There are three bells that ring before the first class starts. When the first bell rings students are out and about. Girls are hugging each other and acting as if they haven’t seen their friends in years when in reality they spoke to them two minutes ago on the phone. Guys, on the other hand, slap each other’s backs as if there are a million mosquitoes surrounding them and they are trying to kill them all. Then, of course, there are the ones who don’t speak to anyone because it’s 7 am and they are practically asleep. As soon as the minute bell rings, all the students who decided to stay and talk with their friends might as well join the track team because now they will be running for their lives. 

Arielle Crichlow, a motivated sophomore, claims that she runs all the way from the lunchroom to building four. Despite the stress that she feels during that moment she decides to make the most out of it by pretending to race the other late students, but since she is a track star, she always makes it to class right at the bell. Unlike Arielle, other students have a harder time thinking positively during their daily class runs. Brandon Aviles, a sophomore, was asked to explain what thought goes through his mind while he is running to class; his response was, “I hope no one sees me jiggle.” He has to run every day from the lunchroom all the way to building three and he feels as though there are a million eyes staring at him. Ultimately, it causes him to regret spending all his time talking with his friends about the new TikTok that he made instead of walking to class. Yet, he knows that he will do the same thing the next day. 

Even though running is a torment for the students, they put on quite a show for teachers and other staff members. Students race to their classes, their heavy backpacks bouncing up and down while they look as if they are being chased. Mr. Bicknell counts down, screaming at the top of his lungs so he can be heard from across the courtyard. He often witnesses kids not paying attention to where they are running which causes them to trip on the benches and run into trees. Mr. Bicknell describes, “As soon as the bell rings it is almost as if a switch gets turned on in kids’ minds that causes them to turn into a swarm of bees on the run.”  As they are running, teachers begin their lessons and get interrupted by the gasping, late students. Completely out of breath, they will try to reason with the teacher and give an elaborate and somewhat crazy excuse as to why they are late. For instance, one of Mrs. Jacobowitz’s students was late because they were busy making pink pancakes. The creativity is astounding!

The consequence for tardies is a Saturday detention if you receive two tardies in one week. One would think that the idea of spending a Saturday morning in school would be enough to keep students on time, but that is not the case. 

Running to class is a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. Kids learn from their parents who learn from their grandparents the sacred art of excuses. Students have mastered this talent to such an extent where they don’t only give excuses to others but to themselves as well. Even though students set up to four alarms before their actual waking time, they will still tell themselves that they deserve those five extra minutes of sleep. Unless Palm Beach County changes the start time of school, this tradition will continue for decades to come.