Away-Game Weekends, or Who I Saw at Barnes & Noble Friday Night
It happened. I told you it would.
It happened tonight as I sat in a plush overstuffed chair in the cafe reading (alternately) the Barbara Kingsolver book I'm assigning next semester for my freshman class on acting locally and the serial young adult fantasy book that I've been stealing peeks at in every chain bookstore we've been in since this summer. I read a lot of books that way—bits at a time, two books at once. Admittedly, I was indulging more in the book on the 6th grade reading level, but it discusses socially concious actions and treating te environment with respect as well . . . just the environment in a magical kingdom far away. With mind-talking ponies. And dragons.
It happened just like I predicted in a post in the not-so-distant past. There I was, sitting in my chair, and Daine, the main character, had just turned into a squirrel but had turned herself back into a person again with the help of a magical badger and her mind-taking pony when all of a sudden—
"Well, look who it is."
"An English teacher sitting in a bookstore reading a book on a Friday night."
I blinked and tucked my embarrassing paperback under my right thigh, pulling the respectable hardcover onto my lap and opening unconvincingly to some page in the middle. "Oh! Hi, guys!"
Two of my 18-year-old male students grinned down at me in my overstuffed chair.
"Whatcha reading?"
"Just this book for one of my classes next semester."
"Oh yeah? Hey, what are you teaching next semester anyway?"
Crisis averted. We chat for a few minutes about my spring class schedule. I introduce them superficially to Expat, who's sitting in his own comfy chair next to me, engrossed in his book about the evils of Blackwater. Expat grunts. My students wave and venture off to their own Friday night browsing.
I slip my paperback from under my thigh and start to open it when another passage from Kingsolver catches my eye. She makes her own cheese. In her own kitchen. With milk she buys at the grocery store. I didn't think you could make cheese with milk you buy at the grocery store . . .
Expat gets up and wanders away from his chair. I'm reading about the New England Cheesemaking Supply. Expat sits down next to me and heaves a huge sigh and I look up and see the wrong sneakers, the wrong jeans, the wrong color shirt and—
"Rocky!"
Rocky is grinning at me like a little kid who's just managed to get you with salt in your coffee instead of sugar.
"Hey! Stella and I are on a date—like an actual date, without the child—and we came here and look who's here already!"
Rocky is a fellow instructor at Flagship State U. Stella is his tenure track wife who teaches in the composition program with Expat and the reason that they're here. Rocky is from Philly. He runs every day at 5 in the morning, except a few weeks ago because his cruising baby daughter pulled a solid metal lamp onto his foot.
Stella appears and laughs nervously at herself and Rocky and their failed date. "It's been so long since we went out that we don't know what to do when we go out." She wrings her hands and glances around anxiously.
"Expat and I are kind of on a date. But we just come here for fun whenever."
Expat walks up and we all laugh again and I slide my young adult fiction into a side cushion in my overstuffed chair.
I told you it would happen.
It happened tonight as I sat in a plush overstuffed chair in the cafe reading (alternately) the Barbara Kingsolver book I'm assigning next semester for my freshman class on acting locally and the serial young adult fantasy book that I've been stealing peeks at in every chain bookstore we've been in since this summer. I read a lot of books that way—bits at a time, two books at once. Admittedly, I was indulging more in the book on the 6th grade reading level, but it discusses socially concious actions and treating te environment with respect as well . . . just the environment in a magical kingdom far away. With mind-talking ponies. And dragons.
It happened just like I predicted in a post in the not-so-distant past. There I was, sitting in my chair, and Daine, the main character, had just turned into a squirrel but had turned herself back into a person again with the help of a magical badger and her mind-taking pony when all of a sudden—
"Well, look who it is."
"An English teacher sitting in a bookstore reading a book on a Friday night."
I blinked and tucked my embarrassing paperback under my right thigh, pulling the respectable hardcover onto my lap and opening unconvincingly to some page in the middle. "Oh! Hi, guys!"
Two of my 18-year-old male students grinned down at me in my overstuffed chair.
"Whatcha reading?"
"Just this book for one of my classes next semester."
"Oh yeah? Hey, what are you teaching next semester anyway?"
Crisis averted. We chat for a few minutes about my spring class schedule. I introduce them superficially to Expat, who's sitting in his own comfy chair next to me, engrossed in his book about the evils of Blackwater. Expat grunts. My students wave and venture off to their own Friday night browsing.
I slip my paperback from under my thigh and start to open it when another passage from Kingsolver catches my eye. She makes her own cheese. In her own kitchen. With milk she buys at the grocery store. I didn't think you could make cheese with milk you buy at the grocery store . . .
Expat gets up and wanders away from his chair. I'm reading about the New England Cheesemaking Supply. Expat sits down next to me and heaves a huge sigh and I look up and see the wrong sneakers, the wrong jeans, the wrong color shirt and—
"Rocky!"
Rocky is grinning at me like a little kid who's just managed to get you with salt in your coffee instead of sugar.
"Hey! Stella and I are on a date—like an actual date, without the child—and we came here and look who's here already!"
Rocky is a fellow instructor at Flagship State U. Stella is his tenure track wife who teaches in the composition program with Expat and the reason that they're here. Rocky is from Philly. He runs every day at 5 in the morning, except a few weeks ago because his cruising baby daughter pulled a solid metal lamp onto his foot.
Stella appears and laughs nervously at herself and Rocky and their failed date. "It's been so long since we went out that we don't know what to do when we go out." She wrings her hands and glances around anxiously.
"Expat and I are kind of on a date. But we just come here for fun whenever."
Expat walks up and we all laugh again and I slide my young adult fiction into a side cushion in my overstuffed chair.
I told you it would happen.
posted by Sparky at 8:31 PM
1 Comments:
I'm curious how the Kingsolver book plays out in your class. I haven't had time to read it yet.
Meanwhile, here's a long overdue answer to your question from a week ago -- yes, please go ahead and put me on your blogroll. I already took the liberty of adding you to mine.
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