Class Mostly Sucked Except for the Good Part

I can't decide how I feel about class last night. The first half was really bad. I think that's true. That's definitely true. We were all set to look at Nine Stories. Salinger. Super enjoyable, not at all difficult, right? But we only got as far as "A Perfect Day for Bananafish." Disappointing because that happens to be story number one of the nine stories and anyway my teacher's interpretation sucked big sweaty grandpa balls. I'd tell you about it, but it was just so fucking stupid. I mean, not to be reductive or anything, but it was. And I'm sure T.S. Eliot rolled over in his grave when she said you could pretty much get the gist of "The Waste Land" from the title. Pathetic. Let's just drop it.

And I only got a check plus on the fiction and non-fiction assignments she handed back which was kind of irritating. I'm accustomed to check plus pluses. Seriously. I'm not 100% sure what that equates to in actual grades, but that's what I get.

Oh, but then something completely great happened! OK. Second half of class. You wait to see who actually comes back to class after the break, then we divide up into our assigned groups to work on our fiction. I'm in a group with Ponytail Girl, Tattoo Girl, Elevator Boy, and Chris. I've gotten to know them all (even their actual real names, FYI) and they are really lovely people. Just terrific. But last week I was eavesdropping on another group and this boy who sits in the front row and says smart things was reading the most compelling story. So this week I grabbed him for our group. I was prepared to trade for him, but Chris and Tattoo Girl weren't there so it didn't come to that. We had plenty of room. Not that I have any authority. I'm just naturally bossy.

I want to describe him for you, but I can't do it in a way that doesn't sound like I'm making fun of him. Which I wouldn't be because he's a delight. It's just that there are limits to my ability to express myself accurately as I'm only a check plus level writer. But this fella was a real coup. He's working on a fantastically engaging story about a borderline inappropriate romantic entanglement which is bound to end badly. And so am I. And his challenge is it could meander on and on indefinitely without much happening. And that's exactly my problem too. Fantastic. I hope we get to keep him.

That was pretty much it. Good part/bad part. Blah, blah, The end.