this was taken from xenith.net a totally rockin' e-zine

The Hallway
by Yael M.
I walked along the dusty, dilapidated hall, grumbling to myself. Once again, there was a couple making out furiously in the hall, blocking everyone from being able to walk through that one narrow part of the hallway. Those two (and every other couple in high school) seemed to be so terrified that they would miss each other so much in between fourth and fifth periods. Ahh, the beautiful wonders of high school make you feel all fuzzy inside.

The next group I must walk by are the so-called “jocks”. Drenched in testosterone, they approach each other slowly, cautiously, prepared to engage in a brawl. Guttural sounds are emitted by each jock, baring reminiscence to documentaries on the Neanderthal Man. They bounce together, hitting each person’s chest against the others’. Another guttural tone is emitted, this one slightly higher than the other. All hands are raised, and then they run backwards into a poor freshman, who is slightly heavier than what would be considered normal among the anorexic girls.

“Move out of the way, FAT ASS!” the chief of the jocks yells. The rest of the jocks laugh. The anorexic girls (also known as the cheerleaders/popular girls) laugh, and are so in awe of the jocks' amazing intelligence and wit that tears fall down their makeup-covered faces. They shriek and run to the bathroom to repair their slightly damaged mascara.

I sigh, and tell the harassed frosh that they’re idiots, but she is already too upset. She runs to the bathroom to cry.

Next come the Hot Topic-ites and the “Alterna gods”. They’re present in every school. You know, the kids that dress the way they perceive as different, while not knowing at all what they’re doing. They give me angsty looks as I walk past them. I remember asking one girl Ayme (she had changed her name from Amy so to sound more “alterna”) why she opposed Bush in the war against Iraq (I wanted to see what her reasons were—I was questioning my own stance). She couldn’t answer me, except for saying “Bush sucks.” These kids are so concerned with what should be alternative and who is alternative (so they can pick their friends), that they don’t actually know how good they have it (nice house, loving parents, boyfriend/girlfriend), and how much someone else would give to have what they have.

It’s not that I’m saying I’m any better…I just feel like there are so many labels (and these are only a few) in high school that people become confused as to what his or her personality is. That’s one thing I despise about high school—the labels. No one can see past them.