Habs Sweep These Clowns

          I spent all of Saturday morning and afternoon stressing about laser tag. A few short of the target 50 people had signed up, and I was worried that we would never get enough people on the bus. I also had to move up the meeting time due to the weekend schedule being much sparser than normal. When we met at Ruggles, it came out that several more people had canceled last-minute, leaving us with a perfect 34 (the max that can play in one game!) With the help of Justin, Ryan L, and Brian B, I managed to herd the kids from Northeastern to Forest Hills to the Dedham Mall, and we made good time. From the mall, it was just a scenic walk along the VFW Parkway until we reached Laser Quest; I talked to Malcolm and Maddie for most of the way. We hit the scene and walked into a mess of shrieking children and dreadful acoustics.

          Each of the three games was a total blast. The first was a rowdy free-for-all; I went by the name of "DOUGHBOI" and got 12th place out of 32 players. We took a break to abolish some pizzas and soda, and were joined by Nathan and Julia, who braved a tempest to get there. Julia provided Malcolm and I with cookies, as well. We moved on to the second game, a team match in which passions ran high. I was spam-killed by followers a few times, and scored 17 of 34 as "EBOLA". (Ebola killed Peyton Manning four times during this thirty-minute period.) I tightened up my game for the third and final round, again taking 12th place as "CRMSONCHIN" and helping lead Team Habs to victory, despite our team lacking a top-3 scorer. During this round, Matt T and I were camped out in opposing towers and tried to pick each other off for an extended period of time; I got him four times, and he took me for five. Other highlights of the night: Everyone screaming the pre-game instructions back at the marshal; Ryan L taking the MVP triple crown as "KATIEPERRY"; shouting "Habs" as a call sign; everyone refusing my pleas to use the codename "SISTERWIFE"; letting rip with a devil-laugh once in a while; Erika unexpectedly snagging 2nd place as "ALPACA"; walking back-to-back with Matt T during the second round; defending a particular position from left, right and below; bagging people through a grate in the floor. I perceive a certain professionalism in laser tag; if you shoot someone, I think the two of you should attempt to separate before re-engaging. Matt T agrees; Ryan L vehemently does not.

          Several of us, full of adrenaline and testosterone, left the crowd behind and ran back to the mall. Malcolm and I sprinted out the last hundred meters or so, and I came in just ahead. On the bus, Malcolm had a laughing fit while a freshman named Mary ranted about what kind of Transformer she wants to be. A cruel trick was played on me when Nathaniel pretended to have lost my bag; what did I do to deserve that? Once everyone was safely home, we had a small but amusing gathering at home. This was intended to be a real party, but the band was too tired for most people to make it. Julia, Stephanie, Ryan L, Johnny, Evan, Griffin, Malcolm, and Emily came by for music, hookah and conversation. I'm proud that the evening worked out as planned. Now I have a fire in me to organize more events; we'll see what works soon enough.

          Quote of the day:
Me: "We're actually car thieves."
Maddie: "That's why everyone's wearing black!"