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Arts and Culture

Book Recommendation: Nura and the Immortal Palace

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by Layal Hilal

Nura and the Immortal Palace is a capturing and stunning book by M.T. Khan. It was published in 2022 and is a detailed well-written novel about hope, danger, and greed.

It follows a twelve-year-old girl named Nura who has to mine mica, which are minerals that can be dangerous and even fatal. Mica is used for makeup. Nura works in underground caves with a variety of other kids, some as young as five years old. The caves are dangerous and Nura doesn’t want to work all day, just like the others, but she has three younger siblings and her mom all struggling at home, and mica mining is the only way to support them at least a little. 

When Nura first started working in the mines, she didn’t have any friends but gradually became close to a boy named Faisal. Nura and Faisal, her only friend, both work in the caves to support their families, but they couldn’t be more different. Faisal tries to mine as many little pieces of mica as possible, hoping it will amount to something bigger. Nura, on the other hand, always gets the biggest pieces of mica, the ones that will get the most money for her family. 

photo by Barns and Noble

One day, Nura learns that her mom wants to put her in school and stop her from mining. But Nura knows that if she stops working in the caves, she won’t be able to support her family and they will crumble. So she works harder than ever, trying to find the famed legend, the Demon’s Tongue. It’s rumored to be worth more than an emperor’s riches and kingdom. If she finds it, it won’t matter if she stops mining mica. But Nura digs too deep. The tunnels collapse, and Faisal, Nura, and five other kids fall into a world of purple skies, pink seas, and jinn. Jinn are tricksters and they will go to any lengths to imprison humans like Nura and her friends. 

It doesn’t help that they land in the Sijj Palace, the number one hotel for jinn and where humans are slaves. But in this world, Nura finds more than evil Jinn. She discovers what loyalty is, what danger means, and how greed is much more than wanting something. It’s wanting things until you don’t remember why you wanted it in the first place. As she starts to realize the true meaning of friendship and hope, she also discovers a way out. 

Nura and the Immortal Palace will captivate readers ten and up and will send them spinning into a whirlwind world of jinn and humans and what happens when two worlds collide. M.T. Khan truly captures the beauty of trust and the danger of greed. This novel will engrave itself in your heart and mind for the rest of eternity.

For information about the author, please visit:

https://www.mtkhan.com/about

For information on the book, please visit:

https://www.mtkhan.com/nura

Thank you!

Arts and Culture

Book Recommendation: A Rover’s Story

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by Meru S.

A Rover’s Story is a ruminative and hopeful tale by author Jasmine Warga. Published in 2022, this simple but well-written book is narrated by a Mars rover known as Resilience.

Though he is a machine, Resilience (Res for short) gradually begins to understand and even feel human emotions as he observes the scientists at the NASA lab where he is developed. He forms an unspoken but close connection with two scientists, Rania and Xander.

Meanwhile, an eleven-year-old girl, Sophia, who is the daughter of Rania, is incredibly hopeful about Res’s expedition to Mars. She writes letters to him, describing her everyday life and expressing her emotions about his future, whether it is worry, fear, or excitement. Though Res does not see her letters, she continues to write to him occasionally over the more than two-decade-long timeline of the story.

Photo by Meru S.

Res’s mission is to find Courage, a rover previously sent to Mars by NASA. Caught in a dust storm, Courage had lost all connection with Earth, and Res must attempt to bring him back online. 

Once on Mars, accompanied by his talkative and friendly drone, Fly, and guided by a bossy but wise satellite named Guardian, Res explores the uneven surface. As he searches for Courage, he collects samples of the dirt and sand and takes photos of the rocky landscape. A single thought fuels his determination; the cost of bringing him back to earth is extremely expensive. Res is resolved to discover something—anything— that will be worthy enough to ensure his return.

However, Mars’s rough terrain can be dangerous even for a rover. Res has to be exceedingly cautious and avoid deep holes and dust storms. But Res is brave—one of the many ‘human’ words he learned from listening to the scientists at the lab—and there is little that he fears. With the constant companionship of Fly and Guardian, the coded instructions from NASA, and the intuition he unexpectedly has, he does not give up easily.

