melanieb

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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I’m in an art class, located in my son’s junior high school.There are students all around, and I seem to be one of them, though I stillfeel like I’m a grown-up. I don’t ask permission to leave the room when I needto go to the bathroom. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I walk across the hall to the closest bathroom. The halllooks like any typical school building; smooth-brick for the walls, lockers onboth sides, and a dull reflection on the tile from a window at the end of thehall. Nothing seems surprising about my location or my presence.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I never view myself inside the bathroom but when I walk outand head back to class I find that I am lost. I thought my classroom was just awalk across the hall but I can’t seem to find it. Nothing seems familiar, andthere are lockers where I thought the class door should be.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I walk a little further along the hall towards my left andfind a corridor that leads to another wing parallel to the one I am in. I walkthrough to this other wing and begin trying doors, hoping I’ll get lucky. Thefirst door I try has kids in it that are too young to be my classmates. Theyappear to be first graders and none seem familiar. They take no notice of me asI step back out and close the door.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I try a second door and again I don’t find my class. Thepeople seem to be the right age but I don’t recognize anyone. It’s clearly thewrong class.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]I find no satisfaction at the third door either. As I openit a nearby teen looks up at me with an expectant look on his face. He appearsto be about 13 years old, thin with dark hair and wearing a collared shirt. Igive him a nervous smile and say, “Hi, older kids. Don’t mind me.” Nearly all the kids in the class are lookingat me as I exit the room, and I feel really uncomfortable.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]The last door I try turns out to be my classroom, and myrelief at finally finding it is almost overwhelming. Just as I enter the classI find the bell ringing and it is time for everyone to go to lunch. Everyonewalks out of the classroom, and the teacher leaves through a different doorthat leads outside. I decide to follow her.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]As I walk outside I recall that the teacher was nice to me,and I want to talk to her. She’s a pretty Asian woman, dressed sharply in a mauvehalf-dress, an unusual yet flattering choice for teaching. Her heels don’t seemto slow her down as she navigates a rock-path that crosses a small stream thatburbles down the slight hill between school buildings.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I walk past her and she smiles at me, making a slow turn tofollow my gaze as I pass behind her. If I didn’t know better I would assume shewas flirting with me. I definitely want to impress her, and have her look favorablyat me, so the first thing I do as I get close to her is reach down and pick upsome of the pink goo that has collected along the edges of the stream. Liftinga handful I put it in my mouth, almost biting into it despite its appearance offoam. It tastes pink, unlike gum or frosting but definitely sweet, and pink isthe best word to describe the taste. I hold it up to an unseen audience andwith a mouthful of goo I pronounce it good, and safe to eat.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]Suddenly doubting my popularity I head back up the gentlehill to the school. There is an outdoor hall in front of me and lots ofstudents are loitering here. This is a good sign to me, and I expect that I won’thave to wait long in line to get my lunch. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]Walking in to the cafeteria I am assaulted by the usualnoise and smells that come with a school eating hall. Despite my earlier visitto the bathroom I need to pee again. I go in search of a bathroom and my questtakes me to the far side of the cafeteria. I feel slightly sick from smellingall the food in the room.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I find a bathroom and open the door, only to find itoccupied by a young boy. I apologize and hastily close the door, noticing asign that indicates the bathroom is for boys. I don’t think it was there beforeI opened the door, or I would have noticed it. I certainly wouldn’t have gonein had I seen the sign.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]The next door over is another bathroom, and this one alsohas a sign on it indicating it is intended for males. I gently push against thedoor and it slowly opens, revealing an empty room with four stalls jammed closetogether on one wall and a trough on the other. There is no toilet and no sinkin the room.[/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I walk into the tiny closet of a room, because I really needto pee. Because there is no toilet I am debating if I could use one of theexisting receptacles, but there is also no toilet paper, and this distressesme. As I complete my turn I notice there is also no lock on the door, and infact a square-foot chunk of the door is missing where a door-lock wouldnormally be. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I become lucid as I open the door, finding myself standingthere with my pants down around my ankles. I know it’s a dream because I wouldnever stand in any unlocked bathroom with my clothes down, let alone thecafeteria I begin walking in to. Emerging from the other bathroom is the kid Isaw earlier, and like me he has his pants down also. I feel sorry for him as helooks very embarrassed, but in contrast I am quite calm. Knowing it’s a dreamallows me not to worry about the people in the cafeteria, most of whom seem notto have noticed me anyway. My only concern is to find some toilet paper.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]And then I wake up.[/FONT][/SIZE]
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