By ARJUN GOURISHETTY, senior

It’s finally that time again. The slot in your schedule that you look forward to almost as much as lunch (actually, now that you think about it, you prefer this longer, peaceful respite to the mad rush to buy and stuff your face with greasy pizza and french fries): study hall! Although you despair on lab days, study hall still stands as a beacon of hope and the lifeline that gets you through the week.

However, as you sit on the unforgivingly hard cafeteria benches (which still have crumbs on them from tenth period lunch), you begin to wonder about the place staff members spend their own “study hall” or prep period – the teacher’s lounge. Thoughts of massage chairs, a fully equipped entertainment system, and consistently reliable internet connection flash across your mind as you gradually fall asleep.

A faint smell rouses you awake. You find yourself seated not on hard benches but in a partially reclined sofa, and the aroma of cardamom and milk enter your nostrils. “Starbucks’ Tazo Chai Tea Latte? This is unreal!” You take a sip and rejoice in the bliss that is the Latte. Right when you look down and see that you are dressed in a suit and tie, a pleasant voice asks, “Monsieur, would you like cucumber roll sushi, grilled chicken kebabs, coconut shrimp or caviar to start off, after a day of grading five page essays, filling out paperwork, and teaching unruly freshmen?”

“Um, I’ll have the cucumber rolls, please. and can you tell me where I am?” you ask.

“Why, you are in the fantastical realm of Teacherus Lounginus, where every hardworking teacher can unwind during his or her prep period.”

“Well then,” you think, relishing the thought of complete leisure for forty-five minutes.

You spend the rest of your prep period catching up on the news and latest sports scores, enjoying the on-demand food service and cordial atmosphere.

Suddenly, a shrill voice brings you out of your fantasy, “Study hall is over; you’ll be late for twelfth period!”

Back in reality, you bolt out of the cafeteria doors to your next class. Once you arrive, your teacher asks you to deliver something to the faculty lounge. You hastily accept, eager to revisit the paradise in your dream.

You approach the teacher’s lounge and knock impatiently, “May I come in?”

A weary teacher opens the door and you are shocked by what you see: Dell desktops with outdated Windows 7 backgrounds, plain. plastic chairs in front of the computers, and a dusty tiled floor.

You are shocked, “Where are the reclinable sofa, Chai Tea Latte, and cucumber rolls?”

The weary teacher asks flatly, “Is the Internet still down?”

“Yep,” another teacher replies, exasperated, “and I still have to input grades into Genesis…”

“Wow, malfunctioning technology, WiFi problems, and endless workloads” you think, “teachers really are like us… but at least they try to get work done in study hall. ”

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