- Your lock will not open. You try again. Your lock will not open. You lean your head against the locker and close your eyes and cry for a few seconds. When you open them, the lock has opened. It requires tears. - Nobody's water bottle is ever empty except yours. People stare out from open doors as you walk down the hallway to the water fountain with your shamefully empty water bottle. Do not think about the water bottles. Do not think about the people. They are not there. - The bell rings. You step out into the hallway. It's already packed with people. - Every project takes fifteen minutes more to complete than the teachers predicted. This upsets the teachers. They should not be so surprised. - You are walking to class. Every hallway looks the same. You step into class as the bell rings. The teacher looks up in surprise. The classroom is empty. It's the end of the day. - The band teacher corrects the band students on their mistakes. They play the same tune again. They have the same mistakes. The band teacher must correct them. - The teachers say to the seventh graders, "This isn't sixth grade anymore." The teachers say to the eighth graders, "This isn't seventh grade anymore." The teachers say to the ninth graders, "This isn't eighth grade anymore." Every year is the same. Where is the lie? - The janitor is always there, in every hallway. Do not think about the janitor. He has always been there. - The library is silent when you go in there to practice for a presentation. There are whispers in the edges. There is nobody else there. - Your pencils always go missing. You ask the girl in front of her for a pencil. She opens her pencil case. You see hundreds of pencils. She has all the pencils. - You do the homework. You do the worksheets. The teacher did not assign the homework. The teacher did not hand out the worksheets. - In gym class, there is never enough equipment. The gym teachers tell kids there will be more soon. They say it is expensive. There is never more equipment. It is expensive. - Your backpack is always heavy, even when it's empty. Do not think about what is in your backpack. It's not important.