In this quiet and observant narrative, Warga beautifully captures the minds and thoughts of machines, giving each character, whether robot or human, a perfectly fitting personality. Readers ages eleven and up are sure to forever hold this not-too-long, not-too-short book in their hearts.

For more information, please visit:

https://jasminewarga.com

Arts and Culture, News, Student Life

Poetry Challenge! – February

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by Olive Pea

POETRY CHALLENGE!

The Lighthouse hopes everyone had a wonderful winter break! I don’t know about you, but I’m still getting back into the groove of things. New year, new articles, school (for those who took winter break), and… NEW POETRY!! Surprise! It’s poetry challenge time, people! 

In this February poetry challenge, you can create any type of poetry you want! It could be about nature, winter, school, a person, historical event, or an animal, just to give you a few ideas. 

First off, YOUR POETRY MUST COME OUT OF YOUR OWN CREATIVE MIND. No quoting Edger Allen Poe! Second off, NO EXPLICIT LANGUAGE OR CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS. We will not accept any foul poetry submissions. Third off, WE ACCEPT ALL TYPES OF POETRY! We don’t hold grudges against haikus or anything. Please submit your fantastic poems by the 24th of February. We will be waiting!

HOW TO SUBMIT:

Once you finish your poem, you can submit it by emailing us at: thelighthousetve@gmail.com 

DETAILS:

Your poems, once submitted, will be included in the next poetry article. If you submit your poem and do not want us to post it in the article, please let us know before the 26th of February.

We hope you all have fun writing your poems, and can’t wait to see what you have created!

Have Fun Haiku!

We can’t wait to see

Your wonderful poetry

We hope you have fun!

-Sincerely, The Lighthouse

Home, Stories

Unlikely Romance – A short story 

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by Aleena Haimor

John

Every time I looked across room 103, I saw the oddest, most annoying girl ever. Rachel Wilson was excessively arrogant, too proud for my liking. At least, that’s what I thought. Every day, she’d stand by her locker and talk to her posse of giggly girls, flipping her raven-black hair and sharing memes that she found on Instagram with her gang. She had the most irritating laugh, like a screeching parrot. My 17-year-old self never wanted to be around her. I thought that Rachel was the most immature high schooler at Diablo Vista High School, maybe in all of California!

Back to reality: my best friend Levi sat next to me in math. We were 10 minutes early, so we leaned back in our chairs and started talking about sports, life, etcetera. After Levi shared his news about his little sister’s 8th birthday, I pulled out my phone and showed him Rachel’s profile picture on Facebook. She was doing the most humiliating thing (I’ll spare you the details).

“Is that Rachel Wilson?” Levi asked.

“Yeah.”

“She’s really cute.”

“Bro, seriously?” I said, surprised. “She’s like, the most annoying girl ever.”

Levi and I argued about Rachel until the bell rang and Mr. Williams walked into the classroom and drew a few equations on the blackboard.

Rachel

I couldn’t stop thinking about John Rivera. His dark, chocolate eyes and tanned skin mesmerized me. I loved the way he moved with confidence, like he wasn’t afraid of being heard. He wasn’t scared of speaking his mind. He never tried to get a girl; they just were attracted to him like a magnet. John was the cutest boy at school, yet he’d never had a girlfriend. I know what you’re thinking: how could a boy like him, the cute golden student, never get a date?

Well, he turned down every last one.

The thing was, even though we knew that, we all still hoped to become something to him. Someone. It was better than him not knowing we existed, although if he chose one of us, it would probably start an all-out war of jealousy. Okay, definitely start an all-out war of jealousy. 

The deafening ring of the school bell jerked me out of my thoughts. I hit my head on the water fountain and swore under my breath. Ugh, what the heck? You have to be kidding me. I had gotten carried away with my thoughts about my stupid crush. Now, I was late for class! I grabbed my backpack and books from my locker, papers flying everywhere, and ran to math.

