Remembering the Normal King Street Experience
The juniors and seniors have had their time at the King Street campus cut short, and the sophomores and freshmen have yet to experience the many rites of passage that would occur during a “normal” school year. Here is a list of the best T.C. experiences underclassmen can look forward to, and upperclassmen can reminisce about.
From Theogony 2018-2019
THOSE stairs in the cafeteria. The main staircase you have to climb if your class isn’t on the first floor. These are especially tough after lunch. “They make you rethink what you had for lunch. Those stairs are steep, and adding a backpack to the equation makes it feel like a whole workout,” said senior Star Well.
Fire drills. The class of 2021 has some experience with these, as the fire alarm was pulled “at least twenty times” during their freshman year at Minnie Howard, according to senior Fye Err. At the King Street campus, “Getting out of the building takes forever since you have to go down crowded stairwells. Then you have to go out, in the freezing cold or burning heat, and sit on the Chinquapin field or football field. At least you get to see some of your friends, and it interrupts class time,” said senior Frend Leigh. With social distancing becoming the new normal, who knows how fire drills will work now. Would a fire even wait for people to get socially distanced while exiting the building?
The crowded Chinquapin circle when school gets out. It doesn’t matter if you sprint faster than the Lyles brothers to your car once you hear the bell, good luck getting out of the circle in less than five minutes.
Getting packed like sardines at sports games. Especially football ones. “The atmosphere is amazing, even if it means traveling to a school 30 minutes away to experience Friday night lights and to pay seven dollars for a pretzel,” said senior Abby Tree, “however, Friday night lights are coming to T.C., so underclassmen, get ready for a good time.”
Trying to find your bus after school. Coming out of a long school day is met with the stress of finding your bus. The whiteboard with the bus numbers listed out might help, and if you’re lucky, your bus will be parked right out front. However, “Most times you have to frantically look around for your bus. The worst is when you see it drive right past you.” said junior Conn Fused.
The Bradlee Center after school. “The McDonalds in that shopping center gets so busy, it feels like the T.C. cafeteria part two in there. I just want a Filet-O-Fish but I have to make it through a huge crowd of people first,” said junior Fille O’Fysh.
Taking a test when you hear random noises from the hallway or another class playing Kahoot or watching a movie. “At least turn the volume down so I don’t have to hear Remember the Titans being played for the tenth time of the year,” said senior Grum Pey.
Couples in the hallway… Enough said.
Trying to find your classes at the beginning of the school year. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a sophomore or a senior – this building can feel like one big maze at the beginning of the year,” said junior Callie Lost.
Sweaty school dances. “It’s definitely an experience. The loud music and being packed together brings out a lot of humanity,” said senior Kristina Partie.
For the athletes, the smelly locker rooms. “Nothing is worse than walking into the locker room after a long day and having it smell like body odor and bodily fluids. Gross. And then they expect me to run sprints!” said junior Athe Leate.
We will see how the pandemic affects what a “normal” school year will look like on the King Street campus, but for now, students are left recalling the crowded, sweaty, and confusing everyday experiences that make life at T.C. so memorable.
