By lunch time, it was already clear that the storm would be too heavy to go home in. The announcement was made halfway through the day: “Attention all staff and students, you are to remain inside until the storm passes.”
Excitement buzzed around the school. It wasn’t the first lock-in at Westside, but this was the first time this generation of students would experience one. When the final bell rang, no one left the building. Instead, all of the students were gathered into the gymnasium to sit on the bleachers while the teachers organized themselves.
Eventually, it was decided that sleeping bags would be distributed to every student, courtesy of the school’s camping club.
“They have over 250 sleeping bags?!” someone in the crowd said.
“Yeah, they said they wanted to be prepared in case anyone decided to join. They even designed unique color-coded beds for each student,” another explained. “Kind of creepy, but hey, we don’t have to sleep on the floor now.”
One of the teacher’s voices echoed over the students’ chatter. “Attention, please! May I have your attention! Each student must come to the center of the gym and claim the sleeping bag that matches his or her hair or other common colors. Please do so in an orderly fashion…”