44 days before. The freshmen girls spend hours searching for the trendiest clothes at Brookfield Square with their BFFs as they drink mostly milk Starbucks and Instagram everything until their parents pick them up at the food court. The guys essentially do the same, but exchange clothes for shoes. The seniors do nothing.

8 days before. The freshmen count and organize their pens, pencils, and protractors making sure everything is set. The seniors take a passing glance at their summer homework.

1 day before. The freshmen set out their first day clothes. Girls with their barely there high-waisted shorts, midriff-baring crop tops, and white Chuck Taylor’s. Guys with their athletic shirts, shorts, and socks, paired with either basketball shoes or Sperry’s. The seniors maybe peruse their closets for an outfit; most likely not.

The (First) Day.
 5a.m– The freshmen rise early to make sure their school supplies are still there. The girls spend particularly long applying makeup and fixing their hair. They wonder if one of the senior boys will wink at them and say, “You know I haven’t seen you around before”. The boys obsess over their flow and call up their squad to make sure they all wear the same exact outfit and agree to call the girls in their class ‘basic”. The seniors are fast asleep.
   7:15a.m– The freshmen have consumed the exorbitant breakfast their mother prepared for them by now and wait anxiously for the school bus to arrive. They iMessage their friends to tell them to meet them in the cafeteria as SOON AS THEY GET TO SCHOOL!!!! MISS YOU!!! XOXO!! HAVEN’T SEEN YOU SINCE YESTERDAY!!! The seniors are still sleeping, or lying in their beds wondering why they stayed at that party until 3am thinking they didn’t have to go in until lunch time.
   7:50a.m– The freshmen post their “back to school!!” Instagram’s and hug their friends goodbye like they’re moving to Australia instead of just going to attend their first block class. The seniors are waiting in the drive-through line of McDonalds. They have time…they swear.
   8:05a.m– The freshmen are seated in front, eager to show their teachers just how smart and mature they are, equipped with Five Star brand everything complemented by six packs of loose leaf and an apple to put on their teachers desk. The seniors arrive on campus and walk into class with the excuse that they couldn’t find the room. They sit down and pull out their only school supplies: a chewed up pencil from last year and the back of their breakfast receipt.
Lunch Time– The freshmen are understandably distraught that their 800 friends aren’t in the same lunch as them, but they race up to the lunch line in mobs to select and purchase from the supposedly wider selection of food nonetheless (though they’ll notice that the cookies just aren’t the same). The seniors slip out the back door, shove a pencil in place to prevent them from being locked out, and head over to Noodles for lunch. Admittedly, they won’t be returning so it’s okay that Mr. Wysocki removed the pencil.
   1:29p.m– The freshmen stagnate in the hallway, clumping like ancient cottage cheese while hovering around their lockers. The seniors wait until the last minute to begin shuffling to class. Tardiness no longer matters to them. They collect their late slips as prizes. Badges of honor. A sign of their age.
   3:09p.m– The freshmen race from their classes to meet their friends by their lockers like they did in middle school. They take the obligatory “We Survived” picture to post on Instagram that will undoubtedly obtain 350 likes within 2 minutes, and head to the front to catch the bus. The seniors, if they didn’t leave by lunch, are dragging their feet out to their cars yearning to take a nap.