I stare at my parents, open-mouthed. Did they really just say hunting? I must have misheard. My parents would never even utter this word, let alone offer to fulfil my greatest wish, going on a hunting trip.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" My father's grin has the Cheshire cat turn green with envy. "Get your jacket and let's go!"

As fast as my little legs can carry me, I run up the stairs to get ready. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit about the little legs. After all, I'm sixteen and well over six feet tall. But right now, I feel like an ankle biter at Christmas. All my friends have been hunting before, lots of times. Oh, how often I have had to listen to their not-always-so-gentle ribbing.

So, I can't help it now. My right hand grabs my phone and, without consulting my brain first, dials my best friend's number.

"I'm going hunting!" I practically scream into the device before Liam has a chance to make his virtual presence known.

"What plant have you consumed with dinner this time?" Liam sounds amused. He never fails to remind me of the time my parents tried out some alternative recipe they found on the Internet and unintentionally drugged the whole family. Liam found me and my responsible adults on the village green, singing Huey Lewis's I want a New Drug in an embarrassing state of undress because my father and my mother were attempting to swap clothes in tune with the lyrics. I, on the other hand, was my usual goalless self and was in the process of taking off my clothes just for the sake of it. Thankfully, some sense of self-preservation had prevailed because I had proudly informed Liam about our impromptu family theatre display on our way to town. Liam, my saviour.

"Your parents are vegan, mate,"  said saviour is carrying on now. "And not of the tolerant kind at that."

"No, really, Lee," I answer. "We're off to Old Wood Park now! The hunt is starting in half an hour! No time to discuss this any further with you. See you after the hunt."

I disconnect the call, grab my jacket and race to the family car, an EV of course.

When we get there, I'm the first out of the car. There is quite a large crowd gathered there already. In my excitement I don't notice their flowery dresses and cotton trousers. Still, something is odd. Where are the rifles? I wonder, my head on a swivel. Who wears sandals on a hunt?

An older gent garbed in a tunic-like cloud of white approaches me with a gentle smile.

"Here are your weapons, young man," he beams at me, as he hands me a booklet full of flora-related pictures and a ballpoint pen.

I stare at him in confusion.

He slaps me on the shoulder enthusiastically, singsonging, "Today's hunt is for the spreading bellflower. Welcome to our Vegunting Event. Hope you'll enjoy it."