Morning people

So this morning I am sitting in the classroom for Intro to Literature, waiting for class to begin. It's about 9:15 and I just came from English 101. It's a pretty full room. The situation is a little awkward. Everyone is sitting in their place and there is no sound except for some fidgeting and the clickity-clack of tiny cell phone keys as everyone texts someone else. Who would you text at 9:15 in the the morning? I wonder. I try to think of someone I can text, but the only person I ever text is my brother, and he is not a morning person.

Suddenly the silence is broken by one brave soul.

"Is everyone tired, or what?" He asks. Several people nod.
"I mean, nobody's talking or anything. It's kind of freaking me out." Several people giggle.
He is obviously a morning person, I think to myself.

There is a sound at the door, and another student enters.
"Hey, how are you doing?" The morning person asks cheerfully.

"Oh, good. Thanks." The poor student replies, a little bewildered at being greeted with such enthusiasim. He takes his seat.

There is silence again. The morning person makes another effort.
"So where is everyone going to college? I mean after here, of course." Since he was not speaking to anyone specific, nobody answers him.
"No takers, really?" He says.

Someone else comes through the door.
"Hi! How are you?" The morning person says, as if they were old friends. Luckily for him, this student is another morning person. She sits on the opposite side of the room from him, but they chat back and forth about various things. The first morning person mentions Florida.

"I just got married in Florida!" The girl tells him. She describes the weather and says how lovely everything was. The shy girl next to her says something.

"Well congragulations!" The first girl says. I guess the shy girl just got married too. They start chatting about their weddings.

The morning person has started talking to someone else on his side of the room. Suddenly he calls across to the second morning person with a question.
"Hey, is our teacher married or not?"
She doesn't know. He starts talking to the room in general about how some teachers get mad if you call them the wrong thing. Someone tells him to look for a wedding ring on her finger.

The whole room seems a little more awake now. There are only two people still using their cell phones. The rest of us are watching the morning person with amusement as he greets everyone who comes through the door. A few students are chatting with each other.

When the teacher enters, he calls out, "Good morning, Miss H!"
It doesn't matter that she is actually a "Mrs.", Or that her name is hyphenated so technically it begins with a "Z", she smiles at his happy greeting. She is a morning person too.

I like morning people.