Slice Of Life: A Daily Story

Day 11

Monday, July 2nd
based on standing in line at TNCC with my daughter.

The Line

The line was rather long, the one of the three that we stood in that is. We were in the second line, the one in the middle of the hall, admissions. The first line was counseling. The third was financial assistance. There were like ten folks in our line ahead of us, five behind. Counseling had none when we arrived but now there about five. Financial assistance, well that line was like way the longest line ever. So glad we didn’t havta stand in that line. Our ‘rents were very well off. Unfortunately that meant we qualified for no financial assistance. Fortunately it kept us outta that ridiculously long and time consuming line. Yay for being economically healthy, boo for not being eligible for any state or government assistance of any kind. We aren’t an ethnic minority, we don’t fall below the middle class economic line, and we are residents of the state and country citizens. Ah well.

A girl approaches the line, leans in to like speak with another girl that is standing in our line like four people ahead of us. “I know her”, my sister whispers to me. “Really, from where” I ask her, not really whispering ‘cuz I really don’t care who overhears us. “We were in middle school together.” I look carefully at the girl. Well, she is like vaguely familiar but doesn’t stand out in my recollection. She should though since my sister and I are twins and attended the same schools together since like pre-kindergarten classes at Miss Bonnie’s St. Mary’s Star of the Sea School three year old class. But nope, this girl triggers no memory in my brain. “She went to CN High,” she continues whispering. Curtis Normell High School, not exactly our rival school academically but pretty much our competitor in the Arts departments. “How’d ja know that?” I still don’t whisper and slightly elevate my volume hoping the girl like overhears us. “She looks like a CN.” I look intensely at my own face looking back humorously at me and laugh out loud. The folks ahead of us in line turn and give us a scowl. We stifle our laughter to a chuckle. “Are you ready for this,” I ask my sister. She nods her head with a big bright smile. “Of course you are”, I reply. “You thrive in any environment!” She looks at me and the corners of her lips turn up slightly. “That’s only ‘cuz I am a whole two and half minutes older than you.”  I smile back. “Yah, like that’s it.”

After twenty minutes of line standing a lady approaches the person who is now first in line. We’ve moved up to third in line. We hear her asking the young lady what she needs to have done but we don’t hear the girl’s reply. The lady tells her that she is in the correct line and moves onto the man in line directly in front of us. He’s older, by quite a bit; at least his gray hair implies that he’s quite a bit older. She asks why he’s in line. He responds but really I don’t listen to what he says…something about re-enrolling in the school, at least that’s what I think he says. Then she approaches the two of us and looks directly at my sister and asks “Why are you here?” “Registering,” my sister responds. “Have you already applied for admission?” “Yes we have…” “But we’re not sure what to do next” I interrupt. “Have you taken the placement tests?” She is still looking at my sister. My sister and I look at each other. “Uh, no,” I say. “Well, you should go up the hall to room 122 to take the placement tests and then go to room 132 for the orientation class which you must take before going to counseling.” We look at each other again. The woman looks at the line which we are now like second in. “But,” she continues, still looking at my sister, “since you are so close to the front of this line just stay here.”  “Oh, ok,” we say in unison. The girl behind us snickers. “Seriously,” I say to my sister. “Am I invisible?” The line all around us chuckles softly.

The man before us in line is called into the room. We stand at the open doorway. I try not to peer in, trying to respect the privacy of the two already in the room but I’m curious and can’t help myself. I lean in. There are actually four ‘cubbies’, two are dark and empty. There are two open windows that are occupied. I can hear the man speaking to the woman behind the admissions window number two fumbling with the answer to the woman’s question. The question seemed simple enough. “When did you graduate?” But he seriously seemed unable to answer the question. She remained patient and offered, “Last spring?” “Yes,” he replied. “Do you still have your student I.D.?” “No,” he said. “Do you have any I.D. on you?” He pulls something out of his wallet. She begins to say something to him but I can’t hear the conversation any longer because my shirt is being forcefully pulled upon by my sister. “Stop that.” She looks at me a tad bit annoyed. “What,” I say. “I was just curious.” “Curiosity kills the cat,” she recites. “But,” I mimic the sing song style, “satisfaction brought him back.” She laughs at me. The girl behind us in line chuckles again. After another minute or two the man walks out the door and we hear “Next in line.” 

“Wow, thirty-three minutes. Is that like some kind of line record or what?” The girl behind us as well as the two men and the mother/daughter duo behind them all laugh out loud. I smile broadly and follow my sister into the room.