John

The door slammed two minutes into the lesson and Rachel rushed to sit down. All the seats were taken except one in the back. Rachel quietly took it, under Mr. Gonzalez’s stern glare. The seat was opposite of where she usually sat, at the front of the class. I rolled my eyes. What a snobby, smart aleck!

I looked in my backpack for a pencil to write notes with, but couldn’t find one. Seriously?! Why?! This was so embarrassing! Who in the world forgets their pencil in high school?!

I slowly raised my hand and Mr. Gonzalez called on me.

“John Rivera?”

“Uhhh…does anyone have an extra pencil?”

No one nodded or raised their hands.

Except Rachel.

She stood up and walked over to me. While she bent down to give me the pencil, she slipped a note into my hand. Smiling at me, she went back to her desk.

I unfolded the note:

Meet me in the gym at lunch, 12:00 sharp

I folded the note and stuck it in my pocket. It was then I realized that Rachel was actually a kind person. No other girl was as kind as she had been a few minutes before. A thought overtook me, and at 12, I ran to the gym.

Rachel

When the bell rang for lunch, I rushed to the gym.

I waited there for about 10 minutes. All I did was think about John. What if he didn’t come? I would be crushed. What was I thinking? John Rivera? ME?!

Then he came. I was taken aback once again.

“Um, hi,” I stammered.

“Hi.”

He paused, and I thought he was done. However, he wasn’t.

“I used to think you were annoying and immature,” he started. “But now I realize that I was wrong.”

I looked at him and he looked at me. He looked down at his feet. “I’m so sorry, Rachel. I shouldn’t have judged by appearances. I’m glad you asked me here. Now I’ll ask you.”

He asked the question I’ve been dying to hear.

“Will you go out with me?”

Arts and Culture, Student Life

Crochet: The Beginning

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by Lydia I. Martinov

Homeschool stressing you out? Perhaps you have a math assignment due or you are bummed about receiving a bad grade. Whether you are a student or a teacher, chances are, at times you are probably finding yourself feeling down. If that is so, then a relaxing way to defeat these stressful times is to grab a cup of hot chocolate, collapse on the couch, turn on nice classical music, and take out a hook and yarn. Crochet is a fantastic way to unwind!

Attention, beginners! To start your crocheting journey, you first need to create a shopping list. For those who are starting out, a size 4 yarn is perfect. A very good brand of nice beginner yarns is “Sugar ‘n Cream”, which can be acquired at Joann’s or on Amazon. You can find the size of the yarn on the label. It’s on a little symbol that looks like this:

Courtesy of Lionbrand

There are a bunch of different sizes, but size 4 is easiest for beginners. The larger, fluffy yarn balls are very compelling, but those are better once you become more advanced. When you are first starting out, I recommend buying just a ball of yarn or two. Don’t buy 10 colors right away, because you need to make sure that crocheting is something you enjoy doing and would like to commit to it. Sugar ‘n Cream brand has multicolor yarn which is really fun to use. Beginners are welcome to use any colors except for black. It is very hard to see the stitches when using black yarn, so it is important to stick to brighter colors.

Courtesy of Daufuskie Island

Next, you need to find a suitable hook for your yarn. Specific yarn sizes go along with specific hook sizes. For example, a #4 yarn can be used with a 4.5 to 5.5 millimeter hook. The shaft in the hook should be about the same size as the thickness of the yarn. Suitable hooks are found in craft stores, Amazon, or my personal favorite: Joann’s. When picking a hook, remember that the head shape matters. If the tip of the head is slightly pointed, then it will be easier to use, so aim for a hook of that shape.

Courtesy of The Lindsey Life

Courtesy of Depidiomas

Once you have your hook and yarn, I recommend getting craft scissors to cut your yarn when you finish a project. Also I recommend buying stitch markers. They look similar to paper clips, and are used to mark the beginning of each round if you decide to begin crocheting more advanced projects. You can get some in a pack, once you decide to commit to crochet. You should also make sure that you have a tape measure, so that you can measure your project dimensions and figure out how big you want it. All of these items can be found at Amazon, Joann’s, or a craft store of your choice. Now, you have everything you need to begin your crochet journey!

