"Good morning!" Arya chirped at her class as she laid out three boxes of brownies in front of the class. The start of class was usually rather quiet, with only a few people socializing, but today they looked rather confused. Lyle, one of Arya's most participating students walked in.
"Come on guys!" He announced in a booming voice, pulling off his hoodie. "Why's it so dead in here? Last day of class, we've got to make it a memorable one!" That seemed to get their attention, but only served to make Arya a little more sad. She remained composed, but inside, her mind was having a temper tantrum like a two year old 'I. DON'T. WANT. IT. TO. BE. THE. LAST. DAY. OF. CLAAAAAASSS!!!!' it was screaming.
Briefly, they went over the days lesson plan. It was mainly about finals and how to prep and destress for them. Arya knew that her students had the whole preparation thing down and didn't dally on that part too much but she made sure that they knew about the various ways the university could help them destress during finals- from puppies to massages!
As Arya finished explaining the student review forms for the semester and thanked them for being such great students and making her experience so memorable, Arya felt herself getting a little emotional. Looking around, she saw the same mirrored in the faces of a few students. Quietly, she left the room, waiting for the ten minutes to be up so that she could go back in. 30 seconds later, the student who had offered to take charge of the whole operation appeared, saying there weren't nearly enough forms. Confused, Arya popped her head back in, and asked to see one of the forms. Looking at the top, she noticed that she had taken someone else's forms! Trying not to panic, she ran back to the LAS office, and depositing these wrong forms back in the box, searched for her own and ran back. You see, she hadn't realized that each envelope of forms had the intern name on it- she thought they were all the same and so she just had to take any one and go.
The class took almost twenty minutes to fill out their student review forms- something Arya had never experienced before. When they'd finished, she went back in and looked out at her class one last time. Again, she thanked them for being such a great class, and reminded them to take as many brownies as they wished. The bell rang. They were dismissed. Much to Arya's surprise, there was still a crowd of students gathering around her podium to come talk to her and ask her questions! As one by one, they all left, Arya noticed that Lyle was standing at her side, just waiting.
When it came down to just Lyle and Brady, the latter asked if Lyle wanted to go first. "Nah, it's okay. I'm gonna walk with her." he said. So Brady asked his question, thanked her for a great semester and walked out the door.
"So what's up?" Arya asked, dropping her binder into her handbag. Usually, when Lyle wanted to walk with her, he had something to talk about and needed someone to vent to or lean on.
"Nothing, it's the last class, so I thought I'd walk with you." he replied simply. Arya was touched. Slowly, Lyle started talking about his Thanksgiving break, all the assignments and finals he had, and his plans for Christmas. As they crossed the Quad, Arya and Lyle realized that they were headed in opposite directions. To her surprise, Lyle thanked her for a great semester, and for being there when he needed her. He surprised Arya with a hug (she knew from her RA friends that she's not supposed to initiate that), and continued on his way.
"Come on guys!" He announced in a booming voice, pulling off his hoodie. "Why's it so dead in here? Last day of class, we've got to make it a memorable one!" That seemed to get their attention, but only served to make Arya a little more sad. She remained composed, but inside, her mind was having a temper tantrum like a two year old 'I. DON'T. WANT. IT. TO. BE. THE. LAST. DAY. OF. CLAAAAAASSS!!!!' it was screaming.
Briefly, they went over the days lesson plan. It was mainly about finals and how to prep and destress for them. Arya knew that her students had the whole preparation thing down and didn't dally on that part too much but she made sure that they knew about the various ways the university could help them destress during finals- from puppies to massages!
As Arya finished explaining the student review forms for the semester and thanked them for being such great students and making her experience so memorable, Arya felt herself getting a little emotional. Looking around, she saw the same mirrored in the faces of a few students. Quietly, she left the room, waiting for the ten minutes to be up so that she could go back in. 30 seconds later, the student who had offered to take charge of the whole operation appeared, saying there weren't nearly enough forms. Confused, Arya popped her head back in, and asked to see one of the forms. Looking at the top, she noticed that she had taken someone else's forms! Trying not to panic, she ran back to the LAS office, and depositing these wrong forms back in the box, searched for her own and ran back. You see, she hadn't realized that each envelope of forms had the intern name on it- she thought they were all the same and so she just had to take any one and go.
The class took almost twenty minutes to fill out their student review forms- something Arya had never experienced before. When they'd finished, she went back in and looked out at her class one last time. Again, she thanked them for being such a great class, and reminded them to take as many brownies as they wished. The bell rang. They were dismissed. Much to Arya's surprise, there was still a crowd of students gathering around her podium to come talk to her and ask her questions! As one by one, they all left, Arya noticed that Lyle was standing at her side, just waiting.
When it came down to just Lyle and Brady, the latter asked if Lyle wanted to go first. "Nah, it's okay. I'm gonna walk with her." he said. So Brady asked his question, thanked her for a great semester and walked out the door.
"So what's up?" Arya asked, dropping her binder into her handbag. Usually, when Lyle wanted to walk with her, he had something to talk about and needed someone to vent to or lean on.
"Nothing, it's the last class, so I thought I'd walk with you." he replied simply. Arya was touched. Slowly, Lyle started talking about his Thanksgiving break, all the assignments and finals he had, and his plans for Christmas. As they crossed the Quad, Arya and Lyle realized that they were headed in opposite directions. To her surprise, Lyle thanked her for a great semester, and for being there when he needed her. He surprised Arya with a hug (she knew from her RA friends that she's not supposed to initiate that), and continued on his way.
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