She leaned wearily against the table in front of the college class, one arm on the podium where her lecture outline dozed, the attendance sheet a thin blanket over her notes. The room settled, notebooks snapped open, and pens rested easily in young hands, skateboards flipped and stashed under desk chairs, backpacks collapsed on the floor.
Eight a.m. classes were the worst; she’d never been a morning person.
Her stumbling drone was interrupted by a young woman’s concerned comment, “Professor Husebye, can I get you a cup of coffee?”
“No, thanks, sorry, just having a hard time expressing myself this morning, didn’t sleep last night.” She dragged up a laugh and stood up from the table, and started the familiar foxtrot of pacing the room, scrawling on the chalkboard, and asking question after question.
© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2022)
The challenge? Write a story in 6 sentences, no more & no less, and if you’d like, share your creation or just visit and comment on others’ ideas, with GirlieOnTheEdge, Denise. The prompt is “EXPRESS”, and here’s where you join the party: Six Sentence Stories
Valley of the Trolls 
I loved early classes as long as I had my coffee.
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☕🍩
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I Loved a.m. classes but those afternoon ones did me in.
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😆 To each of us, our own!
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I didn’t like being a student at 8am. I recall nodding off at my desk on more than one occasion! Nice one Liz.
Here’s my 6!
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Thanks, Keith. Me too, as a student in Statistics classes. Uffda!
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An ungodly time to either teach or learn… 😴
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Glad it’s ancient history for me.😂
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Retirement has so many benefits!
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Amen !
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Beautifully described. I can see it all happening. And I sympathise. The great thing about retirement is no forced early mornings!
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Thank you. Yes, it always seemed wrong to have to rise before the sun does.
Retirement lets my body manage that. Woot!
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I enjoyed your excellent descriptions. (I was not a morning person when I was a teacher.)
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Waking up is hard to do. 😉
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your use of metaphor and personification would make any creative writing teacher leap with joy. Love the dozing. Good six
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Thanks, UP!
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“…dragged up a laugh.”
While I enjoy reading the stories that gather here on Thursday mornings, I am always on the lookout for phrases and arrangements of words that make me stop (in the middle of a Six) and say, “Nice!”
Fun Six.
For the record, I prefer the early part of the day
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So glad you early-morning folks are there to provide balance! 😆
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I tried very hard not to sign up for any 8:00 am classes, Liz. Can’t imagine being in your shoes having to teach one, lol.
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They were more awake then I was. It sweetens the teaching to have them lead…
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Not much worth doing gets done before coffee.
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It’s a struggle, for sure.
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Obviously needed an expresso. 🙂
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It woulda helped!
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Nice description of the teacher walking back and forth to the blackboard: “familiar foxtrot”
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That was me! Only way to make it…
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