Competition Day

 

 

          Delaware-Hayes High School buzzed with electricity as we weave through the props and characters to arrive at Big Walnut's table in the back of the room.  Lydia heaves the paper bag brimming with child-friendly snacks onto the table and turns to her teammate, already chattering about the day ahead.  Off she goes to find her costume and pre-stage for her own presentation, soon to come.

          Soon, the rest of our team arrives, dancing around the ever-growing colors of hair and costumes in the central room.  "Time to go!"  I announce to the pocket of red tee shirts.  "John, are you ready?" I begin to lead the team to what I hope will be an empty spot.  Luck is with us, and the small space under the stairwell has not yet been claimed by another team hoping to find quiet refuge, if not privacy.  We duck and slide in, sitting in a circle to give last minute encouragement and instruction to the team.

          "No fighting."

          "Who will be time keeper?"

          "No arguing."

          "Who will write the script?"

          "Don't pout if you don't get your way."

          "Who will be the builders?"

          "Work together!"

          We play a game to stimulate them--an unnecessary exercise--and it is time to check into instant challenge.  We march up the stairs.  "SShhhh!" we hear the team rebuke each other unsuccessfully as we arrive at the first stop, a table of volunteers asking for team details.

          "Did you do your own work?"

          "No!  They were always telling us what to do!"

          "O.K., were the ideas your own?"

          "I didn't think of anything."

          "I mean, did the team make their own bridge and props?"

          Second graders can be exasperating, and although they don't answer the questions politically correct, the committee finally decides the group passes the test and in we move to the holding room, full with other teams waiting their turn.

          "Everybody grab a chair!"  John directs the team to the neat line of empty desks in the middle of the room.

          "Yep.  Grab a chair!"  I grasp the desk one of the girls has plopped down into and swing her and the desk to the front of the room, then turn to the next, doing the same.  The room goes silent, except for our team's movements to obey.  We form a desk circle while the other students and adult’s mouths gape, staring at us.

          "Other teams will thank us for this later," I explain to the room monitor, who smiles back, breaking the stunned reaction in the room.  We sit and begin our word games.  "I have an umbrella, but it's a hat."  "I have a hat, but it's a step."...

          It is time for my exit.  I dramatically kiss each child, chasing down the boys as they feebly attempt to hide in a corner made by adjoining desks.  Wishing them luck, I slide out of the room.  The rest is up to them.