Finals and Other Endings

The lounge scene is hushed and warm, resonating the feel of semester finals to every person who enters. A tight, studious air is produced and shared by all, giving me a false sense of urgency, as if I should be contributing to the production of such an atmosphere. All individuals within the scene seem to be studying or reading over something with an urgency not consistently found in the lounge. I sit in a chair away from the right exit double doors. The scene in general is full of young students, save, one older man that sits closest to the door. To the desk to the front and left of me sits an Asian man and woman, both have their shared desks baring two almost identical laptops, and various scattered papers and journals. Of which the two will hold up and seem to be talking to one another about in a dialect that sounds similar to Japanese. The woman has a beautiful red scarf, and the man, a blue shirt. The Asian man in the blue shirt soon stands and begins to exit the library when he is beeped by the sensor leading to it. The woman smiles playfully at the attention the man is getting from the inside of the scene. The man later returns back to his seat by the woman, both look at their independent laptop screens, and fade into quiet. In the back of library sits two young women, both in plush chairs aside one another. Two red roller desks combine on front of them to form a very large table. One of the women wears her hair in a tie and writes diligently in a journal in front of her (let’s call her pony Tail.) Aside she is a woman with her hair down (let’s call her down,) she also writes, but then looks over and begins to talk to her friend. Pony Tail talks, devoting her full attention to down, chews on the end of her pen, and sways it around for emphasis, in correlation with the tone of the conversation. I note that Down sways her pen the same. At that moment a young man with slicked back hair enters through the lounge. Meanwhile, at the table of the Asian pair, I note that they begin to be packing up, the Asian woman exits first, followed slowly by the Asian man. Pony Tail and down seem to have be coming off of their high horse, not looking on planning on continuing their studies, they now talk and scroll through their independent cell phones. Pony tail soon pulls up both her feet into her chair as she talks (obviously this position would be impossible to write in.) down leans back slightly into her chair as she takes her turn talking and listening. Pony tail seems to be the most extroverted of the women, as she has been very open and large in her movements, speaks the loudest, and talks the majority of the time. Aside Pony Tail at the desk in front of, sits an attractive man in a long sleeve shirt, a large white laptop is propped in front of him, and various pieces of paper lay scattered around the device. A chair juts out from one side of the desk, holding a vest coat and larger sleeved coat. I assume someone may be sitting here, until the man grabs off one of the jackets and wears it. In the time I have watched him, the man has stared at his screen with unwavering intensity, then jotted down a few notes on a paper in front of him. (Let’s call this man Erin.) At that moment, a young man exits the library, and an old man enters. Following, an older woman in white smiles, and mouths hello to me as she exits, she seems to be looking genuinely enthusiastic to see me, though I have never met her.  In respond to the sudden affection, I smile shyly and look behind me, only to remember that there is nothing but a concrete wall back there. In a seat to the right of Erin sits a girl with messy short black hair, (let’s call her Annie,) Annie reads through a stack of various newspapers, once tearing through the large stack awkwardly, now calmly balancing a manageably folded pile atop her knee. An older man with white hair, a beard, and glasses sits hunched forward, then moves back deep in his seat, attempting to read a newspaper. Changing the paper this way and that, moving his body, adjusting his leg position so often it seems unnatural. Pony Tail and Down are still on break. Still scrolling through their phones, talking about relationships. Erin, now grabs a stack of papers, looks at the screen of his laptop, then the papers, he fingers his way through the stack, until coming across one that he keeps and compares to something on screen. A young man enters, and two young men in identical hoodies exit. Back at Annie’s side of the room, it seems that she has fallen asleep. I assume this because her head his down, and her limbs relaxed back in the chair. I watch her for about a minute, and then she shakes her head, wakes, then puts it down again. The old man with the paper now exits the lounge scene followed by a young couple. Back at the girl’s table, pony tail has taken her leisurely gesturing to the extreme. The girl now lays back on the seat area of her chair, an additional chair has been pulled out to support her legs under the desks, and her phone is held in front of her face. The two are quiet. Down has an elbow propping her hand to her temple as she scrolls through her phone. Pony Tail and Down pack up moments after I witness this and exit the library. Annie and Erin are now the only two in the library.

With moments left in my observation I note that Annie has awaken, and is now quietly reading a stack of papers aloud, meanwhile Erin has put down his pack of papers, and is now reading his screen and jotting down notes as seems fit. And so ends my last day of observations.