InsaneJournal

Bright and early, 9:00 AM sharp, the students participating gather at the docks. The morning is bitterly cold, 15°F/-9°C, with an unfriendly wind coming off the lake. Even before hitting the water, most kids are shivering. The crowd is full of nervous giggles, posturing, and bragging as Healer Mufferaw gives the jumpers a quick once over. A few freshmen with bad head colds who wanted to join in are quickly turned away. "I'm not letting any of you da—I mean, darn kids kill yourself over this."

Mufferaw takes this seriously every year. He's going to be on hand in case anyone needs medical attention, or is just being stupid. "Which means, yeah, you all do need standbys. You're teenagers. You're not even half as badass as you think you are. So partner up. If you don't choose, I choose for you." Harsh words aside, he shuffles together kids he's pretty sure are friends, family, or couples if he can.

No one is allowed in the water until Mufferaw blows his whistle, so get in your good luck hugs and kisses, because at 9:30 everyone who signed up stands at the edge of the dock. Mufferaw raises his hand and brings a whistle too his mouth. One... two... three... JUMP!

THE RULES

• Students must accept help from a standby. After they get out of the water, they're likely to be shivering pretty badly, and will need the help.
• Standbys wait on the dock with warm towels and boots, and are tasked with looking after their partner's robes/coat/etc they walked down in.
• Dry your partner off completely as quickly as possible, and then escort them into the lodge, where more blankets, hot drinks (coffee, tea, hot cider, and hot chocolate) are waiting.
• No one is allowed in the water before Mufferaw blows his whistle.
• If you stay in too long he's dragging your ass out.
• Bring dry clothes to change into when you're in the lodge.
• If you're not a jumper or a standby, you have to wait and watch on the shoreline. Don't crowd the docks.

JUMPERS AND STANDBYS

Name

=

Took the plunge.

Christopher Park ❆ Rosemary Stoker
Quinn Cunningham ❆ Jesse McBride
Robin Youngblood ❆ Beatrix Armstrong
Diego Morales ❆ Ravinder Dhaliwal
Olivia Sanchez ❆ Avery Davenport
Casey Patterson ❆ Cressida Quayle
Wesley Carpenter ❆ Laurel Templeton
Leonardo Fiori ❆ Rafael Ramirez
Levi Kramer ❆ Cecil Honeychurch
Penelope Vargas ❆ Zoey Valentine
Sylvester Stoker ❆ Reid Wainwright
Ty Hawkeswood ❆ Hazel Keating
Jonathan Wilde ❆ Kurt Wolfhart
William Chase ❆ Micah St. Clair
Dominic Tremblay ❆ Marilyn Fairchild
Joanna May ❆ Magdalen Gillis
Sofia Delgado ❆ Adeline Foster-Hayes
Mackenzie Prince ❆ Ariadne Flint
Estella Morales-Tran ❆ Philippa Nightingale
Dahlia Hale ❆ Nathaniel Bird
Theresa Noble ❆ Frances Noble
Roxanne Barringer ❆ Ursula de Luca
Clementine Decourt ❆ Casper Kim
Regan Hobbs ❆ Calvin Evercreech
Hayley Ferris ❆ Solomon Webb
Susana Velasquez ❆ Cole Moss
Veronica Powers ❆ Jeremiah Rasmussen
Iliya Krum ❆ Katerina Ivanova
Harriet Cohen ❆ Anuhea Alapai
Henrietta Gray ❆ Sun-mi Choi
Aiden Guthrie ❆ Asher Guthrie
Jacob Wood ❆ Victoria Powers

» Before: Psych yourself up, wish your partner good luck, or maybe laugh at your ridiculous friends for taking part in such a silly tradition!

» The Jump: Mufferaw blows his whistle, and the foolish brave participants all take the plunge! The water is freezing cold, and is an immediate cold shock!

• COLD SHOCK: On jumping into cold water, cold receptors in the skin cause immediate physiological responses, the first of which is a “gasp” reflex. Next, you begin to hyperventilate, and within seconds your heart begins to race, and your blood pressure spikes. After a minute or two, the muscles of your limbs are affected. Neuromuscular activity slows and body fluids literally congeal in the muscles. You feel the effects first in your hands and fingers. Then the deeper tissues in your arms and legs cease to operate properly. It becomes more and more difficult to perform any tasks requiring manual dexterity, such as drying yourself off or getting your boots on when you finally climb out.

» Audience: On the docks or on the shore, the students who wisely chose to sit this out but still want to observe or watch their classmates jump into the water.

» The Lodge: Standbys and friends on the shore usher their frozen classmates inside to warm them up. ♥