Was The Study Group Helpful?

The library is full of people when I walk in. I don’t recognize anyone here except for the Asian male (who is here every week) and the girl with the purple backpack. Usually the library is very quiet, but there is a study group here in the quiet zone. Everyone here that is not involved in the study group has their headphones in because the study group is being quite loud. Today the Asian male is working on his laptop quietly by himself. The girl in the purple backpack is typing away and reading her textbook as usual. The study group is a group of nine girls. The group seems to be studying for a math class because they keep going over statistics problems. As usual, some are more prepared than the others trying to piggy-back off of them. There is one girl who is conducting the study session and knows what she is doing better than any of the others. I’m wondering if she is a TA or she has taken the class before because she also knows the outline of the class very well. The others ask her for the date of assignments and finals and the conductor always knows the answers.

              There is one couple in the room and a few single people spread out in the corners. The couple that is here together are sitting at different tables, like they want space from one another, but are still talking quietly. The conductor of the study session is answering questions for everyone else still. Three more girls come into the room and sit next to them. The girls at the table ask where they have been and they reply that they went to get some food. The conductor decides that she would like to grab something to eat, and she leaves the study group. A girl that is much too skinny to notice anything else about her asks everyone how they are doing as soon as the conductor leaves. The way she took over causes me to think that she must be second in charge. Another girl, very short with spiky hair, says that she is having trouble and cannot figure out the problem she is working on. The skinny girl begins to try to help her with it, while two others are helping each other on another problem.

              Across the room, the Asian male’s phone begins to ring and he answers it at his desk. This is unusual, because when his phone rings he always gets up to answer it elsewhere. I’m guessing that he doesn’t feel the need to leave the room because the study group is being so loud. The girl with the purple backpack is still typing away, and the couple is working silently with their headphones in. There is a guy with an odd shaped head who is pacing behind the desk right in front of me, and I’ve never seen him here before. While he is pacing, the conductor returns with food and sits down to try and help skinny girl explain the problem to the girl with spiky hair. Skinny girl returns to her seat and begins to look at Facebook on her laptop with a girl that has blue hair (not completely blue, just partially). I hadn’t noticed the girl with blue hair before, but now that I’m observing her she seems to be just as comfortable with the class material as the conductor and skinny girl. The guy with the odd shaped head has returned to his seat and is talking out loud to himself as he writes something down on his class worksheet. I know some people claim they work better when they think out loud, so I wonder if he does as well.

              When it is just about time for me to leave, conductor stands up and says she has to go. Everyone in the study group says goodbye to her, but no one thanks her even though she spent time helping almost all of them. She doesn’t seem to mind that they don’t thank her, and she seems very happy as she leaves the library. Skinny girl and blue hair get up and tell everyone they are leaving as well, and I couldn’t help but overhear them saying what a waste of time it was as they left. Spikey hair stands up as soon as they leave, and bids everyone farewell by saying that she hopes they don’t fail as miserably as her. The group has left, and as soon as the last two girls are out of earshot, the library has gone back to its usual quiet atmosphere.