To get started, you need to know how to hold your hook and yarn. If you are left handed, then do the opposite of the following directions.

Hold your hook in your right hand (unless you are left-handed). You can either hold it like a fork, or a knife. I recommend the knife hold. There is going to always be a loop on your hook as you crochet, so use your thumb to keep it in place. Your other hand needs to hold the yarn AND the project. It should look something like this:

Courtesy of The Woobles

To begin most projects, you must know how to tie a slip knot. To do that, make a pretzel using your yarn, and make sure you leave a tail of about 6 inches. Then, insert your hook into the loop. It should look something like this:

Photo by Lydia I. Martinov

Pull the ends tight, and you will have a beautiful slip knot to begin a project.

Photo by Lydia

Next, you need to learn how to create a braid. To do that, you hook the yarn that is attached to the ball:

Photo by Lydia

Then, you pull it through the slip knot loop:

Photo by Lydia

Continue hooking the yarn through the loop as many times as you want, and you can create a long, fancy braid. Don’t worry if you don’t get it the first couple tries. It took me a while to get it right. To unravel and start over, simply take the loop off the hook, and pull the yarn until all the stitches are undone. Keep practicing, and by the time you read the next article of my Crochet series, you should be completely ready! There, I will explain how to make different stitches, and practice them by creating a granny square. I will also explain the different terms used in crochet. You can find the series by searching “Crochet” on the home tab, or you can find them in the Arts and Culture tab. Happy crocheting!

Arts and Culture

Percy Jackson Book #5 – The Last Olympian: Book Review

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by Emery Pugh

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The evil Titan lord Kronos intends to tear down Olympus “brick by brick” and destroy Western Civilization with it. Typhon is wreaking havoc on the country as he marches towards the virtually undefended Mount Olympus. The gods being occupied with Typhon, there is only one thing that stands in Kronos’ way – Percy and his friends at Camp Half-Blood. The situation is bad enough, but it gets worse. Percy not only has to undergo an extremely dangerous plan, but has a horrifying suspicion that he could be fighting against his own fate. One choice can change the destiny of the world.

There are many great aspects to book five of the Percy Jackson series. I love how the series is formed around Greek Mythology. It makes it a unique set of books. However, that isn’t the only reason why I am engrossed in the Percy Jackson series.

The Last Olympian just grips you with the story. Once you pick the book up, it’s nearly impossible to put down. Like many good books, the action is the best part. Once a battle starts, you just want to know what happens next. Not only that, author Rick Riordan does a breakthrough job with cliffhangers, making your brain stubbornly refuse to stop reading. During breaks from the action, this book always has some mystery to solve, prophecies to decipher, or someone’s complex past to delve into.

To add on to all that, Riordan puts the cherry on top – humor. I can’t go without laughing for more than ten minutes at a time. Even right before Percy could die, someone throws out a joke. Riordan never forgets to add hilarity to his books.

Finally, this book has a perfect ending. It isn’t quite a cliffhanger, but introduces the sequel to the Percy Jackson series: The Heroes of Olympus five-book series.

In the end, I really have nothing negative to say about The Last Olympian. It’s definitely a five star review.

Image by Lucas David
Science

All About Elephants

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by guest author Mila Martinov

Elephants are interesting animals. I chose to write about them, because I find them truly magnificent. Check out these really cool facts about some of the most amazing creatures in the world, in my opinion.

African Elephants live in savannas and jungles, while Asian Elephants live in tropical forests and nice grasslands. They enjoy those places, because there is lots of food to eat and plenty of water to drink. I bet they love their habitat!

African Elephant (left). Asian Elephant (right). Courtesy of Elephants by James Maclaine and John Francis

All elephants have very large ears. They use their ears to cool themselves down by flapping their ears to fan their faces. Unfortunately, none of them have ears big enough to fly like Dumbo.

