There are six year olds and seven year olds and eight year olds all the way up to twelve year olds. Every Father’s Day each class graduates a year. On Father’s Day there is always a feast, there is always so much food. When our twelve year old peers graduate they go to the Plates. I don’t know what the Plates is. I think the Plates is a place better than Daddy’s camp. Although I love Daddy’s Camp. The feasts are great. Daddy gives us lots of food for the Father’s Day feast. He gives us a whole range of food. From cows to pigs to sheep and even sometimes chicken meat. We also get something Daddy calls punch which tastes really good.

I love Daddy. He is very nice to us. I turn twelve this year. I really wonder what is in the Plates. Daddy favors some kids over others. He likes the ones with big stomachs the best. He calls the skinny ones Chickens, which is very funny. We make fun of the Chickens, we even get to hit them sometimes. I think it is really fun. I have a large stomach. Daddy likes me because I have a large stomach. He says I will look nice on a fork. He says I will taste the best. I have the biggest stomach of all. Daddy tries to get us all to have big stomachs. I get to go to the Plates this year. My peers get to go to the Plates too. Daddy says I have to finish this work and then I can go to the Plates. I can’t wait to go to the Plates. I love Daddy.