Our Classroom

A sharp ring sound pierces my ear, the bell has rung, indicating the start of the day. I took a deep breath before stepping into the awaiting classroom. I entered the room, and in an instant, the sunlight shone brightly, warmly greeting me at the start of the school day. However, I do know that it will be the brightest thing I will encounter today.

Tables and chairs were scattered, resembling the lands on a map, and trash was scattered, such as boats or ships in the sea. The wall is painted with a beautiful sapphire blue colour, but huge patches of it have visibly started to peel off. The entire ocean of a classroom was a mess, as if a tsunami had just rummaged through it, messing up its interior. However, no actual tsunami had visited; we are the tsunami responsible for the mess in the class.

I threw my bag onto the table, the one that's closest to the class door. Its legs were uneven, and small patches of rust could be found all around it. Drawings and writing were permanently drawn onto visible scratches, making the table look like it survived a war. The chair was not very different from the table, also uneven, with drawings permanently drawn onto it. What's worse is that this chair creates a loud and unpleasant shrieking sound when it is moved, making everyone cringe upon hearing its voice. Despite that, I sat on the chair and took out my books as I waited for the teacher to come.

A few minutes have passed, and the teacher gracefully entered the classroom with a smile on her face while holding on to her laptop and textbook. Only some would care to notice, and even fewer would greet her. Our class has been known to be quite problematic in a way; skipping and cheating are only some of the many problematic things we have done, which might explain the messed-up condition our class currently has. We didn't care, the teacher looked like she was okay, but I know that in reality, she had given up on trying to discipline us. Even at the time, some were busy knocking out the locker's door just for their own entertainment, leaving the locker as if a hundred angry bulls had just run over it.

“Let the studious one learn, while the rest do what they want,” is definitely a phrase I know all teachers live up to when teaching this class. Even so, their strong will to teach won’t stop them despite the actions of my class. The teacher reached out for the remote, in an attempt to turn on the projector and teach us the material. Empty, nothing was displayed on the projector. The white and dusty projector never seems to have a day go by without it malfunctioning. Oftentimes, teachers would call maintenance or had given up on it and choose to write the materials on the board. Today was the day the teacher wrote the materials up, making our already dull whiteboard even less deserving to be called a “whiteboard”.

A lot of things about the class need repairing, and we are all aware of that. From the cleanliness of the class to our own individual attitudes. However, why should we bother doing so when the school can’t even do the bare minimum, such as fixing the leak from above? On a rainy day, water starts leaking, and you can slowly feel the presence of petrichor, making the already cold class even colder. 

Everything about my class is disappointing, from the facilities to the students. However, all of these imperfections make our time here memorable. While I do not agree with how some things have been done here, I am a part of this messed-up class, and this is our beautiful, messy classroom.