School Picture Day

Click. “Next!” “Sit on the stool. Put your knees together and move your legs to the right. Hands on thighs. Back straight. Smile.” Click. “Next!” It felt like an unending slew of children. Click. “Next!” Finally, a break occurred in between the stream of classes. With a moment to sit back, and take a deep breath, she could look around. It seemed like most public elementary school cafeterias were pretty much the same. White tiled floors, small chairs pushed into short tables, pictures of motivational quotes painted on the walls. It’s been over 40 years since she was in third grade, but as the children lined up for their photos, memories of her classmates blended in with the present class. There was the little red haired boy, with the face full of freckles and the missing front tooth. A few girls, giggling and swirling in their flowery dresses, with their hair tightly pulled back in braids. A little boy, in a Superman t-shirt, whose parents, perhaps, had forgotten it was picture day. One or two quiet children that gave you pause to wonder what thoughts they must be having, as they were just a step away from everyone else, head down, chewing on their thumbnails. She could relate to them. Boy or girl, didn’t really matter. Scenes of a repressed childhood started flooding her mind…the name calling, the beatings, sitting alone at lunch and recess. However, if anyone asked at that exact moment what she was thinking about, she had her standard answer of “nothing” ready to flow off her lips. One of these days, someone will ask the right question to get the walls she so sturdily built, to start crumbling. Until then, “Next!”. Click.