As you enter through the door on the right you get an immediate change of atmosphere, being greeted happily by Linda Catlett asking how she could help. The dull silence of the carpeted room is the best picture you could possibly imagine of a plain boring office. Almost forgetting it’s in a school, a staff member in plaid paces the room taking a candy from the bowl on top of the receptionist’s desk and leaves.

Catlett asks the office lab to make a short run. The lab returns quickly, continuing flipping through a magazine. Quite frequently the door by the mailroom opens and closes, teachers coming and going. A woman comes in to make copies, walking down the long narrow, grey hallways where all of the principals are located she makes a sharp turn to the copier.

Pictures of friends, family and drawings from children graffiti the cubicle walls. They glare from the sun flooding in from the large glass windows. The only sounds in the office are the occasional buzz and hum of a printer, the muffled sounds coming from the lab’s ear buds, Catlett’s walkie talkie coming on and going off, and the dim chattering from the bookkeepers radio station left on as she enjoys lunch elsewhere.

At the end of the receptionist’s desk a mountain of lost items create a summit of keys, jackets, coffee mugs and water bottles. The dust on some of them look as if they’ve always been there. At the front of the office more windows line the wall where you can see students and staff walk past. As they hurry by you can hear the muffled bass of their voices. Some talking, some laughing, some having a serious discussion.

Science teacher Jan Alderson opens the door and Catlett smiles and once again asking how she could help her. Alderson asks where she can find the lost and found coats. Catlett happily answers her question and a “thank you” and “have a nice day” is exchanged. Another teacher comes in with her nose buried in a stack of papers. She stops and flips

through and continues to walk and read. The nurse in her bright pink pants holds a petite grin as she passes staff along the narrow hallway saying hello.

Social studies teacher Brett McFall opens the door and gets candy from the receptionist’s desk and continues on with his day.

A staff member laughs as he enters the main office  only seeing the lab and no one else, continuing to laugh he asks if Nicole the office lab is managing the whole office. She answers back sarcastically “I run the whole show.” He grabs a candy and walks out most likely heading back to his classroom.

A stampede of students hurries down the hallway as lunch lets out. Through the glass panes looking into the lobby the clutter and chaos out there and the quiet of the office creates two different worlds. When someone opens the door breaking the sound barrier a burst of noise roars in filling the office.

It looks like a school of fish in an aquarium swimming in one constant direction. The never ending river of students seems to go on for 10 minutes. Towards the end of the line the talking gets dimmer and dimmer.

A parent discusses about her child going to college with Catlett. She tells her about how she wants to take her to college visits. She goes on to say that her child wants to be a forensic nurse. Which is a nurse who goes into crime scenes to investigate and tries to tell how the person died she explains.  “A nurse for the dead” the parent chuckles. She leaves and Associate principles Niko Platko and Mike Rasmussen share a conversation. Laughing, they go into their separate destinations and once again the office is restored back into the dull silent carpeted room where the only noise is the humming of a printer.