By Celina Chen ’28, Humor Writer

Half-dead zombies stumble through the halls of Newark Academy, feet dragging along the tiles, shoulders stooped over from the weight of their backpacks. From a distance, the students looked like a battered horde of zombies, but with one crucial difference: they were craving more time off, not human brains.

School had been in session for a mere 24 hours since spring break ended, and already, students were desperately awaiting their next reprieve. Alas, Newark Academy still faced months full of new material and assessments until then.

But what had the Newark Academy student body been up to over their two joyous weeks of spring break?

“Sleeping,” said Myra Shrivastava ’28, “Spring break changed my sleep schedule to 1 AM – 11AM. Now, it feels impossible to even wake up at 6 in the morning.” Shrivastava was not alone in this statement — all throughout the school, snores floated from beneath classroom doors as heads nodded off, faces not-so-discreetly covered by a tattered copy of 1984. Spring break had been terrific, but by now it was a distant memory, like a tan just starting to fade. No more relaxation, no more sleep, no more waking up in the afternoon. Now, students were facing mountain loads of assignments and were already leaving studying until the last possible minute.

But there was hope still on the horizon — summer was coming, a much-needed reprieve from the endless monotony of everyday school. 

“The only thing keeping me from completely giving up in class is the vacation I can look forward to. Hawaii’s sunny beaches are what I remind myself of every time I have to work on my dreaded lab report,” sighed one student, clearly struggling in science. “I miss swimming among the fish and coral. In fact, I may just make a visit to the school pool later — it’s not the Pacific, but it’s better than science!” 

For weeks, it had seemed everyone was looking towards this elusive goal, a vacation that promised warmth, fun, and best of all: freedom. Now, with spring break behind them, the Newark Academy community must return to trudge through the school hallways like zombies, stooped over from the weight of all their assignments. The much-anticipated break served as a brief oasis of rest and relaxation, but now it was time to continue trudging through the desert of repetitive schoolwork. 

At least, that’s what the students try to tell themselves every morning when the alarm blares at 6 AM.