The X-Men meets Stranger Things in this coming-of-age tale.
I, Nadine Jackson, believe in science and opportunities, not stories out of a comic book.
So as part of a school project, my friends Imogen 'Aria' Zhang, Marco Martinez, James Ryder and I...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Manhattan Arts Academy makes feel as if I am inside a large fish tank surrounded by filtered air, inanimate objects, and a swarm of diverse fishes.
Everything about it is an exquisite scenery: the magnificent space, the abundant corridors, and the cheerful splashes of bright purple allow children to feel at ease.
On each side of the entrance doors are enormous, dark blue ribbons with our school mascot, Mandy the Mountain Lion painted on them.
Apparently, this enormous light-brown cat helped our school gain trophies, good sponsors, and money to replenish sports equipment.
Between the bright blue lockers are these huge white-tiled stairs leading them to a world of possibilities.
On the first floor, the Manhattan Arts Academy has classes involving theater, dance, art, writing, science and other creative courses.
But state-of-the-art gymnasium, cafeteria, and squeaking clean bathrooms took place on the second floor, where the enormous trophy case stood. The third has a magnificent auditorium for stage production and acting, whereas the fourth floor is currently under construction.
Supporting the children, are thin, illuminating gray stair rails, which easily blends in with their colorless uniforms.
Several kids wore shades of deep blue, but I could see a few wearing white collared shirts, a variety of khaki pants or skirts, and shoes that weren't made for walking.
Although several students followed the dress code, I spot a few girls wearing pinchy high heels.
Footprints and scratch marks stained the soft, white tiled floor, as kids searched tirelessly for their classes. While a few carrying scripts and instruments, other students held onto their art equipment and STEM projects as if their lives depend on them.
Smeared onto walls are famous celebrity quotes, brown corkboards filled with after-school meetings and events, and dark purple posters reminding everyone that there will be a school dance today.
Hundreds of kids have already bought their prom tickets, evening attire, and corsages except me and my friends.
In fact, after school, we planned to have our annual 'Fuck the Prom' party at my house.
Whenever my parents go to work, my friends and I would occasionally binge watch 80s movies, drink gallons of soda, cram our mouths with junk food, talk about our dreams, and dance to pop music.
Our parents tried to get us involved in school dances, but we didn't care about making a statement, or hang out with the cool kids.
In fact, we'd rather be anywhere else than sitting on the bleachers, watching couples hold hands and slow dance.
Surveying the hallways, I notice that there have been some changes to the school: garbage cans were replaced with recycling bins, unused water fountains stood in between lockers, and across from me are snack machines.
