Flags across the field

An original literary non-fiction-style account of watching a youth group practise sending messages with flags.

The flags looked enormous beside the smaller children. Before the practice began, two boys stood them upright and pretended to be the entrance to a palace. Their leader waited until everyone had passed through. Then she asked them to carry the flags to opposite ends of the field and see whether the cloth was still easy to notice.

The first message travelled only halfway. A girl receiving it wrote three letters, looked at the chart and rubbed out the third. The sender repeated the movement more quickly. The leader asked him to slow down. He said that he was trying to make it clearer. She asked the girl which version she could read.

A parent beside me began helping from the edge of the field. He called out a letter before the girl had finished checking. She turned her back slightly, taking the chart with her. He stopped calling. When she finally read the message aloud, he applauded before anyone else.

The next pair chose a shorter word. They checked that both could see the chart before separating. The smaller boy held his flags with both hands near the bottom of the sticks. His partner waited while he changed his grip, then sent the first letter. They finished without anybody on the sidelines speaking.

When the group packed up, the palace entrance returned. This time, the girl who had struggled to receive the message demanded a password from everyone passing through. The parent asked whether he could have a clue. She gave him the chart and waited with a straight face until he had found it.

What do you learn about how the participants communicate and help one another?