Elephants use their tusks by digging in the dirt to find underground water. They also use them to defend themselves against foes. Their tusks and ears are very useful!

They use their trunks as tools. To drink water, they suck some water inside the trunk and then squirt it into their mouth so they can drink. Of course, elephants are too big to kneel down and drink the water like cats, dogs and most other animals. Plus, why would they have their trunks anyway? Elephants also use their trunks as hands so that they can pick up their dinner.

Courtesy of Elephants by James Maclaine and John Francis

Elephants live in big, huge herds made up of their families and friends. Here are the facts of how the females take care of the herd: the oldest female guides the herd to find water and leads everyone through rivers and marshes. She also keeps watch while the herd is resting in the shade. Being a leader is hard work!

Courtesy of Elephants by James Maclaine and John Francis

Elephants often sleep when they are standing. To be comfortable, they lean and rest on trees. Other times, they like to lie down and rest their heads on bushes. Elephants sometimes snore while they are sleeping.

They are very, very big. In fact, they are the biggest land animals in the world! They can weigh the same amount as 60 people. Elephants like to eat a bunch of different things, including: grass and roots in the savanna, fruits in the jungle, and leaves in both. To get all of these foods, elephants bang their heads on trees for fruit to fall down. My theory is that elephants use their trunks to pull tasty roots out of the ground. They do the same thing with grass. They pull it out with their trunks. Elephants just use their mouths to eat leaves from bushes. 

Here is a question: How can you tell if they are a boy or a girl? Luckily, I have an answer. Look at the forehead of an elephant. A girl has a forehead that is angled. A boy has a round forehead.

Here is another question: How can you tell the difference between an Asian Elephant and an African Elephant? African Elephants have much larger ears that kind of look like the continent of Africa, and Asian Elephants have smaller and rounder ears. Also, African Elephants live in Africa, while Asian Elephants live in Asia.

Last question: When did the first elephants appear? The first elephant appeared over 50 million years ago.

They really like to eat grass and bamboo. So if you want to see elephants, bamboo forests and savannas are the place for you!

Arts and Culture

“The First Selfie”

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by Lucas David

Nestled in the heart of the city of San Francisco, the Legion of Honor museum is structured almost like an art project in and of itself. Spreading before a fountain and an abstract metal statue is a lush field, bordered by a curtain of trees and greenery. On the other side of the fountain and statue is the museum itself. Upon entering the museum, I was greeted by one of the Thinker statues, and two rows of large marble columns on either side. A glass triangle much resembling a miniature version of the Louvre is behind the Thinker, and at the end of the entry area the front doors are behind a short stairway. 

In the past, the LoH has exhibited art from Pompei, the ancient city that was destroyed as a result of the ash from a volcanic eruption. The museum is the main source of impressionism and post-impressionism in the San Francisco Bay Area as well. When I went to review the place, I found LOH is currently showcasing art by Sandro Botticelli, an italian artist from the fourteen to fifteen hundreds. Amongst the drawings was a video that shared a painting I have dubbed, “The First Selfie”. “The First Selfie,” better known as “The Adoration of the Magi,” is a portrait of the wise men offering the biblical figure Jesus, or the Messiah, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I call it, “The First Selfie,” because Botticelli adds himself into the scene, looking directly and intently at the viewer.

The cafe offers high quality food, but is very expensive, and unless your child enjoys portobello or smoked salmon and potato galette, then they will wind up with an expensive grilled cheese. I recommend bringing lunch, and enjoying coffee and dessert in the cafe, especially the chocolate raspberry tart. There aren’t many restaurants nearby the museum, but I noticed a casual Mel’s Diner on the way there that I took note of for my next visit. 

I highly recommend stopping by the museum for a visit, especially since San Francisco is a beautiful city, filled with so many museums I look forward to enjoying, before going home to subject them to harsh (but accurate) criticism. One of the nice things about the Legion of Honor museum is it’s way of cycling through exhibitions like I mentioned before, but it also means that the Botticelli sketches will not stay for long, and their normal home is in Italy. It’s an hour of driving from where I’m typing to the Legion of Honor museum, but it’s a 12 hour flight from here to Italy, so don’t wait! The exhibition ends February 11th, 2024.

