BY ELLIE KAPCAR
Some choose to go to the infamous Make Out Hallway, others pick the guidance counselor’s office. High school wouldn’t be high school without stress. And sometimes this frustration moves you to tears. But the same age-old questions remain: if you’re going to cry in school, what do you do? Where do you go? How do you avoid public humiliation?
Guidance counselor Mrs. Tackett says, “Because MHS is such a wonderful place, students don’t generally come to us in tears. On occasion a tearful student will approach me with a cracked phone screen or a missing Chipotle order that his or her mom has dropped off.”
If the counselor’s office isn’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of other teachers willing to hear your misery. Junior Joe Veeneman finds Mr. Wainscott to be his most trusted confidant.
“He knows a lot about my problems and supports me through it all. If Wainscott’s unavailable, though, try crying in the officiating room— at least there’s a vending machine,” says Veeneman.
Vending machines may look like solace, but they often promise false hope. “I cry when the Diet Coke doesn’t come out of the vending machine,” says Senior Aislyn Hartman.
It only takes one word to send freshman Charlie Geers into a weepy mess: Biology. His favorite crying spot is the janitor’s closet, but he shares he wouldn’t be caught dead crying in the guys’ locker room or in front of Mr. Block.
Junior Michael Reber admits the only reason he would ever cry in school is if he dropped his tater tots. This scenario could be especially tragic if you’re in the Commons. No one wants to relive that humiliating scene in High School Musical when Gabriella spills her lunch all over Sharpay: time stops, everyone stares. Reber says he’d immediately find Mrs. Thomas, hopefully before bursting into tears.
But if you’re hoping to ever catch Mrs. Thomas turning on the waterworks, you’d better check Kusel. “I would run outside away from all other humans and cry on the field or track,” she says. “My worst nightmare is crying in front of a class. Or in front of Dr. Renner,” Thomas adds.
When Mr. Ferry realizes it’s only second bell or that every other school has a snow day except for us, he’s forced to release his emotions. “I close my door, shut the blinds, turn on mood music, and just let go,” he says.
Mr. Hanley weeps at the thought of chaperoning another school dance— don’t bring it up; it’s a sensitive subject.
Most students agree that crying in class is one of the worst possible scenarios. “I’d rather sneak up to my car to cry in peace,” says sophomore Cameron Hollander.
Junior Courtney Dunning relives bad memories from last year. “There could be no worse place to cry than in Mrs. Neumann’s class during the middle of a test,” she says.
There’s also the dispute of whether or not the bathroom is a good place to cry. “The library bathroom is perfect because nobody ever goes in there,” says sophomore Chloe Reavill. But sophomore Sydney Nicholson disagrees. “Don’t cry in the bathroom under any circumstances,” she says.
Only toughies like senior Aaron Urevick can offer this advice: “The answer is simple. Don’t cry in school period. But I guess if you have to, behind the cheerleading mats in the aux gym is your best bet,” he says.
