The Pranjal Corner

By Jasmine Hassan

Four hours ago, war had commenced. A war between the newly entrenched, four elements of life: Quake, Wave, Bolt, and Blaze. As mealtime had begun to end, Jordan Suen (12), one of Ricequake’s trusty team captains, asked his equally courageous counterpart Saidah Ly (12), “What is our next game?” 

To this, she responded eagerly, “Something called Hole Trap!” 

As the soldiers of Ricequake and Kraken Wave marched onto their awaiting battlefield, also known as the outdoor basketball court, they were met with two identical blue tarps dotted with five symmetrical holes. There, Ms. Weidemann, known to the soldiers as peaceful Switzerland, gave both teams instructions on what was to come– an assigned ball would have to be balanced on both team’s tarps without falling through the holes– a difficult challenge to pull off, but certainly no match against mighty Ricequake.  

Immediately after Ms. Weidemann’s battle countdown, both teams charged at their tarps, strategizing each soldier’s position in the hopes of success. Now, it was a game of meticulous focus and precision. Lifting the tarp too quickly or too slowly could cause your entire team to restart. It was now a race to the top. A race to get the most loops around each hole. A race between water and land. 

Ricequake was off to a worrisome start; each soldier had their own tactics to beat team Kraken Wave. The lack of communication did not promise an advantageous, foreseeable future.  

The soldiers assigned to the four vital corners, Michaela Parsley (10), Pranjal Malik (11), Abbi Rinkenberger (11), and Saidah Ly (12), were assigned the most strenuous task– controlling the ball’s movement. Each time the team reached a promising number of loops, the ball would submit to gravity and fall through. A new strategy was needed. 

Just before Ricequake hopelessly waved the white flag, the soldiers had made a fortuitous comeback. Miraculously, the ball began to obey, and the soldiers reunited. One, two, three, four, five of the foundational loops were made. Now the team needed to designate together which hole would launch them to triumph. It was unanimous– they would rely on Pranjal Malik (11) to guide them to victory. 

"The tarp game truly revealed who I really was, in the moment I could feel the coordination between me and my team. It really made me feel like a corner: The Pranjal Corner" - Pranjal Malik (11). 

The Pranjal Corner, it was. As time began to cease, Ricequake had achieved a whopping 14 loops around Pranjal’s corner, beating the previously established high score of 11. Was this luck? No. This was not luck, but an example of cohesive teamwork and communication.  

“The winner is,” Ms. Weidemann paused in the attempt to create suspense, “Ricequake!” 

Patriotic cheers ignited amongst the soldiers. Another battle vanquished by the fearsome Quakes. Kraken Wave scorned as Ricequake paraded their dango-inspired flag in the air. Who knew that four hours later, Quake would be honorably announced as the final victor of Eagle Games 2022. 

Team Ricequake, 2022. 

Featuring Michaela P., Abbi R., Jasmine H., Saidah L., Pranjal M., Ryan K., Joshua M., Jordan S., Jane L., Ha Jin K.