7th Grade Revolution: Imagine If You Will

Liana Gardner — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 13:00:08 +0000

There are some points in 7th Grade Revolution where the story may become a little fantastical … which is as it was intended. Because it makes it a fun read. But nothing stretches the bounds of credibility as much as a single moment I wrote into the story. As I mentioned last week in my post about The Dungeon, the entire 7th Grade trooped down to the basement to have a secret ballot vote and things got a bit noisy. In this moment, they have concluded their vote and are on their way back to the breakout rooms to discuss more of the policies for running the school.

When the kids leave the Dungeon, I feel like Rod Serling should walk out and say, “Imagine if you will, a hallway full of 7th Graders who are silent … You have now entered the Twilight Zone.” There you have it … the moment stretching the bounds of credibility. The scene just prior to the quiet hallway from 7th Grade Revolution

     After they had voted on all the issues, Maddie called for a short break. They’d go back to their groups to discuss the suggestions without a clear majority. Being pushed from behind, Rhonda nearly tripped again as they left the Dungeon. She scurried up the steps and cracked open the door to the hall.
     Prickles ran up her arms. Something wasn’t right.
     Despite the noise her classmates made behind her, the school felt too quiet. She closed the door again.
     Spencer glared at her. “What’s holding you up, Snot Rag? Hafta sneeze?”
Rhonda’s face burned — a combination of suppressed fury and embarrassment because she couldn’t explain. “Um.” She cleared her throat and spoke louder. “There’s something weird out there.” She’d never hear the end of it if she was wrong.

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7th Grade Revolution: The Dungeon

Liana Gardner — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 13:00:38 +0000

As much as I loved weaving in the actual occurrence at the Exploris Middle School, I knew I’d have to leave the regular school scene behind and launch into complete fiction part of the story. Only I wasn’t exactly sure how to make it happen. I knew I needed to segregate the 7th Grade from the rest of the school, but the teachers were present in their role as media. Once again, the @7thGradeRevolt Tweet stream gave me the answer. “Meeting begins in the Red Room: ‘representatives only’ we were told.” If the kids had a secret ballot vote, they would ban the media.

At this point in the story, I knew the school had a basement and it became clear that there was an auditorium in the basement the kids had dubbed the Dungeon because it was underground and had no windows. THIS was the perfect setting for the secret ballot vote.

One thing I had NO DOUBTS about … if you take an entire 7th Grade class and put them in a room with no supervision, there would be LOTS of noise, kids goofing off, groups of kids chatting … The scene from 7th Grade Revolution:

Selena and her clique stood in the corner chatting, as far from the noise as possible, and ignored the rest of the class. Tommy and Michael gripped their signs at the top and used them as swords. They lunged and smacked the shafts against each other. Trent arm-wrestled James, while a crowd stood around rooting them on. Spencer drummed against a chair back while he beatboxed for his groupies. At the front, Maddie, Curtis, and Ellen had their heads together. They huddled, probably to hear one another over the noise.

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7th Grade Revolution: Imagine If You Will

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