Lantern

We haven’t played a camp wide game yet, and we are already having cocoa. This must mean one thing: we are playing Lantern! Mug and cocoa in hand, my cabin talks this over at our table.

“Guys, Lantern is tonight!” Kelsey brings the topic up.

“YES!” I yell excitedly.

“So how are we going to do this, none of us have ever won. We need to talk strategy” Kathleen states.

“Are we going to stick together?” Lauren suggests.

“That never works.” I shut that idea down.

“So just free for all then, I guess” Sabrina joins in the conversation

“That’s likely what’s going to happen anyway. We’re going to lose each other if we try to stay together anyway” Kathleen agrees as Amber starts clapping to get the rest of the camper’s attention.

“You know what to do, wipe your tables down and flip the benches, and you can head down to campfire.”

Everyone stands up and starts moving. Kelsey and Sabrina go grab a wet cloth to wipe the table down, as they were assigned as ‘gophers’ and cleaned up dinner, so they get to clean up now as well. We flip the benches and head down to campfire, my cocoa not quite finished as usual. I like to drink it slow so I have some at campfire.

We sing some classic songs, I Don’t Wanna Go To Artaban, Cornermaster Store, and Arky Arky, as well as my favourite slow song Rose Red:

Rose rose rose red

Will I ever see thee wed

I will marry at thy will, sire

At thy will

Ding dong ding dong

Wedding bells on an April morn

Carve your name on a moss covered stone

On a moss covered stone

We do our normal high pitched “goodnight campers” before Amber goes up on the platform to do some announcements.

“Most of you are aware that we are playing lantern tonight!” she says, and a Wooo! immediately follows, “you guys should already be in long sleeves and pants and have closed toed shoes on. But before we meet in front of the dining hall in 10 minutes, I’m allowing you all to go put away your mugs and change into the clothes you want to play in. go ahead”

It’s dark enough to require our flashlights to walk up the hill to the cabins. Once there I change into the black long sleeve shirt I brought just to play lantern in, and into my navy blue sweatpants.

The object of the game is to not be seen by the counselors that have flashlights. They flash it on you if they see you, while in the dark. If they see you, you have to travel back down the hill to the bottom and start your quest for the ‘lantern’, which is usually a glow stick.

Tonight we are playing in the section of forest beside the craft hut. This is my favourite place to play as there are lots of bushes and logs to hide behind. As soon as the game officially starts we all ‘disappear’ with the exception of Rob, as he decided to continue to wear his neon yellow sweater. Needless to say, he was the first person to get caught.

I inch along the ground, and I pause behind a log, trying to figure out where the other counselors are. “You with the glasses and brown hair” a male voice says, shining the flashlight right in my eyes. Well, I guess there’s a counselor there I think sarcastically to myself. I figure out a way to get back to the bottom, and head back up, taking a different route; I don’t want to get caught again.

I’m about 3/4 of the way up the hill, and I can see the green glow stick clearly. I just need to figure out a way to get across, as it is to the left of me. As I’m lying on the ground, head up, making sure I’m not getting caught, someone steps on my hand “Ow!” I whisper loudly, as to not give myself away too badly. I slowly inch myself forward, hoping I don’t get seen by the counselor who is nearby. While doing this, I see the glow stick move and a girl yells out “WOOOHOOO!” Of course I didn’t win, I never win at this game, I just always get close.