Quiet in the Library

By Emma Zhang and Emily Flanagan

Published May 3rd

Let us set the scene: It’s a regular afternoon in the library, and per usual, we are trying to get all of our homework done in a 50 minute period. A difficult feat, but one that shouldn’t be too difficult in the quiet focus area that is the library…right?

WRONG.

Just as we’re putting in our earbuds (Taylor Swift queued, obviously) and getting to work, agitating voices slowly creep into our ears, getting louder and louder until even our blasting music cannot block them out, and BOOM: our plan of focusing and finishing that homework has been ruined. 

In just a few minutes, we had to say goodbye to our plan of doing the abundance of  physics homework we wanted to complete because it is just. Not. Happening. 

Now, as we tried our best to ignore the roar of voices in what is supposed to be the quietest part of the school, we hoped that some adult would hear our silent woes and shush the blabbermouths sitting only ten feet away. However, we soon learned that we were completely alone in this situation…and learned more about frosh drama than we ever needed to know.

You may be wondering: Why didn’t you just study in a different part of the school? Well, unless you have experienced the mad dash for a seat in the 750s or scramble to find a seat in the long hallways of Needham High, you cannot truly understand the necessity of being able to study in the library. 

And before you suggest we find a new seat in the library, let us explain to you that on February 16th, at 12:18pm, the NHS library was PACKED. And the drama from that one, long table could be heard and referred to as the “gossip heard ‘round the world.” 

However, instead of loudly gossiping around the library about this incident, we’ve come up with a simple solution: the library is for studying, not socializing. If you want to talk with your friends in the library, go ahead! But if we can hear you through our earbuds, you’re simply too loud. Let’s keep it to a whisper, friends, and then maybe we can ALL of finish our physics homework.