A wide, cinematic digital painting capturing the chaotic nostalgia of early-2000s public school life. Foreground left: a crowded hallway with metal lockers, flickering fluorescent lights, and students gathering in a loose circle as a rumored fight brews — tense body language, backpacks on the floor, a sense of anticipation. Midground: a cafeteria scene blended into the hallway, with cramped benches, plastic trays, and kids laughing over junk-food lunches. Foreground right: a gym doorway cracked open to reveal a floor-hockey game in progress, a goalie making a dramatic save. Subtle elements of mischievous rebellion appear throughout — a student fake-reading behind an open textbook, another whispering during with a teacher looking frustrated in the background. Color palette mixes muted institutional grays and blues with nostalgic warm tones. Slight magical undertone: faint ember-like particles drifting near the edges to hint at the world of Arcane Elemental Academy pulling Yote Diamondback away from all this.

7 outrageous things I looked forward to in public school

ByTC Marti

Public school taught me exactly three things: how to watch people fight, how to survive cafeteria food, and how to fake-read textbooks like a pro.

Everything else was a waste of time. Well, I actually found history interesting if the teacher managed to hold my attention, but after I’ve long since discovered it was a one-sided, State-backed narrative, it didn’t make the cut in this little list I’m about to share with you.

So, what exactly did? Below, you’ll find seven reasons that I enjoyed attending public school. But even if I could go back and relive them, I wouldn’t do it. Nah, going back to school, or longing for those days, has never been on the agenda. Anyway, let’s dive in.

1 – Who was getting into a fight and over what

You remember those good-old rumors that spread through word-of-mouth and not texts? Yeah, it was a lot easier to keep shit under the wraps in those days, like knowing when and where a fight would take place. I only needed a good seat in the audience and a few friends to make sure a teacher didn’t break up the party.

2 – Talking about Monday Night Raw before it got soft

There was nothing like going to school on a Monday and counting down the hours before 9:00 p.m., when Monday Night Raw would air on Spike TV. But things got even more exciting on Tuesday, when all my WWE-loving friends talked about the previous night’s events in what was the heart of the Ruthless Aggression Era.

3 – Lunch (even if the food sucked)

I got a break from class and could talk with my friends for a half hour. Honestly, there wasn’t anything much better than that during the school day. Yeah, the food may’ve been so bad that I once spent an entire year opting for Pepsi, Andy Capp’s fries, and candy bars, but nothing spoke of paradise in the northern end of Jefferson County, Ohio, more than cramming myself shoulder-to-shoulder on those uncomfortable cafeteria benches.

4 – Intramurals during lunch

Hey, my team won two intramural championships: one in matball and another in floor hockey in which I posted two shutouts as the goaltender en route to that championship. Honestly, I was so good that the gym teacher made me start blocking shots with my stick only. It was basically our recess starting in the 2003-04 school year.

5 – Reading books that I wasn’t supposed to be reading

Here was the trick: When the teacher tried making us read some boring-ass fluff from the textbook, I put the book I actually wanted to read in front of it. Then, I put the bottom portion of the open textbook on my lap, and leaned the top part of the spine against the rickety desk. The teacher sitting in the front of the room never knew and I never got caught.

6 – Intentionally getting in trouble for talking

Middle school especially was such a drag that I had to spice things up every now and again. So, when I felt like getting in trouble that day, I just started talking until it pissed off the teacher so much, they’d mumble about me under their breath. Me and my cousin were a dynamic tag team and perfected the art. Especially in that library.

7 – Stories on one teacher’s personal experience than their actual class

The Arcane Prophecy by TC MartiMy tenth-grade bio teacher made the subject they were supposed to teach forgettable. I couldn’t tell you what the hell we were supposed to learn, and frankly, I don’t care to remember. As for their personal stories? Oh, I can write another full blog post, in detail, about them.

Long story short? It drove home how mundane going to class really was. When I’m sitting here and typing this nearly two decades after leaving that class, still remembering that teacher’s stories but not a damn thing they were supposed to teach us, there is a serious problem in the public school system, and traditional schooling itself.

For the main character in my YA fantasy, Yote Diamondback, she no longer needs to go through traditional schooling. Why? Because in The Arcane Prophecy, Yote gets an entirely revolutionary educational experience at Arcane Elemental Academy. But how does she end up at Arcane? Check out the first three chapters right now, and you’ll find out.

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