When one “points out the obvious”, it means they have said something that is already known to one. For example, one afternoon, an eighth grader told us there was a severe thunderstorm warning in the area.

The rain was completely pouring down in torrents, so all of my friends thought we could stay in and play dodgeball instead of the scheduled running outside on the school track.

This abruptly changed when a shaky voice came onto the intercom and told us that we were entering a duck-and-cover mode. I was completely stunned to find out this wasn’t a drill.

I was having gym period at the time. We were ushered into the locker rooms and everyone sat down on the benches. The coaches paced back and forth, frowns and worry evident on their faces.

“This is NOT a drill,” the coach reminded us for the seventh time as he walked by. “This is the real thing.” He eyed every one of us with the personal I’m-going-to-get-you-if-you-don’t-shut-up look and then went off to threaten the next line of people.

An hour passed very slowly. My friends and I talked about things and our topics got more and more obscure until finally we fell to silence. A minute later, another topic would begin.

The coaches finally just stood in a tight bundle in their office, talking to themselves, occasionally looking out and giving death stares. It seemed like the wait would never end.

Finally, someone decided it would be sanely possible to dismiss us to go to our next period quickly and then have class as normal, but within close reach. We were ushered out and urged to go to our lockers quickly.

On my way onto my next class, I asked my friend what they had been doing. He told me that they had pushed their desks together, and then just crawled around underneath. A few people wouldn’t fit, so they just laid there underneath 3 desks.

I was so furious! How come they got to run around and have fun while we sat on benches, listening to furious and angry teachers yell at us to be quiet?

Kinda makes you wish P.E. had some written work so there would be desks…