By: Tessa Lake-Goldstein and Elizabeth Schmid-James

Disclaimer: The decisions and details of this article are all based on interviews and facts, not the personal opinions of any writer on staff. Teachers were asked about weapons of choice, anticipated strengths and weaknesses, potential alliances, etc and were aware of their participation in the article’s topic.

Trigger Warning: Violence

Welcome to the first annual BSA Hunger Games! A ruthless battle amongst our very own faculty members. 22 teachers divided into 11 districts will form alliances, sabotage their enemies, and fight to be the sole survivor. Join us as we introduce our tributes. 

District 1, Boss Babes: Rosiland Cauthen (Roz) and  Dawn Strickland	District 2, Bearded Bros: Frank Roblin and Tom Askey	District 3, Chatty Cathys: Abby McKelvey  and Valerie Johnson	District 4, Threatening Thespians: Tony Tsendeas  and Paul Reisman	District 5, Fearless Forces: Becky Mossing  and Beatriz Bufrahi (Bea)
District 6, Wise Wizards: Mei-Lin Fegan and Megan Bremer	District 7,  Empathetic Educators:Ileana Imhoff and Rachel Duffy	District 8, Stealthy Scientists: Gerad Bandos and Shalise Allison	District 9, Intellectual Inscribers: Damien Ford and Lucia Lee	District 10, Quizzical Queens:Anne Laro and Erica Tolentino
District 11, Sneaky Spiders: Jocelyn Providence and Joy Bacon

LET THE GAMES BEGIN! 

The tributes stand in an open field, a cluster of weapons in the middle of them. They are surrounded by a deep wilderness filled with trees spanning miles back.

Day 1: 

Tensions are high as our 22 teachers prepare to enter the arena. They have been working tirelessly this past week, honing in on their weaponry skills and mastering the art of survival. Lines were drawn, making alliances clear,  enemies clearer.

After an anxious week of waiting, the countdown has finally begun. “FIVE” the teachers step onto the platform that will open into the arena, and seal their fate. “FOUR” their hearts start to race and their palms start to sweat. “THREE” the doors start to open, revealing a woodland landscape with a cornucopia in the middle. “TWO” the tributes look around, relishing in their last moments of teacher companionship before ties are broken. “ONE” they brace themselves.

But before the whistle is blown, a cannon fires, signaling the death of a tribute. Bacon of District 11 sneezed so hard from her seasonal allergies that she fell off her platform too early and was eliminated on the spot.

“LET THE GAMES BEGIN”. 

Roz, Tony, Abby, Strickland, Bremer, Duffy, Providence, and Becky bolt to the cornucopia. They are eager to get their hands on a what’s inside. The others scatter into the woods, desperately trying to hide and secure their safety. 

Roblin, using only his fists and dashing charisma, attacks Paul, who stands frozen on his platform, unsure of what to do or where to go. A cannon fires. Roblin wipes his bloody knuckles on his shirt, used to the harsh lifestyle from the countless street fights he endured as a child. 

Inside the cornucopia, havoc has ensued. Roz and Duffy both have their sights set on the bow and arrow and are playing a very intense game of tug of war. Roz has opted for a more persuasive approach, attempting to use her people skills to obtain the coveted bow and arrow. 

However, Abby, eager and ready to win, sneaks up from behind the dueling pair and spears Duffy. Her eyes meet Roz, and panic flashes across our beloved principal’s face. Before Abby can strike again, Roz takes the bow and arrow and runs in the other direction. Abby turns to Strickland and Bremer, who are fighting over a canteen of water, and throws her spear with frightening precision. Two more cannons go off.

Tony and Becky, who have become fast friends during training, are now in the middle of a wrestling match over a set of daggers. The thespians have turned on each other. Before a winner is decided, Becky falls dramatically to the ground, clutching her back. Tolentino has hit her with an arrow from her sniping position atop the trees. Her years in sports have come in handy. 

Tony is left shell-shocked and ghost-ridden as he makes a mad dash to the forest, in search of shelter and safety. Everyone else still amid the weapon clash sprints to the safety of the forest, and an eerie silence falls over the tributes. Surrounding the cornucopia lie Imhoff and Bremer, one trampled by the fierce boots of Askey, the other caught in the crossfire of Abby’s determination.

In the forest, alliances have been foraged. Laro, Bea, Lee, Fegan, Roz, and Tolentino have joined together as one big group. Roblin and Askey have opted to tackle the competition as a duo, confident in their connection as bearded brothers to carry them through. Johnson and Abby have also opted to travel as a duo; while not Johnson’s first choice, her previous kinship to Abby has left her no choice but to ally with only those she has complete trust in. Ford, Allison, and Tony decide to go solo, trusting no one but themselves.

