The Plunge of the Painful Paintballs

Keito Watanabe

“Boom!” Gunshots were fired as students and teachers scurried throughout the arena and scoured spots to take cover. A moment of silence broke out before a barrage of yellow pellets flew across the map. The raging war between the eagles and the hawks was about to begin.

On Saturday, 25 February, over half of the Class of 2017 and their sponsors gathered at the Penang War Museum, located at a spooky hill near the local airport. At noon, Class President Jarrod Chang (12) gathered the students and divided them into two teams: white and red. The instructor then gave them clear details on the usage of the paintball gun and the rules. The opposing group leaders, Jerald Lim (12) and Dominic Fitzgerald (12), decided the location of their base, and the troops put on their gear and stepped onto the field. Each team gathered at their base as the team leaders devised careful strategies to clear their main objective—stealing the flag from the opposing team.

As soon as the referee shouted, “Go,” the vicious war began. Some students scattered across the field and hid behind the barricades while others, who were ready to snipe their opponents from afar, stayed at the base. As troops ventured forwards to catch the flag, they were stopped by the members of the impregnable defense team. Although attackers Emmett Balzer (12) and In Ha Kim (12) charged forward, the tight defenses from each team lead to a long stalemate, ending the game in a draw.

Disappointed with the results, the teams fought once again. Troops once again scrambled throughout the battlefield as the referee gave the signal to battle. Using the experience from their last match, the students did not stay at the barricades for long; they relentlessly charged forwards to capture the enemy flag. But of course, they did so with the risk of getting shot. Countless troops had to retreat back to their base after getting shot from the enemies.

The white team, with a more strategic plan, took the lead as they blitzed through the center of the field. They were successfully able to eliminate the dispersed red team; however, they countered this ingenious plan by attacking them from the sides. Shooting down most of the white team members, the red team ferociously plunged through the battlefield. With the red team at a major advantage, Sheldon Ang (12), a member of the red team, used this chance to force the troops at their base to surrender and successfully steal the flag. The 2-hour long game finally came to a conclusion.

Heading away from the field, the red team members continued to congratulate Sheldon with his courage and fearlessness to steal the flag. Looking back on his achievement, Sheldon exclaimed, “It was satisfying when I shot Emmett in the head right before I captured the flag.”

This event, with tons of bloodshed and laughter, was a precious bonding experience that the seniors will remember after they leave Dalat.