Reader's Sketch: Rough Draft

Alex Gamayunov

Young Adult Literature, Spring 2012

Reader’s Sketch: Rough Draft

01/20/2012

Elementary

As the bell rang they all flooded the hallways, coming in from every direction each racing towards the open doors. They came in shoving and pushing, fiercely trying to get to the front of the line. A few of the kids got trampled while others were plastered against the walls; you would have never guessed that this was a group of nice young fifth graders making their way to lunch. Being one of the few that got trampled, he quickly got up and grabbed his backpack along with the books he was holding that had scattered across the floor. Somebody from the line called out his name, smiling, he scampered off towards his best friend, Billy. As he waited in line, he eagerly delved into the pages of his book, subconsciously paying attention to the flow of the line as to not irritate the starved youngsters behind him. When he reached the lunch line he hastily got his lunch and made his way towards an empty seat at the lunch table. He was a swift eater and he choked down his lunch with hurried gesture seeming as though he had somewhere to be, and he did; because as soon as he gurgled down the last drops of his chocolate milk, he dumped his tray in the trash can and briskly walked past the lunch monitors towards the door leading him out into the hallway where he knew he would find Billy already burrowing into some book at their usual place under the squeaky old tables that stood beside the lunchroom door. Once he sat comfortably in-between the crevice of the table legs and the wall, he quickly became lost inside the adventures that awaited him behind the front covers of his book.

Junior

It was the first week of school and he stumbled into his study hall class just as the daily announcements were being blasted out through the speakers around the school. He quickly scanned the many unfamiliar faces that sat at the tables around the room and made his way towards the empty seat in the back. Once he sat down, he leaned his backpack against the table and instinctively took out a book along with his planner and pencil, setting them aside and immediately jumping into the pages of his book. As the minutes went by, students began to stir impatiently while others whispered with their friends and neighbors. His stomach made growling noises as it waited grudgingly for its next meal which would come closer and closer as each minute ticked on by until finally, the speakers made an emphatic dinging noise signaling students to get to their next class. The halls were in a panicked frenzy as students struggled to find their next class. He hurriedly made his way along the current of students that led towards the lunchroom until he came upon a long line of people that were already waiting for their meals. As he waited in line, he observed the massive lunchroom to his left that was bathed with sunlight coming from the huge windows that made up a large part of the wall. As the line inched forward he noticed his friends Riley and Kyle coming from the opposite side of the lunch line who quickly found a table and excitedly began to converse with the people around them. Once he had gone through the lunch line he found a spot near Riley where he sat down, smiling at a few of the familiar faces that surrounded the table. He cluttered his books and backpack across the middle of the table, conscious of the confused stares of those around him who had left their stuff in their lockers. He smiled nervously and started to eat his lunch. Once he was finished he opened up a book and started to read, drowning out all of the commotion around him. At one point he looked up and noticed that everybody around him was having fun and laughing as they exchanged stories of their summer; feeling a bit left out he put down his book and slowly merged into the general flow of conversation among the table. The next day and the ones after followed a similar routine, though this time there were no books.

High School

He strode into the hallway with a confident glint in his eye, nodding at a few close friends who were hanging out by the snack bar. He saw Riley walking towards him and he nudged him with a playful shove as they brushed past each other. Riley whipped around and greeted him with a “Hey!” which he answered back with a sideways grin leaping up the stairs towards the top floor. As he was nearing his locker he noticed his friends Vuthy and Vlad laughing hysterically as they hovered over somebody’s locker. Once he got closer he noticed that Vlad had a pencil in his hand and was barely holding back his laughter as he finished writing, “I LOVE BANANAS” on somebody’s locker. He quickly approached the two of them, wrapped his hands around their necks and yelled, “What are you doing!?” imitating a booming authoritative voice. Though they saw past his pretension and all three of them commenced in buoyant laughter which was cut abruptly by the morning bell and everybody rushed towards their first class. In all the commotion Vuthy hurriedly asked him if he had finished the questions for chapter two, he replied with an irritated, “Ugh! We were actually supposed to read that? Oh well, I’ll just get it from Billy”.