Chalkboard Scribbles | Teen Ink

Chalkboard Scribbles MAG

By Anonymous

Scribbles on the chalkboard. That’s all that was really there, some shapes probably, numbers and some math symbols. He knew them all – not like it was a foreign language. It was just kind of pointless. It wasn’t even a chalkboard; it was a whiteboard. But chalkboards were more poetic. It flowed better, anyway. He let that thought swirl around his mind for a bit. Sort of like the mysterious liquid they gave you instead of wine on Thanksgiving when you were a kid.

Well not really, especially since he knew what the liquid was (sparkling cider) and thoughts don’t swirl. At least they didn’t for him. They just hung there, more like old rusty thumbtacks that hold up papers for a few days then pop out of the corkboard. Yeah, sort of like that. He let his thoughts drift. Considering they were rusty thumbtacks that were bound to pop anyway, he sort of let them hang for a bit then sink away somewhere. Oblivion perhaps.

Suddenly a hand touched his shoulder, he was half pulled out of his thoughts, staring at the whiteboard; he realized he hadn’t blinked in far too long. His eyes were watering.

“Zack, I would appreciate it if you’d pay attention,” the owner of the hand hissed. Oh yeah. Math. That’s right. Some variation of some useless formula was what the symbols and scribbles on the whiteboard were. He nodded, slightly, as if he didn’t really mean it. Because he didn’t mean it at all.

His mind was elsewhere, preoccupied with words, not numbers. Although he now seemed enraptured by the strange markings on the board, he didn’t actually care. He mentally laughed at his own thoughts, if he laughed in the physical sense, people would stare at him, probably snicker behind his back at some untold joke. Again, not that he cared, it was just kind of annoying, you know? No, you probably don’t.

He let his mind make the popping of rusty thumbtacks its priority. Did they make a sound? He’d have to figure it out, do some sort of scientific report on it or something. Win a Nobel Prize for it. What a clever little boy. No more snickering behind his back. He laughed, this time physically. Luckily the sound was drowned out by the fourth bell, the one that meant lunch. He snagged his iPod from his messenger bag and trotted, yeah, like a horse, off to the lunch room.



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This article has 128 comments.


on May. 11 2010 at 6:45 pm
horsie_luver SILVER, Tigard, Oregon
5 articles 1 photo 56 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I cannot live without books."-Thomas Jefferson

I second that!! 

on May. 11 2010 at 4:56 pm
evrycloudyday7 PLATINUM, Wappingers Falls, New York
28 articles 0 photos 41 comments

Favorite Quote:
"As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what counts." Seneca
"I'll just read a book instead. I don't care if we're just friends. I can hang out with myself I'm old enough now to pretend. Bam ba dum ba dum ba dum." kate n

this was so simple but so so good! i really liked it.

on May. 11 2010 at 11:49 am
meganleigh122 GOLD, Greeneville, Tennessee
13 articles 0 photos 81 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain."

this was good :) it reminds me of how i think, you kno, always thinking of something besides what you should be thinking of :) anyway keep it up, and could you please check out som of my stuff?? thank you! :)

tv fan said...
on May. 11 2010 at 10:44 am
This is my second favorite story on teen ink. MY favorite though is the Dinner by jman13

on Apr. 26 2010 at 4:16 pm
GreenGirl13 SILVER, Groveland, Florida
6 articles 0 photos 34 comments

Favorite Quote:
It is our choices that made us who we are, far beyond our abilities.

I love that book!

on Apr. 20 2010 at 2:28 pm
Cataclysms-Mayday BRONZE, Summerland, Other
4 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

Very good!!! I can totally relate to this! Daydreaming during math is a favorite past time!

Kimbla said...
on Apr. 19 2010 at 5:14 pm
Kimbla, G, Mississippi
0 articles 0 photos 22 comments
haha funny. good

on Apr. 19 2010 at 2:39 pm
whisperingofdawn GOLD, Colorado City, Arizona
17 articles 12 photos 87 comments
"...trotted, yeah, like a horse, off to the lunch room." I love that! hehe :]

on Apr. 19 2010 at 7:48 am
paulyp11 SILVER, Rock Bend Way, Kentucky
5 articles 0 photos 2 comments
This is really really good and I can definitely identify with this guy.

neimyne BRONZE said...
on Apr. 19 2010 at 12:44 am
neimyne BRONZE, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
3 articles 3 photos 27 comments
What an intriguing way you portray this character. He is altogether amusing and ironic xD I enjoyed reading it.

_NoAir_ BRONZE said...
on Mar. 28 2010 at 10:21 am
_NoAir_ BRONZE, Toronto, Other
4 articles 1 photo 463 comments

Favorite Quote:
There are as many ways to live as there are people in this world. Each one deserves a closer look.


–Golly (Harriet The Spy)

omg! Such a great piece of work! Keep it up and never stop! P.S, Check out some of my work please please please!

on Mar. 7 2010 at 12:02 am
sassymeforever333 SILVER, Fort Myers, Florida
9 articles 2 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. Is not proud or rude. It is not self seeking or easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

awww I love this! definitely reminds me of myself :)

Anita PLATINUM said...
on Mar. 6 2010 at 1:49 pm
Anita PLATINUM, Santa Cruz, California
20 articles 0 photos 36 comments
really great... awesome, really, very awesome!

on Mar. 6 2010 at 8:03 am
exactly :) lovr it-- i totally been there

on Feb. 12 2010 at 9:28 pm
IzzyStarr SILVER, Hollis, New Hampshire
8 articles 0 photos 2 comments
I love the metaphor/simile/imagery with the thought thumb-tacks. Wicked cool :)

on Feb. 12 2010 at 8:35 pm
homewardbound, Billerica, Massachusetts
0 articles 8 photos 78 comments
this sounds EXACTLY like me, right down to the messenger bag (except I'm a girl.) Anyway, I loved this article, It is SO real and relatable. I loved it

on Jan. 22 2010 at 3:44 pm
live~en~livre BRONZE, Maplewood, New Jersey
2 articles 1 photo 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." --Albus Dumbledore.
* I can't seem to follow this quote at all, but I still love it.

I really liked this! I've read about 20 stories on this website so far, to get inspiration for my first piece. This one was one of the best! I really liked the metaphors. :)

on Jan. 21 2010 at 6:54 pm
elarebadaxe SILVER, Portage, Michigan
7 articles 1 photo 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
OCCUPY MORDOR: because one ring shouldn't be allowed to rule them all.

I really like this piece. Reminds me of how I am in math... thinking about writing and music instead of what is infront of me.

on Jan. 21 2010 at 3:52 pm
dragonbiscuits SILVER, Near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7 articles 1 photo 53 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You cannot acheive peace with violence" -several people

I liked this. It reminds me of the novel You Don't Know Me by David Klass.

KatAnne SILVER said...
on Jan. 21 2010 at 10:26 am
KatAnne SILVER, Meadville, Pennsylvania
8 articles 1 photo 165 comments

Favorite Quote:
http://teenink.com/fiction/realistic_fiction/article/128063/Sweet-Sixteen/
http://teenink.com/fiction/romance/article/129766/It-Just-Happened/
http://teenink.com/fiction/romance/article/162872/Forbidden-Love-and-Great-Adventure-Part-One

This was very good. It felt like you were right in his day dream. Very well done.