The clock finally rings at 2:50, sounding the end of the school day, and you realize that you have a day free from after-school activities, and you are ready to head home after a long day of school. You race through the halls after the horror stories you have heard about the lot after school, maneuvering around slow walkers and freshmen who decide that stopping and standing in the middle of the hallway is a good idea.
Once you have finally made it out of the school and start making your way into the parking lot, you strategically speed-walk to your car. Upon arriving, you are ecstatic because you got there in record time, which would usually lead to a simple escape from lot, and all is going well as you get situated.
Right as you put on your seatbelt and are ready to roll, an angst-inspiring car parks directly in front of you. You wait around a minute (it seems like a century) for it to drive away only to realize that it isn’t going to drive off right away and that it is a parent waiting to pick up their child after school. You wait another couple of minutes, delayed while waiting their car to move and wonder why there isn’t a rule saying that this is unacceptable. Finally, you see the student get into their parent’s car and you are free at last to drive away.
As you begin to pull out of your space, a multitude of students slowly walk in front of your car and many others follow in their steps as you make your way through the driving lane. The stop sign that separates the lot and the driving lane is now in sight and you can feel that the end of the driving nightmare is near.
Suddenly, your heart rate speeds up as you see another parent stop in the middle of an intersection for an unreasonable amount of time to wait to pick up their child. Because of this, you have to wait even longer for all of the kids to cross who are on their way to walk home from school.
Finally, all of the students crossing the road pass and you arrive at the final obstacle, the long stoplight at 176 and Dawes. While waiting, which seems like an eternity, you think about how close you are to the ability to drive freely. You think about the relief you will feel when you finally get home and will have the chance to take a long-awaited break and snack. You see that light finally turning green and you finally get the chance get completely out of the school parking lot.
