However, the festival of tents was a welcome distraction from the usual classes. It started one day shy of three weeks after classes had begun. On a Friday, the beginning of the weekend, tents started to pop up on the grounds of the school. The tents were small, only big enough for one person. They were a simple design to keep the sun and rain off–if it rained, which hadn’t happened during tents for the entire recorded history of The Seventh Mountain. It was agreed by the freshmen that it had to be divine intervention. “All students…are expected to live…in their tents…for the duration of the fest.” Mr. Diefenderfer’s lesson hit upon some of the highlights of the fest. There would be a Hot Air Balloon Show and competitions. Slone’s group was getting bigger. Almost every day, LeOmi was asked to come to a get-together. His small troop hung around him as if his words were more educational than any teacher’s, but the free food was a big draw. Food wasn’t expensive, but it started adding up.
