Yorktown High School - Grenadier Yearbook (Arlington, VA)

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the hours of coping with lines, characters, directors, and prob- lems are over, and they return once again to the real world. What member of the Con- tinental Congress first referred to the battle at Concord Bridge on April 19,1775, as the shot heard 'round the world ? If the hypotenuse of a 30-60-90 right triangle is six inches long, what is the area of an equilateral triangle whose side is the same length as the shortest aide of the 30-60-90 triangle? A combination history and geometry test? No, they're questions asked at It's Academic practice. The moni- tor tosses out dozens of ques- tions that inevitably only one or two people know. Finally, when someone knows an answer, it seems that the next guy has hit the buzzer a second sooner. Dis- couraged by the feeling that one too many questions has slipped by before an answer pops into mind, that favorite area comes up and every ques- tion's an ace. Finally, after an invigorating comeback in the “grab bag session, the team keeps their hopes tuned to the Super Bowl treks it on home to study. Honor Societies, service clubs, and special interest clubs have one thing in common: Meetings. Each week they have meetings at which just about everything is done except what is on the agenda. People com- plain about recent club activi- ties, others defend them, more people join in, and soon the meetings is its most natural state: chaos. Everyone will have yelled shut up at least twice within the first ten minutes, if not sooner. Someone in charge will try to get order, though it will always be a loud voice from the back of the room that finally quiets everyone. Upcoming events are discussed and then committees are formed, and everyone will be positive that they've got more work to do than anyone else. Then the pres- ident will announce the meet- ing is over; though, of course, no one will be able to hear it. There is something special about that last bell of the day. When 2:00 finally comes around everything seems just a little bit better. It's a time that everyone, teachers as well' as students, looks forward to, whether it's school-related, a part-time job, or maybe just watching a favorite soap opera with a few of the junkiest foods in the house. But no matter what the afternoon plans are, to hear that 2:00 bell is a definite sense of relief. Yes, there is life after school. And some say that's when it be- gins. The football team hard at work, flat on their backs. Katie and Clint wring their hands saying ''well, what do we do nowh' A freshman player folds the teams laundry The freshmen cheerleaders work hard to make the newcoming class more spirited. Life after School 27

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Does life really begin It's ninety-two degrees with ninety-seven percent humidity; everyone is plated with twenty pounds of pads and equip- ment, and the coach has just ordered ten wind sprints even though practice has been going on for the past two hours. Despite heat and fatigue the running begins. An unsym- pathetic coach yells for the football players to move faster and even with aching muscles, the speed increases. All is finished and practice is over. Af- ter nearly three hours of being crushed by two-hundred pound tackles over and over again, dozens of exercises, running, and scrimmages, practice is over. Wallowing in sweat and covered with bruises, the ex- odus for the showers begins, and then ... sleep. Back in the gym, the drudgery for the game is also apparent. The cheerleaders and the Drill Team work and work to perfect their routines. Cheer- leaders toil hours each week screaming and yelling in the gym, and after going through a complete set of cheers with only a few minor mistakes, they do it again. And again. And again, until they get it right. The same is true for the Drill Team. They have only one or two routines each game so they know each one must be as good as it can be. After doing their drill over and over, they do it once more. Each Ee-ah, Ee-ah Members of the Drill Team are blown over by the gusting winds from the horns. Ken Hendrickson stumbles home af- ter a tough day at school. Drill team coordinator, Mrs. Stewart attempts to straighten out the mass con- fusion. after 2? mistake is sure to result in another run-through. Finally, once everything, every step, ev- ery turn, is memorized and etched into their mind, and ev- ery muscle is exhausted from the repetition, they can go home, tired and sore. Under the hot whie and col- ored lights, alone on a barren stage, others are getting ready for a different type of perform- ance. Actors practice daily for The Man Who Came to Din- ner, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, or Murder Among the Magnolias. Long hours are spent reading lines, repeating them, then forgetting them during a critical moment. After being prompted by the stage manager or student director, the actor silently curses himself for being so stupid, while the director curses him aloud. Then, after getting the lines memorized, they seem to come out hollow, flat, and boring. Constant interruptions and dis- tractions cause the actors to lose their character and ruin the authenticity of the scene. Finally, 26

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“Nick —I know I left a freshman girl inhere Anything goes as long as it has somewhere! wheels! “Look Matt I don't care if your hitting “I’ve got it we go through these my car was an accident . woods, across this field and cut around these houses 28 f Auto Pally 8