Adventures of a Writing Center

I arrived at the writing center minutes before my shift started, headphones on, unaware of my surroundings. The Decemberists were blasting in my ears, gently tickling my eardrum and someone walked into the room. I glanced up, music still blasting. She talked; I could tell because her mouth was moving. I gave her a halfhearted smile, but she continued moving her mouth. I let out a sigh and pulled my earphones down. She was telling me something of no consequence. She had given me another appointment because she took lunch. Ya. Sure. Ok.

English second language student. Bob*. English second language student. The theme of the day is nutrition and obesity. Everyone always writes about obesity. I would like some creativity to lift my monochromatic spirit. Maybe a paper on why America is not in an obesity epidemic. Maybe a paper on the undeniable proof of the prehistoric existence of unicorns. That would be nice.

There are not many students in here today. “Wendy,” Bob says in a soft voice, “am I getting better at reading?” He asks me this often. ”Yes, Bob, you are getting much better. I like hearing you read.” “Good job Wendy. You do such a good job.” “No Bob, YOUR doing such a good job.” “I know. It makes me feel better to say it.”

It is cloudy. It is Friday. This combination means that most of our appointments won’t show up. Clouds send a biological message to students that says, “It’s going to storm soon. Just stay inside.” It keeps college students from getting lost in a storm.  This is a survival technique. Besides, all of their homework would get wet.

I had a strange combination of macaroni and cheese mixed with honey mustard for lunch.