Birds of a Feather

by Helena, Friendswood Junior High student

As we ordered our lunch at the café in the convention center, (on our principal's credit card … he! he!) the lovely sound of singing voices floated in the still air. The advanced choir of Strack Intermediate School was singing nearby. I reminisced about all the experiences NMSA offered, including our own photo session on the balcony, with a background of the Hilton Americas framing the United States and Texas flags. Everyone was talking about what freebies we snagged at the booths, from "Versatiles" to "Wikki Stiks" and everything in between. The day was simply divine.

I stared at my meaty-masterpiece cafe burger with wonder and amazement as my teachers bantered across the round table. Seeing the teachers outside of school was eye-opening. I really want to report on the wonderful things I've learned, but the "real identity" of my teachers was shocking. Mrs. Marshall sang "Shake Ya Tailfeather" with a bright blue peacock feather protruding from her back jeans pocket. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wilkes snapped photos paparazzi-style of Mrs. Smith, who proudly modeled her purple peacock feather in her ponytail, worn only as the great Pocahontas could. I knew my teachers had crossed the line when Mr. Smith, our faithful, stealthy lookout, hissed, "Here comes the fuzz!" and a stern security lady ordered us back across the velvet rope; our second brush with "the law" (We won't mention the first. I don't want d-hall from that lovely, nameless teacher who allegedly jay-walked.). Oops.

All of us went back into room 213 (our special writing room) and opened our white Apple laptops around the large rectangle table. Everyone was still joking and talking, but inspiration soon took hold as keyboard clicking filled the air. My mind was straying away to the other things, like the incessant talking—I mean "brainstorming"—coming from my instructors and classmates. It was when everyone was nearing their 2nd paragraph that an idea emerged in my mind. I was thinking, this has been so fun! Maybe I should write about what we did away from the Exhibit Hall, because everyone's writing about that. My little seed germinated!

So the most interesting part of the convention, for myself at least, was the "behind the scenes" work. My classmates and I agree—spending a Saturday with our teachers was a blast! One can only wonder, do everyone's teachers act like this? If not, it's a shame—everyone should be so lucky. I feel fortunate to have teachers with a little bit of whimsy—and peacock feathers.