Viking Voice

A.G./ In the Hallway

I look around and one word comes to mind, chaotic…or maybe, loud? Or fun? Ok so, maybe one word doesn’t automatically come to mind. So, let me keep trying. Peaceful? Ok don’t think I am insane just because I say that the hallways (or excuse me, Mark Twain is only ONE hallway) are calming. Because I wouldn’t necessarily call it that. But there is something soothing about the fact that even in a sea of bodies you still feel like that is where you are supposed to be, like you belong in that large mass of students.

I expertly dodge the bodies as I make my way down the hallway, in front of me, to the side of me, and behind me kids are yelling, laughing, running and being yelled at by teachers. As Mrs. Hill yells a countdown kids start picking up their pace.

“30 seconds!” Kids start to say goodbye’s, see ya later’s, peace out dude’s, or see ya later my home shizzle! No? Was that going too far? Right… I agree.

“20 seconds!’ Kids start power walking, trying to beat the bell. Or maybe, some of them just don’t care and are still talking with their friends completely oblivious.

“15…… 10…….” Kids start running with their legs straight. Which is a technique we have picked up over the years. If your legs don’t bend they can’t technically call it running. Plus, it is an effective way to make yourself look like a moron, which I guess for some people is the new trend these days. Act as much as like a two year old and you are set for Junior High.

“FIVE!” Kids are darting about the hallway, “FOUR, THREE, TWO..!” Some are slipping into their homerooms, a few stragglers are cramming their backpacks into their lockers trying to quickly lock them, and there are still the people who obviously do not care, they are still walking around making teachers….well… umm dislike them even more.

“RING!!!!!!” People dash into the rooms claiming they were on time or sigh slightly and wait for that shrill yell. “Tardy one again! One more and it is a DAN!” Either kids come back with a muttered smart-alek comment or some freak out and need to seriously take a chill pill (yes, yes, I AM bringing that saying back). The next ten minutes are a mix of the droning sound from the intercom of an announcement or the notorious Victor Viking, and Ms. Willow growling or yelling at kids to put a cork in it…mainly Maryn, or Megan… and it should be me but she loves me too much. Pretty much it is the usual day to day events and after the fourth quarter is has started to get redundant (actually it happened more around the ending of the first quarter). But there is a highlight to this monotonous routine. My drama class learned how to sword fight. With wooden swords of course. Good thing too, otherwise my friend Charlotte wouldn’t…well, let’s just say she would be a very grave girl indeed.

So we jabbed, lunged, and parried and all of those swordplay terms I don’t know all morning. Yes, I whooped everyone’s butt. Sort of. I mean, if I actually got to dual anyone… I would have.

I would LOVE to say that this is what we do every morning, but, nope. A.G. is A.G., nothin’ special.

PERIOD 1

Math, yuk. I can honestly say that this is the worst subject ever. And having it in the morning is not fair to my groggy brain. Forcing upon it…math problems. I mean, honestly, in what way is the parabola of such and such and (insert any ridiculous math term here) going to help us in our lives unless you become a math professor or something along those lines? It is absolutely, positively, ridiculous. As I pull out the paper from Friday, girls are sitting on desks and gossiping (sorry to stereotype but that is what I saw) and laughing and the boys are being…well boys. They have found is entertaining to dog pile on the less fortunate boy. Suffocating and squashing him with all of their bodies. Sounds fun doesn’t? I can’t remember who was lucky enough to be on the bottom today. Probably Logan, that sort of thing happens to him a lot. Then Mrs. Garlinghouse comes in and puts order to the room instantly. Mrs. Garlinghouse is fun and loving but when she needs to, can crack the whip without breaking a sweat.

And we move on to… oh crap I stopped listening. I tell you this stuff literally goes in one ear and out the other for me. I always wonder how I do well on tests…or last night’s homework for instance. Maybe bits and pieces get caught on their passage through my brain. Yeah, I think that is it.

PERIOD 2

DRAMA!!!! Second period drama. Thirteen people in all. Ya know, I really don’t know how such a small group of kids could be SO loud and obnoxious. Of course we ARE eighth graders and we ARE absolutely rambunctious and annoying. Come on, we are going through puberty and having raging hormones that cause us to have random impulses and also on top of that we are struggling to find ourselves and all that crap. I mean who can blame us? We really are angels…on the inside…DEEP down inside.

Anyways Kyle and Jared are once again chasing each other around, fighting with chairs and our wooden swords and hiding in the practice rooms. Boys… why do they have to be such.. boys??? And Hannah, Wyatt, and Bryanna are sitting in a huddle talking about, well, honestly I think they can talk about anything that are that good. J And everyone else is filing in. Charlotte, Val (Valeria), and I are resuming our normal positions: slouching in a chair with our legs resting on another chair. Sometimes we end up just laying down we are that lazy. Or pathetic, whichever way you want to put it.

We are practicing our play “Romeo and Juliet ‘Or the Old You-Know-I-Really –Love-You-But-My-Father-Really-Hates-You Blues”… Ok well it sounds stupid when you give it the whole title, so let’s just stick with “Romeo and Juliet”. Yes, we are talking in Shakespearean language. But don’t worry, for all those dimwits out there (or every other middle schooler) who doesn’t get it then that is why the narrators will be there to explain. And also to make the show AWESOME! But, now I will go too far and I don’t want to give anything away. \

P.S. It is gonna be the BOMB! J

PERIOD 3

Ah, third period. Mrs. Bahr’s class. Language Arts. Probably the most irritating (loved for me, yes I know I am weird) class, honestly apart from all the projects, and more projects, and even more projects I don’t see why it’s even that bad. I mean, Mrs. Bahr isn’t even mean. Ha! I can hear the gasps now, What? Mrs. Bahr? Not mean? No, no she is not. Slightly crazy, yes (and I say that with endearment) but mean? Nah! But SHH! Don’t tell her I spilled the beans.

