Here we have another submission for this week's prompt generated by  Thursday_Prompt

This week, the prompt was "no internet" and as someone guilty of spending way too much time online, it was fun to write a short story regarding this idea. As always, thank you for reading and if anyone has any feedback or critiques they would like to give me, feel free! Hope you enjoy it!





Jackson loved his daily walks through the forest. It was the skunk’s one time in his day where he could escape everything and just be alone with his thoughts and Mother Nature. All he had to do was move and admire everything around him and all the worries he had bundled up would be released, leaving him calm and peaceful. Something about the scene around him seemed to cleanse his soul. The trees were green and full, the plants bloomed in all their colorful splendor, the smells of the leaves and flowers were everywhere, and a slight breeze ruffled through his fur and clothes as he walked.

As he approached a scenic lookout, he saw a college-aged badger sitting on a bench that had a perfect view of the setting sun, the sky beginning to show the reds, pinks, and oranges that he never tired of seeing. As he approached him though, he saw that the badger was engaged in a handheld video game. His eyes were focused more on the screen rather than the world around him and the sounds of the game felt out of place in the quiet solitude of the rest of the forest. Curious as to the purpose behind playing the game outside, he moved to the front so that he was in the badger's line of sight. When he didn't look up from his game, Jackson cleared his throat, which startled the gamer, who glared at the interruption before turning back to his game.

"Hello there. What’s your name?"

The badger didn't even break his flow before answering him, "Cameron; but everyone calls me Cam."

Taking this as a good sign that the badger wasn't just going to ignore him, he grinned at him. "Hello Cam, I'm Jackson. I was going for a walk when I saw you sitting here and I was just wondering why you’re out here playing that,” he pointed at the console in the badger’s paws “instead of admiring all of this?” He then swept his arms out to show the forest that surrounded them.

Without looking up from his game, the badger shrugged. “Because I want to.”

He continued playing his game, but Jackson wasn’t about to give up that easily.

“I don’t think you understand. You’re missing out on so many beautiful sights by keeping your eyes glued to that screen. When you’re out here, things like video games and the internet should cease to exist.”

Cam raised his eyebrow, questioning the statement. “Uh, yeah no. My roommate bet me I couldn’t make it a whole week without doing any sort of electronics, and this is the one place I know he wouldn’t look for me."

Jackson released a loud sigh. “What’s the point of making the bet if you’re going to break it? There’s no reason to come out here if you’re going to miss everything around you.”

This statement only earned him an eye roll from Cam. “Yeah, like I was gonna take being told I couldn't do something. I’m not about to back down when someone challenges me, and for all he knows, I’m proving him wrong.”

Realizing that it was a matter of pride for the badger, Jackson started to turn away and continue his walk. But something caused him to stop after a couple of steps and consider what the badger had said. After grinding his brain, he came up with a last-ditch effort at getting the badger to see the world around him. He proceeded to turn back around and return to the same spot he had just left.

“Well, Cam, I thought about what you said.”

The badger sighed and paused his game. “You did?” Annoyance filled his words as he stared daggers at Jackson.

He ignored the death glare he was getting and nodded his head. “Yes, and you’re right. Why waste time admitting to your roommate that you can’t do something when you can go behind his back and just not do it out here?”

Cam glared at him. “Hey, I just don’t want him seeing me on this at our dorm. Even though you may not think so, I’m capable of taking my eyes off of stuff like this.” He indicated the handheld console in his paws that he then stuffed into a pocket of the hoodie he was wearing.

Jackson smiled and shook his head, making sure each of his next words was laced with sarcasm. “Sure you can. I bet you’ve been sitting here this whole time, not moving at all.”

Cam stood up and got right into his face, seeming unable to take what Jackson was saying. “If you’re gonna say something to me, say it!”

Jackson smirked. His plan was going well. “I’m just saying, I bet you couldn’t walk five feet, let alone an entire forest path without pulling out your video games.”

He could tell the words were getting to Cam, as the badger’s muzzle twisted in anger and his paws curled into fists. He stomped off in the direction of the nearest path, but turned to call over his shoulder, “Well come on then! I’ll show you that I can walk this entire forest path! And I'll see so many trees, they'll be in my dreams tonight!”

As Cam stormed off, Jackson chuckled to himself. He couldn’t believe that worked. He followed behind, whistling a small tune as he followed the badger at a respectable distance.

At first, he could see that Cam kept his head down, and his eyes were focused more on the ground in front of him. As they continued walking though, he started to raise his head. Jackson saw the badger look around at everything the forest had to offer, slowing down a bit from his earlier fast pace. He hoped this was a good sign, and that he was absorbing the beauty around him rather than just looking at it because he was bored.

After about twenty minutes, Jackson reached the place the two of them had started and found Cam leaning against the bench, waiting for him with a smirk on his face.

“Told you I could do it!” he shouted at Jackson, smirking at the skunk as if challenging him to question his statement.

Jackson just shook his head, doing his best to hide a grin at Cam's show. "Nope. You proved me wrong alright. You certainly showed me."

"Damn right I did!" Cam paced around the bench as if doing a victory lap.

Jackson couldn't help but laugh at Cam's overzealous response. Looking at the sky and realizing it was now nighttime, Jackson looked at him. "So what do you plan to do now?"

Cam shrugged. "Probably finish these couple of levels and then head back. It's getting late already." He then pulled out his video game and started playing it again.

Jackson wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but he figured he wasn’t going to get a strong desire from him

"Alright, well, it was nice meeting you, Cam. Maybe I'll see you around."

Cam just looked at him and Jackson took that as his cue to leave, so he started walking away. After a couple of minutes, he came to a stop. On a whim, he decided to backtrack and hide behind a large tree that was a couple of feet from the bench, making sure he was well hidden so that Cam wouldn't spot him if he looked that way.

Cam played his game for a couple more minutes, then looked up and glanced around, seeming to check if anyone was there. After a couple of head swipes, he leaned back on the bench and looked up at the sky. When Jackson looked up, he could see the night sky. Dispersed throughout were the stars, shining down on them. Jackson looked back at Cam and saw a smile on the badger’s face as his eyes stared straight up. The game was not on his mind as he seemed to admire the sights around him. After a couple of minutes, he got up, stretched, and made his way towards what he figured was his way home.

As Jackson began his own journey back home, he figured he’d be seeing Cam around the forest more after today.