When the bus climbs up the hill where my school is a sense of dread and uncertainty creeps in on me. Upon arriving everyone rushes off the bus. I on the other hand like to sit and wait for a while. A wide walkway, paved with slabs of stone and running between two concreted sports areas, fenced with metal, mimicking the steel bars of prison, leads to a large flight of stairs. At the top is the square concrete block that is my school. The school sits on the hill with a sense of aloofness overlooking the villas dotted around, the barred windows and detachment make it feeling like I am going to Alcatraz.
Outside the main door students from my year and the year below huddle together like penguins conversing, some greet me and I casually go and join them. However, I come to realize that the squabbling penguins are not very interesting so I find somewhere comfortable and detached to sit and my mind wanders off.
The official day starts with a tutor period. My mood is lifted as I make quite a few people laugh.
The first lesson is French. The teacher is absent so I am free to take part in a conversation with my friend concerning the weekend. The teacher next door keeps telling us to keep quiet. For some reason the rest of my fellow students feel the need to shout and keep getting louder after each complaint.
The second period begins. The teacher ignores my enquiries as to whether we will be using the “metro ” book this lesson then yells at me for not having written the title in my book, even though she hasn’t started the lesson or even written the title on the board. When I point this out to the teacher another student already distracts her. After twenty minutes, the tiredness sets in and hinders my work effort. The headache from that morning begins to throb and my eyes are itchy and bloodshot.
The mountain scenery contrasts against the blockish and uninspiring appearance of the school, as it leaves a light and breezy atmosphere. The sea breeze carries a sense of freshness, which promotes an industrious work ethic. However, during the summer months the stifling heat and humidity brings about a poorer work standard.
Interestingly enough the fact that we pay to come here does little to alter the work ethic at the school. I do not receive an impression of “we pay to be here so lets not waste our money ”, this is perhaps because we are being constantly being told that there is a large waiting list and that the school is already overfilled with pupils. This does make me feel rather insignificant and does not encourage us to work harder.
When break time begins I am hungry. I wonder around the bench area and mini basketball court and play a little basketball, then talk to a few people but other people keep sliding in front of me excluding me from the conversations, not that they are interesting ones any way.
My mood saddens but is rekindled by the drama lesson where I am fully, or at least mostly, taking part in the lesson and playing certain characters and I am enthused into the play.
At lunchtime I enjoy the meal and satisfy my hunger. The dinner ladies are friendly and usually offer me second helpings, which I accept gratefully. However, there is one exception. One of the dinner ladies is rotten to the core and in the past she has refused to serve me pudding. The meals are tasty enough and although the food can sometimes appear unappetizing, squishy little lumps up fish or pasta rolls with brown filling, the food served is sufficient. The diner ladies sometimes serve extra chips or whatever being served with their bare hands, they come up to a table and toss the chips on your plate after coughing into their hands.
“Two more lessons to go,” I tell myself, and thankfully I have maths with Mr. Allman next whose personality makes the lesson seem pleasant enough. I am dreading my last lesson, science, because although I enjoy the subject I am too tired. However, in science I hear that I have been given an A grade for my coursework. I am encouraged by this mark and I become more receptive and learn quite a lot.
The day ends and I wait for my bus by playing a little basketball and talking a bit. When the bus arrives I sit next to a friend but we don’t talk, as there is nothing to talk about.
