Who is Rainbow?

Me: (sleeping soundly on a bench in the quiet JSB hallway, during a late afternoon break)

Girl: (very loudly into her cell phone, RIGHT next to me) “Hey Rainbow! Yeah girl what’s up?...etc..” ( I PROMISE she said "Rainbow".)

Me: (rudely awakened, opening my eyes to get my bearings, but keeping my hood pulled over my head.)

Girl: (to Rainbow) “Oh, I’m in the JKB.” (It echoes through the silent hall. I don’t bother looking up to see other disturbed sleepers/studiers stare her down.)

Me: (this is in my head, fighting not to let it escape out of my mouth) “No you are NOT! You are in the JSB you rude, ignorant freshman…etc. etc…”

Girl: (continues conversation…until I hear the sounds of ‘goodbyes’. Thank goodness.)

Me: (take a deep breath, check my clock and settle back into dreamland for another 15 minutes)

Girl: (plops down on the bench a foot away from my head and starts zipping and unzipping her backpack very loudly, texting “click, click, click”, and talking to herself “ok, what should I read…”- granted my senses were probably heightened but I could swear it was the loudest zipper I’ve ever heard)

Me: (shifting my position slightly as to give the discourteous, acronym-challenged, unseen stranger a hint that I am here, and SLEEPING!)

Girl: (finally quiets down)

Me: (falling into comfy bliss again- then, THE BELL. Time for class.) “brrrrriiiiiiinnnngggg!!!!!” (right above me, the most annoying sound ever, much worse than the zipper)

Was I ever that rude? I can see how she felt she had every right to be loud- after all, there is no sign that says “Quiet! Exhausted Students Sleeping”. But wouldn’t common sense and common courtesy tell you that in a silent hallway with people obviously sleeping or studying, you should at least turn it down a notch when you are talking on your cell to whoever the heck “Rainbow” is? (if not, she’ll learn after her first sleep-deprived semester of college). And if you are going to wake me up and ruin my precious sleep time with your incessant gabbing, at least know where you are, so I won’t have to mentally correct you in my groggy state. I don't sleep in class. I don't always sleep on campus, in fact, it is occurring less and less over the semesters- But when I do, that means I must really need it. And I don't appreciate uncouth girls blabbing to their colorful friends about nothing.

I'm sorry. Maybe I was too harsh- I admit, I can be grumpy at moments of interrupted siestas. Maybe she simply was not trained in matters of social appropriateness- Like when to yell at the top of your lungs vs. when to use your "inside voice". Perhaps the poor girl was lost, wandering the halls of campus, searching for a loud place in which she could chat away her time…may I recommend the WILK, or the RB, or perhaps the Anechoic chamber in the basement of the ESC? (Maps are available at the Information Desk.) As for now, for my catnaps, until all loud freshmen are trained or contained- I guess I’ll have to continue to take advantage of the general shortage of estrogen in the Clyde building, and thus lack of traffic near the couch located inside the women’s bathroom on the 3^rd floor. (Or, those little cubbies in the library- although falling asleep sitting up has its own challenges).

What I want to know is: Who is Rainbow?

-Rants by Mary