That night, 9 faces were projected into the sky. The faces reveal the beloved teachers who have fallen victim to the day one slaughters. 9 gone, 13 remain. 

Day One Eliminations: Paul, Bandos,  Bacon, Duffy, Imhoff, Strickland, Bremer, Providence, and Becky.

But the party is just getting started….

Day 2:

Day two may have begun, but there is no rest for our tributes. Nobody has been disloyal yet in an alliance, but the night is young, and people are already starting to draw suspicion. While Laro is taking watch, allowing the rest of the group to sleep, she silently stabs Fegan and dumps her body in the bushes, utilizing her knowledge of decomposition as leader of the Green Team. She claims Fegan ran off during the night after she faced an intense round of scrutiny from her group. 

Meanwhile, Roblin and Askey are having a very different kind of evening. Trusting wholeheartedly in each other, the bearded bros opt out of taking turns sleeping and instead whisper back and forth fond memories they have of their lives together back in district 2, snuggling tight for extra warmth. 

Johnson and Abby decide that sleep is for the weak and instead go hunting while the sun is down. They find Ford asleep in a log and Tony defenseless in a tree. They stealthily take them both down without alerting the other groups of their location. Two cannons fire. They fistbump, a job well done. 

Chaos ensues the following morning. “Over here!” yells Bea. “I think I found one!” The group rushes over to the empty cornucopia, where Allison has set up camp. “This’ll be easy. Poor girl is all by herself,” says Tolentino, aiming her bow and arrow at Allison’s heart. But the fools have fallen straight into her trap. Before Tolentino can release her arrow, Allison throws a bomb. The arena explodes, bodies are thrown into the air, and the ground is destroyed. “BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!” 

The cannon goes off. Five deaths. Limbs lie scattered around the cornucopia and the grass is dyed red with blood. Allison smirks to herself and runs off to find her next hideout, and her next victims. 8 gone. Only 5 remain. 

Day Two Eliminations: Fegan, Laro, Tolentino, Lee, Bea, Roz, Tony, Ford 

Who will be the last one standing?….

Day 3:

Our final five are jittery as they near the end of the games. The bearded bros have set up camp in a cave for the remaining time, hopeful that the toughness of the rock will mimic the toughness of their gameplay. You know it’s getting rough when the math teacher is pulling out metaphors. 

The men are hungry and eager to get their hands on some meat. Askey ventures out at midnight in search of a stray deer. 

He has nothing but himself and his nunchucks to brave the wild woods. He hears a rustling in the trees and whips his head around, nervous as the darkness encapsulates him. Then, before he can so much as bat an eye, Allison comes falling from the trees, arms out in front of her like claws as she pounces on Askey, killing him with brute strength. He lets out a scream for Roblin as all life flushes out of his face, a cannon goes off, and we’re down to four. 

As soon as the cannon goes off, Roblin awakens from his slumber, terrified that his one true companion has vanished. He doesn’t even need to venture outside to see the face flashing in the sky. He knows deep down that Askey is gone: his heart is broken, and his life is now meaningless. Out of pure sorrow, Roblin eats a handful of poisonous berries before taking his final breaths and joining his fellow bearded bro in heaven. 

Allison is riding a high, her ego soaring after numerous kills are credited to her name. But she’s hungry for more. She spends the rest of the day searching for Abby and Johnson. Little does she know, Johnson is plotting to take down her only loyal ally herself. 

Unbeknownst to any of the hunger games staff, Ms. Johnson sneakily obtained a manual of every rule and layout of this year’s teacher hunger games. She knows every trick we have planned, the location of all the water, she even knows where the rabid animals are kept. She leads Abby to a watering well filled with killer leeches, buttering her up with compliments about her college counseling abilities for this year’s graduating class. Abby is caught up in the excitement of her beloved seniors, raving on and on about their acceptances, when suddenly she gets pushed from behind by Johnson. Her last breaths were spent looking at her only friend, now turned enemy. 

A cannon goes off as Johnson turns at her heels, not an ounce of guilt in her consciousness. Two remain. 

It’s a rough battle to the end. Three painful hours go by before the two women eventually cross paths. It’s an awkward encounter, history and science teachers clashing, but that tension is channeled as Johnson makes the first move. She attacks  Allison, using only brute force and her experience growing up with fighting siblings to carry her through. The two tumble and turn through the trees until Johnson has Allison pinned to the ground. With a final blow the cannon goes off, and Allison lays on the floor of the forest motionless. Johnson cackles, power at last. 

Day Three Eliminations: Askey, Roblin, Abby, Allison.

THE VICTOR OF THE 1ST ANNUAL BSA HUNGER GAMES IS: Johnson

To contact these writers email Muse Newspaper at musebsa@bsfa.org.

Photograph taken by Grace Sutherland for the BSA Muse.