Laughs and Laser Tag

Lexi Zimbilius

“Am I playing? More like, am I dominating?” Mr. Karl Steinkamp joked when Sarah Tan (12) asked the class sponsor if he was joining the large group of seniors who were eagerly waiting to enter the arena.

After a short meeting on the 13th of February, and while the juniors were still hard at work at school preparing for JSB, several cars full of seniors drove to Laser Ops at First Avenue for an afternoon of laser tag.

The senior class was divided into two groups. Within each group, two teams were randomly formed to battle against each other. Selecting creative nicknames to enter into the system proved to take some time, with Noel Teng (12) settling for “Kim Kardashian” and Hannah Graves (12), after some deliberation and trusted advice from friends, entered in as “Boiled Hegg.” After a short briefing session, the excited seniors scampered to don their laser vests that shone either bright red or green. They then took to their bases in the arena and waited for the game to begin.

In a whirlwind ten minutes, the dark battlefield was filled with lights and thumping techno music. Yells could be heard everywhere as teams tried to fire lasers at their enemies and score points.

A scoreboard and camera was placed outside in the waiting area, much to the amusement of the group of seniors waiting outside watching and waiting for their turn. Their eyes were glued to the screens, shouting things like, “Woah, I didn’t know she was that good!” and “He looks a little lost!”

By the third and final round, many people were starting to feel laser-tag-induced fatigue. Despite some attempts at smart tactics, steps grew sluggish and defenses dwindled. Gaps between the teams’ scores grew quickly and losing teams accepted their defeat more readily than before.

However, no matter how many points a person scored, and regardless of whether his or her team won, every senior walked out of the arena sweaty-faced and smiling, recounting funny things that happened during the game. It was clear that laser tag was a much needed break from the cloud of stress that has seemed to settle in many seniors’ skies.

The seniors left First Avenue that Saturday afternoon more tired than they had expected, but satisfied with another memory to add to their collection as the last high school year of their lives continues to race by.