Stories, Student Life

Laser Tag!

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by Olive Pea

“Plunk plunk!” went the rain on the metal roof of the car. It was mid afternoon on a rainy day in January, and my family and I were visiting my grandparents in Rocklin, California. It was my brother Liam’s Birthday, and we were going to play laser tag at the nearest arcade. I was sitting and watching the cars out my window speed down the slippery road. Up in the front seats, my parents were playing some rock music with humorous lyrics through the car speakers. I was sitting next to Liam and my cousin Ethan. Ethan, who was 12 years old, was always one year older than Liam and one year younger than me. He had tan skin, floppy and curly copper-colored hair that he wore in a headband that matched his red-and-white basketball jersey. Sometimes he was quiet, but mostly he was cracking jokes and fooling around. Liam and I both got the preferable seats that were adjacent to the windows and would have gladly given ours to Ethan, but for some reason he wanted to sit in the middle.

Mom was asking Ethan about his school year and basketball practice when we made a right turn into a parking lot and stationed the car in a spot next to the entrance of the arcade building. We all hopped out of the car onto the wet pavement, and made quickly for the big glass doors before we got too wet. I checked my bag for the billionth time to make sure I hadn’t forgotten my ear-muffs. Dad had mentioned that it would be loud in the building, and I abhor loud noises. They made me nervous, and I was already nervous as well as excited. I parted the opening of my bag, and sure enough my neon-pink ear-muffs were nestled safely inside. Mom had said that I wouldn’t need them, but “better to be safe than sorry,” I thought.

We thrust the arcade doors open, and inside there was a small lot of kids playing arcade games. Sound effects of shooting laser rifles and exploding spaceships filled our ears as we journeyed towards the tables in the food court. Our grandparents, Uncle Justice, and his girlfriend Kayla were anticipating our arrival around a table that was in the middle. 

“There you are!” Grandma exclaimed.

“Where’s Evelyn and Isaac?” Mom inquired of Grandma as she retrieved her credit card from within the seemingly endless depths of her purse.

“I don’t know what the heck is taking them so long. Isaac is driving Evelyn, and they left at the same time as us, so they should be here by now.” She said with a disapproving shake of her head. 

“I’ll be right back, I just have to run to the restrooms,” Grandma announced as she walked at a leisurely pace toward the Ladies Room. Evelyn and Isaac were cousins of Liam and mine. They were Ethan’s older siblings. Evelyn was 15, and Isaac was in his early 20’s. Evelyn had the same tan skin as Ethan, and had long curly brown hair. She was quiet, but she was still pleasant to make conversation with. She usually wore black-and-white Converse with green camo pants, and a two-sizes-too-big shirt with a band logo on it. Isaac was not loud, but he also wasn’t quiet. He always wore a light-colored button-up shirt with jeans, and either combed his hair or wore a beanie. He also had recently acquired a beard, but I am not sure if it counts as an official one because it was always quite stubbly.

Grandma arrived back at the tables after her trip to the bathrooms, and we waited near the round white tables for a short length of time for Evelyn and Isaac to make an appearance. When they still didn’t turn up, the adults decided for us to make our way to the front desk and purchase our cards for the laser tag. We walked back towards the arcade, and headed for the counter. Two older teenage girls stood there, looking very bored. Mom and Grandma started talking to one of them and began to arrange the purchase for everyone to play. Liam, Ethan, and I formed a separate group a short ways away from the desk. Uncle Justice joined us, and we started talking about whose team we wanted to be on. Uncle Justice always looked like he was ready to go hunting. He wore a black T-shirt and black jeans with a chain and a pocket knife in his right pocket. He had a small black beard and a mustache, and completing his look was a hunter-green baseball cap and a silver nose ring. He was Mom’s brother, but he was only in his late 20s. 

