The Rainbow Room.

It is an early February morning; the sun is beginning to rise. You trudge up the sidewalk, your feet are dragging. It is cold and an icy wind slaps your cheeks into blooming roses. Your feet echo hollowly as you take the few wooden steps to the door. Your hand grasps the metal handle. Slowly you pull the door open. Immediately your senses are assailed by a warm gust of air. You take a few steps into the room.  You can smell coffee and that distinct dusty scent of old books that seems to permeate schools and libraries. As you prepare a cup of coffee to kick off your day you look around at the walls. Projects plaster the walls; Haiku's with drawings, portraits done in pencil, charcoal drawings, autumn oil pastels, acrylic paintings of far off landscapes, posters of distant lands and finally, above the teacher’s desk, a row of drawings incorporating the names of each student.

There are desks arranged in rows and clusters, one long table sits next to the kitchen area, its brown expanse clear of any clutter- but only for the moment. You can see four computers lined up beneath the windows, soldiers ready to complete any task demanded of them by their commanders. Two long rectangular teacher's desks are placed under the names on the wall. Everything is symmetrical here; two desks lined up side by side, two chairs, two identical white baskets, two women sit and mark with their dreaded red pens.
There is laughter here, a relaxed and comfortable environment. In this class smiles are not scarce, and discussions range from the turmoil in distant lands, to the upcoming graduation and the subsequent dresses and tuxedos. It's different, but that's the charm of it. A rainbow of thoughts, ideas, and people. This is our classroom, this is Alternate.

written by Jessica Hebbel.