Not far ahead, the ground slopes up toward one of the two wood bridges that cross the creek at the center of RTC’s campus. During the spring, the creek supposedly flows with water, but now the bed is dry. Good thing since that’s how we’ve managed to sneak this close to the bridge without being seen. One boy and one girl from the Dead Philosophers team lean on the rails, discussing their history exam. Unknown to them, four members of the Red Ridings—a team named after the school mascot—are approaching. Our group, the Good Expectations, is waiting for their arrival. The Fall Games are in full swing, and the annual Capture the Flag game is the favorite event of almost everyone. This amuses me. Where I’m from, games like this have far more serious repercussions than scoring or losing points. I’ve been playing variations on it since I was five, and even then I knew it was far more than a game. It was, in a very literal way, going to be my life.