Dad came over and told us that we could enter our player names on the three screens that were to the right of the front desk. I typed my name onto the screen. “Loki” was my player name. Ethan put his as “Eazy-E”, and Liam’s was “Clonk”. Grandpa decided he was going to play too. Grandpa was on the shorter/stockier side, and wore a gray heathered polyester shirt with a button and small collar at the neck. He also wore green camo pants, and he always wore hiking shoes no matter where he was going. He entered his code name as “Best Dad Ever”. At the last minute, Evelyn and Isaac walked over to the front desk. 

“What took you so long? We were about to start without you!” Grandma half whispered, with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. Isaac shrugged. Grandma handed them their playing cards and they entered their names. Evelyn’s was “Fart Lover”. I didn’t get the chance to see Isaac, Kayla, Uncle Justice or Dad’s player names, but Mom’s was “Mom the Bomb”. Grandma decided not to play, and went back to the tables and waited.

When we all finished entering our player names, an older teenage boy (who also looked bored) with greasy blond hair and sweaty looking clothes showed us and a couple of strangers into a dark room with a large screen. The carpet had a crazy neon orange and yellow pattern that glowed under the black light from the ceiling. Kayla’s white shoes were glowing a blinding bright white, and everyone came over to look at them as our bored instructor queued up an instruction video on the large screen.

He stood under the screen and said,”Listen up,” in the most dull way possible. “First, you will watch this video and if you have any questions you can ask me after it’s finished.” 

When the video finished, someone asked whether we would get to choose our team mates, and the greasy guide said, “I don’t know, but I think it is randomly chosen on the screen.” All the kids groaned, and some of the parents started whispering things like “What? We paid for this?” And “This is ridiculous. What kind of arcade doesn’t let you choose?” The guide projected our teams on the screen. I was with Ethan, Evelyn, Uncle Justice, and a little 5 year old girl and her dad. Liam was with Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Isaac, and Kayla.

The guide said spiritlessly, “This way,” and gestured towards a door to our left. We filed through the door, and entered a slightly brighter room. There were large metal pegs on the wall where our equipment hung. They were all numbered. On a TV screen opposite the door showed our player names with our equipment numbers next to them. Mine said “LOKI 32” highlighted with blue for my team color. We all grabbed our equipment and started putting it on. There were hit sensors on the chest, back, and one on each shoulder. If you were hit, it would make a blaster sound effect. I tightened my equipment with a black adjustment strap. There were different settings on the gun that you could access through a series of buttons and other fancy touch screen elements that I was not all that interested in. The rules were no running, and you had to keep at least 5 feet away from your opponents when shooting. The game was on a timer, and when the timer ended you were required to report back to your base.

  We then entered the laser tag arena. Once again, black lights lit the room, but this time you couldn’t see the whole room from the entrance. There were tall and short barriers that you could hide behind, some of which were glowing neon colors due to the black light, while others were just black. The floor was covered in black carpet, and in the middle of the room there was a second floor that you could access by ramp. On the edges of this platform you could snipe opponents that were below. On opposite sides of the room, there were bases. In these bases there was a special archway that showed the team’s points in big, orange letters like you might see on a digital alarm clock. This was also the team’s weak point, because if an opponent shot it they would get a bunch of points. That meant that the arch should be guarded.  On the other side of your base, there was a recharge station that you could stand behind to reload your blaster or revive yourself if you got eliminated. Both of these things took time to do, so you had to be sneaky.

Everyone grouped up with their teams and headed to their bases. On a speaker, an announcer repeated the basic rules, and counted down from 5. Then the lights dimmed, and intense techno music started playing. On my team, two team mates stayed and defended the base. I started to charge the opponents thinking it would be easy, but too late I realized that there was a slope. I tripped on the carpet all the way to the middle of the room. Liam found me and started blasting me while he laughed maniacally. “Aw come on!” I thought, and retreated back to the base to reload my health. When I was recharging, I saw the little girl and her dad from our team trying to take out Dad, who was on the top level of the arena. I started to shoot at him too, but he retreated. Then I went over to our opponent’s archway, and started blasting it. Then someone (I couldn’t see them because it was too dark) started blasting me so I retreated back to my base. On the way there I ran into three people who were not on my team, and I was low on health by the time I got to recharge. I started to head back over to the other side but this time I went through the higher level. By the time I got to the top the music shut off and the announcer on the speaker said, “End of round 1.” 

