The Day the Lights Went Out

At 8:05 on Friday, the electricity in the building went out. There was a loud cheer from the darkness of the gymnasium where all the students sat in line waiting for the opening bell to ring. It was pitch black. A minute later, the school generator kicked in and there were partial lights throughout the building. The paraprofessionals in the gym were sure that the students had taken advantage of the darkness to stuff their mouths full of Valentine candy from their backpacks. The candy stopped when the lights came on:) We, in room 15, took advantage of the opportunity to get our electric candles out and enjoy pretending that we were back in time for one brief hour before the electricity was restored for Eagleton (and for the neighborhood) . . . and a gentle sigh of disappointment filled the air.