The Boy Who Couldn't Hold His Breath Underwater ✔

Let's Play A Game

Why we called it the Game, I never understood. It just kind of...was always there. When I was here my first year, everyone was calling it the Game already and I didn't question it. But in fact, it wasn't a game at all, not exactly. The Game was this Holly Camp's thing where we had different spots around the camp where we go do stuff. It can be arts, swimming, hiking or music spot. The point is to keep us entertained and learn something new. Sometimes the things we do changed, like one year there was this thing where we had to learn how to make a bird house and other stuff out of wood. Next year we didn't have it anymore. You can choose freely where you want to go but you have to go through all the spots.

I wondered what we would have this year and hoped it wouldn't be something like dancing. Hiking was almost every year, as well as arts and swimming, of course.

We walked to the Great Hall, and as we went we passed the building called Workshop where you could find the bathrooms and showers and also different rooms with different equipments, like music room. We got inside the classroom-like room where we had been divided into our cabins. Everyone sat on the chairs and chatted happily with each other. Me and my friends sat close to the front, wondering what would be the spots this year.

Suddenly it became quiet when Chef walked in front of us. He looked around, waiting for everyone to be completely silent.

"Hello, fellas", he began. "It's time for the Game. For those of you who don't know what it is, let me fill you in. During these next three weeks each on everyone of you will go through different spots where there is different kind of activities.

"You can freely choose where to go during the day and you can switch as often as you'd like but there is one rule; you have to go through every spot. You have three weeks time to do that. I know not all of you--", he looked at Magnus and Mahdi, "--like every activities like, for example, the kitchen duty." Again he looked at Magnus and Mahdi who grinned widely. They had last year skipped the kitchen duty overall and got very angry lecture from Chef. "But I do hope you'd still respect the rules and go through every one of them."

People were nodding and someone, probably one of the twins, yelled, "Yes, Sir!" which made Chef glare at them before continuing his speech.

"However", he said. "You will not be alone in this. The supervisors will be walking around in different spots, keeping up the order and watching that you don't do anything stupid."

"Stupid, like what?" I asked.

"Like try to set a bonfire in the middle of hiking and almost burn the whole island down", Chef said, meaning a little incident that happened a few years back.

I smiled innocently and lifted up my hands in surrender. "It was just that one time. I was young and stupid."

Everyone laughed and I grinned widely. Chef shook his head.

"I swear to God, Valtersen..."

"I'm just kidding, don't worry. I'm not setting anything on fire this year", I laughed.

"Anyway", Chef said. "As I was saying, the supervisors will be checking on you on every spot and this year we have something special.

"We have the basic ones; swimming, sauna and rowing. Arts, music and hiking. The new one could be quite surprising for you lot.

"I trust you remember how we have had an empty space in the north side of the island? Well, now there is the stables where you can learn how to ride a horse."

"WHAT?" Everyone yelled. Some were excited and some were horrified. I was horrified and so were my friends judging by the looks on their faces.

"What the hell?" I whispered to them. "Who is going to teach us that?"