A large crowd of people blocks the halls. They are packed in as if the sun burned out and we ran out of blankets.

People are sitting in a large circle talking to each other.

People stress me out.

When I can’t move—I don’t want to be rude and push through—I wait until they decide to not be late for their next class.

Large group circles make me feel like I will be forced to talk to people. I only like talking if I want to talk. Circles make me see everyone, and they can all stare at you. Circles are welcoming to some, but to me, they are little endless cycles of stress and rosy cheeks.

People are needy things. They always need to feel loved, appreciated, talked to, surrounded by others, and so many more things. Everyone decides to want these things in the halls. Especially in the passing period between fourth and fifth hour in the upstairs hall.

They cram into each other to learn what happened in the hour they were away from each other. They want someone to notice their new shirt. They want to be near someone and tell them their secrets.

All I want to do is get to my next class.

Circles, on the other hand, just include everyone in all conversations. They require me to act normal. They require me to not say something stupid. They require me to interact with people, even if I just want to ignore the world.

When I walk through the halls, it’s less walking and more parkour. Which way should I dodge, when should I make a quick break, when do I have to do my somersault. All this American Ninja Warrior training to get from one class to the next.

Circles deserve to be what snowmen are made of. They deserve to be what pies and cakes are shaped like. They don’t deserve to be killing shapes of stress.

Hallways are rectangular cages that lock us in. The metal lockers close in. The people come together like magnets.

Circles open up to us. Hallways close us in. Either way, it stresses me out.

They are all out to get me. I just realized how I am going to die: suffocating in a hallway or being laser-eyed in a circle of humans.