First Day Back to High School

Arlene Bice's Blog
Subject: First Day Back to High School
6 September 2005

On my cool, early morning daily walk today, I noticed small groups of high school kids gathered on various bus stop corners throughout Bordentown City. Must be the first day back to school, I thought. It's been a long time since I went to high school. I walked the two miles every school day, stopping at the houses of friends along the way so they could join me. We were excited, anticipating the new kids we would meet, guessing what teachers we would have and what activities we could join. We talked about clothes, movies, music and of course our favorite topic, boys. The first day back to school was always full of adventure.

The kids I saw showed no such emotion. They stood apart from each other, some across the street, heads down. No one was looking at anyone else, including me, walking by. No one spoke. Silence permeated the air. As I approached the fourth bus stop with three boys glumly waiting on the corner, one withdrawn behind earphones, and five girls across the street, two who actually appeared to be speaking to each other, I boldly spoke up.

"Well, I see everyone is happy to be going back to school."

One girl, standing alone, chuckled to herself. The rest ignored me completely. Sad. Enjoy.