It’s 7:20 a.m. and a junior slowly drags himself up off his desk, spewing AP books and SAT study guides in all directions. The blinds are drawn shut, and he uses the light from his TI-85 Plus as a guide to the bathroom.
Across town, a dazed senior slowly opens her eyes and shifts, knocking empty ice cream containers and the computer screen showing the all too familiar “ Netflix playback has timed out” message onto the floor. It’s now 7:35 a.m.—too early to battle senioritis. The senior goes back to sleep, intending to come in for second period with a quasi-acceptable late note.
Few can fully comprehend the apocalypse that is second semester—it’s speculated to be the eighth wonder of the world.
The poor victim plagued by senioritis seems to be in a competition with her peers as to see who can miss the most school days, or who can burn through the most episodes of “Breaking Bad” in one night, while the junior victim is in a competition for who can successfully cram for the SAT 2’s, AP’s and the next AP Lang paper in one week.
These two phenomena are bound to clash during the next few months as the senior comes to school in bathing suit attire preparing for beach week, while the junior drags his backpack sullenly all the way home from school, tweeting angrily at MCPS.
It’s now lunch time, a vicious marathon for the junior who needs to cram 100 years of European history, an entire unit of momentum in physics and all of Aristotle’s thoughts into his brain in 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, the senior throws back her head and laughs manically while passing the rows of frantic juniors and prancing out the doors into the glorious freedom. Then, realizing she’s not in High School Musical and that it’s 30 degrees outside, she sprints towards her heated car and races away to feast.
Lunch has ended and, with dread, the junior starts to crawl up the three flights of stairs yearning for the end of the day, while the senior decides that there is simply not enough time for class and therefore must stay out for one more (or two) periods to finish her lunch.
Finally, at 2:10 p.m., the three periods straight from Satan are over for the junior. The bell rings, signaling the end of the school day and proving there is indeed life, liberty and happiness for all. Until after-school activities, that is.
The senior’s lunch ends in time for the her to come back for the last ten minutes of eighth period. While the senior frolics to her car (with a little less energy this time due to a very tiring feast), the junior skulks off to track, soccer, football, hockey or maybe all of the above, since he is a true over-achiever.
After a day that will repeat itself until June (or May for that lucky, lucky senior) juniors and seniors alike glare at homework debating what period they can do it in tomorrow, or if it is really worth it at all. With this, we see a sign of unity in the two seemingly different groups of students.
Although these two second semester experiences share few similarities, the jubilant seniors give the frazzled juniors hope for a better time, while the sight of juniors pulling out their hair fills seniors with relief that the era of stress is now over and the beginning of the end has really started.
