*Dun dun dunnnn*

In the spirit of classes starting soon, here is a conundrum I found myself in the first day of classes last semester...

Picture it: second semester of Junior year. You know the campus like a book. You have friends. You have a set "style" of clothing, which your mother finds debatable. It's the first day of spring semester classes, and everyone is wearing their winter clothing since the weather in STL is close to unbearable, but the classroom heat is cranked up to around 85 degrees to compensate--campus-wide.

I enter the classroom of my Least Favorite Class. Spanish. (I love the Spanish language, but something about the Spanish department at SLU makes this language, which I learned quite easily in middle school and even got through an Honors section with flying colors, IMPOSSIBLE for me to comprehend). In fact, I got my first B--ever--the semester before, in Spanish 115. Curses.

Already I'm nervous for the 210 level, which includes 6 new verb tenses and a truckload of vocab. I don't know anyone in my class, which is fine bc I make friends easily. The professor passes out the syllabus and we go over textbook info, etc. Standard stuff. Then, miracle of miracles, she lets us out early! As the class busies themselves packing up and asking questions, I suddenly hear a loud thump. I continue listening to the professor explain to the student ahead of me that he needs to purchase the lab manual (darn!) and then I hear another loud thump. Followed by another and another, and then loud pounding. By this point, I have given up listening to the professor and turn around to see what on earth is happening.

A guy from my classroom is literally body slamming the door. He realizes everyone in the class is staring at him, so he shrugs and says, "We're locked in. The doorknob is broken." Another guy tries the doorknob, and informs us that it's true.

(Side-note: The classroom we are in is at the center of the building. No windows, only 1--windowless--door. Small, made of cedar blocks.) AKA complete and total fire hazard. What. Is. My. Life.

The reality of our situation dawns on me and I start laughing. I would get trapped in my Least Favorite Class ever on the first day of classes with a room full of students. My jovial response is met with numerous death glares...and my professor calls maintenance.

Long story short, after 30 minutes of various civilians outside of the classroom attempting to free us by picking the lock with a credit card, once brilliant guy jimmies us out and we are FREE! For the rest of the year, we never closed the classroom door again.

I think this serves as a lesson: always make sure your Least Favorite Class is in a room with more than 1 escape route. You never know.