My town is home to a prep school and a college. Technically the college has an address of the next town over, but the damn thing is in my town. What this means is that every September, the stores, sidewalks, and restaurants are inundated with minions between the ages of fourteen and twenty-something.
This is expected.
What is often forgotten is the invasion of the summer preppies. Many of these summer students have never left home before, and many of them are city kids replanted in suburbia for the very first time. They arrive wide-eyed and surprised at the small-town experience (ie: They have to actually WALK to get from point A to point B, usually a mile or so apart).
Today is the day. Today, 650 preppies arrive. This means I need to stay away from pharmacies, grocery stores, office supply stores, department stores, restaurants, pizza and sub shops, and any place the wave of walking teenagers happens to move. They're like starlings, all swaying and turning in unison, and then they're like mice descending on businesses and gleefully clearing the shelves.I might be safe at the library and at gas stations, but, other than that, I'm avoiding my own town center like the plague. Summer is glorious, and, to be honest, the kiddos are a delight. But, facts are facts. Batten the hatches, people.
THE INVASION HAS BEGUN.
