Student
Student: Taylor Baldwin
Dear Dairy,
How can this be happening? How could I go against my family's wishes? I’m in grade 9 and I’ve lived plenty to know better than this. I feel like I did something wrong, because well, I know I did something wrong, but what a magical experience it was. Yesterday afternoon I lied to my parents and told them that I had a computer science club after school, but I just used that as a cover. Instead of going to the computer science club, I snuck over to the other side of town with my friend Tom to see an underground improv club.
When Tom told me about it a few weeks ago I didn't believe him. He of course didn't have any sort of poster or photos to prove its existence and at the time I thought, why would it exist? Our Zone 1 society is solely focused on STEM and keeping everything moving forward, why would we need anything else? I had read about the arts in some books, but I never heard about anyone actually engaging with them in today's world. Tom did his very best to convince me and I agreed. On the 4th week of school we would tell our parents we were joining the computer science club and sneak out to the improv club instead.
In the meantime, I wanted to learn more about the arts, but more specifically improv. I had no idea there were people in Zone 1 interested in anything other than STEM. I started reading different books. I took them out from the school library. None of the books talked about the arts directly, but some mentioned it in different ways. One book I read, a nonfiction book, is from the perspective of a high school student in the times before the virus. They are applying to university to study biochemistry, but during their journey they talk about their high school dance class, drama class, and their piano lessons they take outside of school. The times before the virus were so different from what I’m experiencing, I find it really interesting.
Then yesterday came. During the school day I had a terrible time focusing in class because I was so anxious about breaking the rules. I have never broken rules before. I met Tom after Calculus in the North Hallway by my locker. After grabbing my stuff we snuck out the northeast door of the school, the one that leads to the dumpsters. We knew no one would be there because the buses all come at the south side of the school. Both of our bikes were locked behind the dumpster, we grabbed them and rode off. I’m really glad that this hidden club is still in Zone 1 because we don’t need to have Zone passes, which would have made things so much more complicated. Not only would we not have had passes, we would have no way to get there since we only have our bikes.
It took us about an hour to bike to the hidden club from school, but after experiencing it, the long ride was worth it. When we arrived at the address there was a narrow alleyway next to the building. We chained our bikes up on some pipes at the side of the building and found the dark entrance with the purple door, the one with the orange light overhead, just like Tom said it would be. We needed to put a code into the door, 1763, there was a buzz and the door unlocked. Once Tom and I stepped inside there was so much colour I could not believe my eyes. The walls, the furniture, the people were all bright and bubbly and I was just standing there staring at it all with my mouth wide open.
When we arrived at the improv club, we were welcomed immediately. Everyone was so excited to see young people in Zone 1 interested in the arts. Throughout the night I met so many people. Everyone engaged in improv activities and chatted. I had so many questions and so many curiosities about this world that I am experiencing for the first time. There were even some people from Zones 2 and 3. I had never met people from a different Zone before. One of the people I met, his name is Sawyer, had a pass to go between all 3 Zones, that's crazy! The amount of freedom. He seems to help a lot of people, whether that means breaking the rules or operating within them.
I’m absolutely head over heels in love with this new world I have experienced. I have no idea why the people of Zone 1 would not want the arts in their lives. There is so much passion and light that they bring to the hearts of people, and I cannot wait to go back to the improv club again. I’m going to have to tell my parents that it looks like I'm gonna be in the computer science club for the rest of the school year. I can’t wait to go again next week!
Goodnight diary, I can only imagine the dreams I am going to have.
- Taylor