Column: Small School

By: Martha Smith

We here at NSA are a school of eighty kids.  We all live, eat, sleep and hang out in the same building as one another most of the time.  While that may create a nice, close-knit community, it also creates something else: a lot of really weird and unavoidable awkward situations.  Here at NSA that is the exact problem we have. 

For example, try walking by the Exeter Room: Every time someone walks by the room they look in to see who is there.  And generally it’s not just a quick glance either. They really take a look in there, check the table or the windows, and if they are coming from the right direction, the cubbies.  But if someone is in there they look away, quick, because they inevitability make that incredibly awkward eye contact.

No one knows what to say, so everyone is just staring.

Both parties experience this because the people in the Exeter Room always take a quick look out the doors as well, and make eye contact.  And of course this makes the person in the room feel just as awkward, so they quickly look back down at whatever it is that they are “working” on, and try really hard to look busy.

Sometimes a student gets lucky, and there is no one that they can make eye contact with on a quick stroll by, but if the student is one of those really daring people they actually take a few steps into the room.  That trek into the room almost always ends in the walker feeling like a complete idiot.

Let me explain this for you, they begin walking by the Exeter Room and they slow down as they cross the doors in the hallway.  Quick peak in, and it looks like the room is empty.  Score.  They take a few steps in, glance around, not obviously though, because who knows who could somehow see them in that “empty” room, and walk to the windows.  Take a look outside, see if anything interesting is going on, so maybe they can go join that because the Exeter Room stroll really isn’t all that interesting.  Sure enough there is something going on.  TT and Sarah are outside throwing/catching grapes.  They watch for a little, and make the decision to go outside.  They think they are all in the clear and then they turn around to leave and wham, there is one of the skiers sitting in the corner on the computer.  And of course it isn’t one of the skiers they have actually had a few conversations with, it’s the one they hardly know.  Out of the school of eighty and the one person in the room is one of the few they’ve never said a word to.  Awesome, nice and awkward.

The skier looks up right as they are awkwardly standing in the middle of the room.  It’s time for the phone save.  Pull out the phone from the pocket, dramatically, I might add, so they “know” there is a “real” reason for whipping it out of your pocket like that.  Open it.  Stare at the little screen for a few seconds, make it look like they really are reading a text, and casually walk out.  Perfect cover up. They just managed to avoid any type of conversation, which would of made the entire confrontation a lot more awkward and just in general they saved the situation from becoming ten times more awkward.

All in all theses situations are one of the best and one the worst parts of going to school at National Sports Academy.  A plus because you can always share with your friends your latest awkward moment, and a minus because you are constantly on the lookout to avoid the awkward moments.