What’s going on right now? Right now as I speak (or write) we are having speeches. Speeches, most shudder at the word. But these particular speeches are a million trillion times worse. These speeches are for the Masonic Speech Contest. I cringe at the sound. For those of you that don’t know what this is, the Masonic Speech Contest is a terrible, evil idea that a whole bunch of grumpy adults, that obviously hate children created. I can see them now sitting amoungst their badly-tempered peers with nothing else to do but come up with the WORST idea of forcing innocent children up in front of judging eyes and have them give a speech. Sadistic I know. Plus, it is a contest the previous grade had place 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd in.

No pressure right?

Of course honestly, I have no idea who will go. We are all doing just fine. Of course there is William. I swear that kid is a prodigy of all geniuses. And I am sure EVERYONE agrees with me that know him. Maybe the reason we think that is becayse he can finish a math problem (not to mention a test) lickidy split. Getting a 100% in EVERY SINGLE class? No problemo, he could even get OVER 100%. Or maybe it is because when he speaks people’s mouths go slack and you can literally see the gears turning. Because… William.. WE HAVE NO FREAKING CLUE WHAT YOU JUST SAID! What do you do at night? Read a dictionary??? But, William, ya know we all love ya.

There are… here wait while I try and tell time… 20 minutes left in the class. The finally LUNCH! Man I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. Ok I am going to end up starving myself, so I am going to stop writing until next period.

LUNCH

Yes! Finally! Lunch! The most loved part of the school day. Everyone is starving by this time and happy/eager to see their friends. Ha! I feel bad for everyone in 5^th period lunch. They are probably REALLY hungry and REALLY happy/eager to see their friends.

I walk into the lunchroom and look around and see a bunch of LOUD, (something) kids. Laughing and talking away. I swear sometimes it’s so loud in there I can be having a conversation with someone right across from me and have the people sitting right next to us be having the same conversation with neither of us knowing.

By the time I open my lunch sack the boys are going for seconds. They literally are bottomless pits. I have seen with my own eyes Wyatt Crofts stuff an entire doughnut into his mouth and eat it. One moment it was seen and then the next POOF! it was gone. It was disgusting. And a little bit scary.

I look down at my own lunch and make a face of absolute disappointment, carrots and a granola bar. Sad I know, but it was the fastest thing I could grab. The table is quiet while we eat. Sounds boring I know. I bet you if someone who usually didn’t eat with us decided to one day would be so bored they would leave before we finished eating. Which is when we get loud. I think my friends believe that eating comes before talking? May sound weird for some right? Us caring more about eating than talking? Shocking isn’t? Yeah well we aren’t a school where there are a certain group of jocks and preps and misfits. Yes, we have heard (names will not be mentioned) your guys’ conversations before. Yeah, well, Mark Twain isn’t about different clichés, people who see it as that are, well, let’s just say I feel sorry for you that you see it that way. Because if you took the time to get to know someone before you make an opinion then you would realize the world isn’t filled with social statuses. If you see it that way then, wow, I really do feel bad.

The bells rings and now, I am headed to fifth period.

PERIOD 5

Science the worst subject EVER for me because it is sooooo logical. I don’t want to listen to the explanations for the things that I thought were magic as a child. It’s really disappointing actually. You know what, I could make an argument about that. The unneeded class of science is ruining the imagination of our youth and corrupting the spirit in all of us (you could say that about homework too). It is making us like well-trained robots. Only students in Mr. Eckley’s class will understand that. But, Mr. Eckley, you must understand. Just because I hate (sorry strong word)… highly dislike the subject doesn’t mean I don’t like you as a teacher. You are awesome and your jokes are… well… one of a kind. I think that is how you could put that. But, anyways, we are gonna be sad to see you retire and are glad to have had the chance to have you as a teacher. Ok well, since I just frankly remember what we did, let’s move on and head to sixth period.

PERIOD 6

Period six is well history. Boring subject? Yes. Ever help us in life? No. Awesome teacher? Yes. But just having an awesome teacher doesn’t make the subject any less boring to me. Sorry Mrs. Wolfe, this is my opinion. Though it is awesome when she lets us go outside and read and stuff, that is cool. And I like some of her teacher technics. Glaring at us and taping her foot while she waits for us to be quiet, or her trying to burn Wyatt or Cole. J But, would she ever burn William? No. Not a chance! William I think is her favorite student even though teachers aren’t allowed to tell. But, don’t worry Mrs. Wolfe we don’t hold it against you, we hold it against William for being such and good student. And all the teachers love him anyways. I am pretty positive that when she names her second child she will name him William because she INSISTS that her baby’s name will NOT be William. Many of us don’t believe her. J Ha ha. Ok well since the day is almost over I am losing patience with having to keep up with everything going one, so let’s fast forward. (Yes make the little sound effects while you read this if you want). RING!!! Time for seventh period.

PERIOD 7

YES! Finally! The end of the day… well almost. And since most people don’t want to read this and read about what we do in health which yes, it does involve the word sex. Because it is Sex Ed. Then I will fast forward again to the when the bell rings. (Please, again make the sound if you’d like).

RINNNNNNNGGG!!!!!!

Yes! School’s out!