Art Supplies are Dangerous

A few days ago in Open Art Studio we delivered art supplies to different classrooms.

Sounds simple, right?

It turns out it's not as easy as it seems. It's not just giving some supplies to a teacher. There are actually three elements to the delivery:
1.) Balancing, holding, and carrying all the supplies. (Also included in this category is opening doors without dropping anything)
2.) Tracking down the teacher/teacher's room (This is only a problem if you don't know the teacher's room)
3.) Getting into the classroom, getting the teacher to notice you, and figuring out where to put the supplies.

My history teacher had ordered a lot of supplies, so one of my friends went with me and carried some of them. We were doing pretty well with number one for the time being. Number two was not a problem. Number three, on the other hand . . .

We got to the room and I looked in through the window. Just as I feared, my history teacher was not inside, and instead a another teacher who was teaching an elective there was busy talking to the class. I turned to my friend and we both kind of laughed nervously.

To make matters worse, there was someone at the pencil sharpener who had noticed me, and I think some other people might have as well. We didn't have time to figure out what was going on, because too many people would notice that we were standing out there and that could be really awkward.

At this point I started failing at number one.

I leaned on the door to get it open, because my hands were occupied. I kept pushing myself against the door until I realized that it wouldn't open unless I turned the knob. I somehow managed to rearrange the pile of markers in my hand so that I could use a couple of fingers to help turn the doorknob. Again, no luck.

I began to realize that more people in the class were noticing me. I began to get nervous. My hand began all sweaty, and I couldn't even get a grip on the doorknob. I was barely able to keep the art supplies balanced.

I tried some more rearranging, and finally I managed to turn the doorknob a little, but not enough. Even so, I was pretty sure it was now going to work, so I tried again and threw myself at the door.

Now this door has a sort of problem with getting stuck, and I suppose that's what happened to me. Unfortunately, when it gets stuck it also opens really quickly and suddenly. Immediately I found myself stumbling into the room . . . right into the boy sharpening his pencil.

Awkward.

I quickly apologized and turned to the teacher. "We have supplies for Ms. S."

The teacher stared at me for a few seconds, then looked around the room. I have a feeling she's angry at me for interrupting her class. "Put them on her desk," she responded.

I quickly and awkwardly walked/ran to the desk, my friend following close behind. By the time I got to the desk my hands were really slippery, and as I put one stack of markers down on the table the other stack decided to fall over. My friend was already done, and I had to bend down and pick up all these packages of colored pencils and skinny markers and such, and a couple packages had opened and some of the contents had spilled onto the floor. The teacher had not yet resumed her class, and all focus was on me. Quickly I piled the art supplies on the desk and escaped.

-Marianne