Our whole team reported back to our base, then we had one minute to recharge before the next round started. Ethan agreed to attack the enemy base with me, but when the round started he ditched me! So I tried it on my own and just like the first time, someone found me. The only difference was that I got a few more shots off at the archway than I had before. On my way back to my base I tripped again and it was even worse than the first time. I laughed because I could just picture what it would look like to someone else. After I recharged, I decided not to attack the enemy base, so I stayed back and guarded ours for the remainder of round 2.

Once round 3 started, I was the only one guarding our base, so I had to walk back and forth to patrol. When I was on the side of our base that was opposite our archway, I started getting blasted from above. Isaac had sniped me! I started to shoot back. The plan was to take him out so that he could not advance towards the archway, and I did get a few shots off him. However, he disappeared before I could take him out. I started to find my way toward the ramp so that I could chase him, but just before I got there Liam cornered me.

 I heard Ethan say “They’re shooting our base!” and then I saw Isaac’s gray beanie peeking over one of the pieces of cover. He must have made his way over to our arch while Liam distracted me. I took Liam out, but it took time and then my gun ran out of juice so that I had to recharge it. I ran over to our arch and started blasting Isaac alongside Ethan, and together we took him out too. After that, I decided to put my equipment into stealth mode. It took a second because I had to figure out which buttons to hold and when to pull the trigger, but once stealth mode was activated all the lights on my gun and sensors turned off. I thought I was so cool and sneaky, “Just like Loki,” I thought. Just as that thought crossed my mind however, I tripped and started getting blasted by Mom. I ran away from Mom in the direction of the enemy’s archway, but just as I turned a corner I tripped again. This time I slammed into something hard. It was Grandpa, and he hadn’t seen me because all of my lights were shut off.

“Sorry!” we both said in unison, and I hurried to get away. It took me a second to get my bearings, but once I found my way I began to blast the enemy archway. Just as I reached 5000 points, Liam and Dad spotted me and started blasting me. Then Isaac started approaching, so I made a run for it. That was when the stealth mode actually worked. I made it all the way up the ramp and shot Dad once to startle him. I saw him swivel his head back and forth and check around the corner where I had just been.

Then I heard him say, “Where the heck did she go?” and I giggled, feeling slightly redeemed as a “Loki” after my big mess-up. On my way over the top part of the room, I startled Kayla and she started blasting me. I tried to put my gun through one of the holes in my cover to shoot her back, but then Dad and Liam located me. 

Dad said, “There you are!” and both he and Liam started blasting me. I ran for my base to recharge but just as I was about to recharge my gun, the final round ended and both teams traveled back to the door of the room. Two of the arcade workers led us back through the door and had us remove our equipment. On the screen in the equipment room, we could see our scores. For some reason it only gave everyone’s personal scores, so we couldn’t tell which team had won the rounds. On Liam’s team, Dad got the high score of the first round, Grandpa got it on the second, and Kayla got the high score on the last round. The only problem was that Mom and Kayla’s scores got combined, and if they hadn’t Mom would have earned the high score because she eliminated way more people than Kayla. Plus, Kayla didn’t get any points from an archway. On my team, Uncle Justice got the high score on the first two rounds. The last person to get a high score on my team was me, which I was very enthusiastic about. Once everyone finished looking at the scoreboard, we exited through the first room back into the arcade. I hadn’t noticed how sweaty I was when I was in the arena, so after about a minute of being in the arcade Dad took Liam, Ethan and I outside where it was chilly and drizzling. I was glad for the rain because it cooled me off quickly.

After a few minutes we walked back over to the tables and met up with Grandma. She handed us our things and we walked out to the car, everyone with smiles on their faces.