Musical Chairs

“Musical Chairs: The experiment leader will play a song. Participants will stand and begin walking in a clockwise circle. When the experiment leader stops the music, participants will sit. Then, they will check the undersides of their chairs. Participants that find a piece of red paper will help one another strip naked.”

As I read the description, which I had mostly memorized at this point, I allowed my eyes to wander around the room. Mike looked excited, and Robert was largely unreadable.

The rest of the participants appeared to be hiding nerves to varying degrees of success. Brian and Ryen looked to be easily the most worried. Gina maintained her defiant stance, but I noticed her eyes widen as I reached the end of the description.

Me: Okay, if everyone would please stand.

Robert was the first to comply as I pulled my phone from my pocket. After a moment of shared hesitation, the rest of the group joined him, rising from their metal folding chairs.

I began to play a song, and the participants cautiously circled the chairs…