“Did anyone see a particular moment for Orpheus?” Theater Arts teacher Ms. Fortune said to her quiet Theater I class.
A few hands shot into the air as Fortune paced the white tiled floors at the front of the room. Students in all grades paid attention to their spunky teacher. Her curly, bright red hair was pinned back with a clip, a pencil stuck in between. She wore mismatched clothes covered in stripes and polka dots to celebrate homecoming.
The students sat calmly in their chairs, their minds seem to think carefully about what to say. Fortune stays silent in the front of the room, allowing them time to form an answer. Finally, with persistently raised hands, a student finally gets chosen to add on to her question.
“Well, she was still happy but he was hurt because she doesn’t remember,” A student with long, brown hair said.
Fortune smiles at her and gives praise for a well thought out example, then proceeds to discuss the play.
The fan nestled back in the corner of her office blew softly, rustling the piles of paperwork stuffed on top of the desk. Pictures of her family and New York trips covered one section while mugs filled with pens and pencils were in another. Wizard of Oz-themed merchandise stacked on shelves and posters with quotes lined the walls. The chilly atmosphere had many students wrapped tightly in jackets and some had their hands balled up in pockets.
“Let’s head off to the PAC,” Fortune said to the class and led the way to the stage to play games.
Students clump together in a chaotic formation, some laughter and inside jokes seeping out into the barren hallway, echoing against the shiny tile. Students take their phones out of their pockets and slightly glanced at them before putting them away once again.
“Alright, let’s keep the rhythm,” Fortune said.
They form a circle on the painted black stage and begin a rhythmic rotation of clapping over someone’s head and then ducking right after. In the beginning, the class struggled, clapping on the beat and ducking on time was harder than they thought. After a few rounds of practice and some cheers of encouragement, they all began to understand it. Circling over and over again, the beating of their hands together and ducking was patterned nicely.
The stage lights dimly illuminated the room, shining down on everyone. Everything was still in the PAC except for the energized students now running around in an attempt to win a game of lightsaber battle. Squeals consumed the auditorium and footsteps pounded into the wooden planks in an effort to try and poke their partner. After people were slowly cut from the game, it came down to the last battle to see who’d be crowned champion.
Two tall boys hooked onto the hands of each other and began the final game. They fought in confused circles, vigorously trying to jab the other in the gut with their pointer finger. The students chanted, exclaiming the name of whoever they wanted to win. Soon enough, the tallest of the two dug his finger into the other boy’s side. They released their sweaty, tired palms and was surrounded by a sea of students waiting to congratulate them. The students hugged one and another and slapped some backs in celebration, and smiles stretched far on everyone’s faces.
“Alright guys, let’s head back to the classroom,” Fortune said as she led the proud group back to the other room.
