Tag: Katherine Napier

By Katherine Napier

You get home from school in a bad mood, so you toss down your bags and let out a heavy sigh that alerts your parents of a rotten emotion filling your mind and chest. Your parents try to talk to you but you just storm by them, going to your room. You faceplant onto your bed and let out an agonizing scream. Your mom walks in and asks why you’re so upset and you just sit up angrily, glaring at her. She puts her hand on your shoulder and reassures you that she’s here to listen. You slowly begin to explain how awful your day was, you got into a fight with your best friend and now you aren’t talking. You got yelled at by a teacher for missing the previous day.

Your mother just sighs and tries to explain that this is just life and that’s how it works. You look at her with disbelief because she just sided with the rest of the world when she should be siding with you. You think of the next best place to go, a place she can’t follow you to— the roof. You wait for her to leave and then you slowly ease yourself off of your bed and up into the “attic”. The steep steps creak under the weight of your body and anger pushing onto them to propel you up further.

The window slides open with a slight rumble and the screen hesitantly releases itself from the latches and allows you to open it. You step out of the window, feeling the roof just right below your right foot and you plant yourself. Next, you grab the side of the window and carefully step out with your left foot (keeping your right hand on the brick side of the house). Your feet are planted firmly and now you slowly walk up the first peak of the roof, turning to see the sunset beginning. A smile manages to peek out from behind your frown. You climb to the highest point of your roof and sit down just below the place where the two slants meet.

The sky is filling with orange that blends in with the pink. The purple is blending in with the blue. The clouds are showing a contrast meant for a professional photographer to capture. You begin to focus on your breath– In. Out. In. Out. Inhaling the stress of the day. Exhaling the relief of watching the sun set behind the trees. The clouds are swirling, seeming to match the soothing of your emotions and evaporating when the anger is released from your chest. You’re tempted to let out a scream as a bird flies by, landing on the roof in front of you. You notice the beauty of seeing such a majestic creature, watching one of the most beautiful sunsets you’ve ever seen.

The sunset is reflecting your emotions, you tell yourself. You’re begging yourself to just slip away, let yourself melt into your surroundings like the orange the pink blend before becoming a hot pink tangerine. Let yourself darken a tad like the purple and the blue turning into a periwinkle. This is what you live for, seeing the sunset after a long stressful day. Inhaling the stress and exhaling the relaxation of knowing you’re at peace with yourself, with the world.

Katherine Napier is a Junior at Barbara Ingram

By Katherine Napier

Sky Zone Hagerstown is officially the newest hotspot in Hagerstown, MD. The indoor trampoline park is a growing place that brings in people from all over the tri-state area. The pricing is reasonable, the staff is energized, and the experience is fantastic.

Here’s the list of prices:

30min: $11
60min: $15
90min: $19
120min: $23

30min add-on: $4
60min add-on: $8
90min add-on: $12

Sky Socks- $1

These prices are amazing for such a popular place that makes hundreds of dollars each weekend. There are plenty of opportunities to jump and have fun with friends and family. Buying tickets online, in advance, is highly recommended due to the excitement surrounding this newly opened attraction.

The rock wall is an especially unique experience — this is actually the first Sky Zone to have one. You jump into a pit full of foam cubes and walk through it to the rock wall. The bright orange wall catches the eye of a new guest. The pieces that help you up vary in colors and sizes, there is even a bright pink hollowed sphere on one half of it.

Next, we have the ultimate fan favorite — dodgeball. The court is made of wall-to-wall trampolines and about 6-9 people can be on each half of the court. There are 5 balls on the court at a time and games go on for about 10 minutes. It is utterly exhausting but totally worth it. Bouncing and playing dodgeball is the best of both worlds.

The Foam Zone is an area with three trampolines in front of foam cubes. This is for everyone to jump into and isn’t quite as popular, but does a good job at entertaining guests. The second three lane activity is Sky Slam. This is a basketball court with three different basketball hoops at different heights for kids and adults alike to test their dunking skills.

Last but not least, there is the main court. This is just freestyle jumping and having fun. All of this is to be done safely and within your own talent range. Along with that, there is an area called the Fuel Zone where you can grab some drinks and snacks when you take breaks from jumping. There is also an arcade upstairs where guests can hang out and lounge and play video games while they wait until they jump.

When you visit this place, you will be so happy and energized. It’s one of the best places in a town that gets something exciting and before dying back down. But this is something that will last for a while. They do birthday parties and field trips. The staff is very energetic and doesn’t hesitate to help you with any questions or concerns that you have.

Have Fun and Fly Safe!

Kat Napier is a Junior at Barbara Ingram 

By Katherine Napier

Tucked in between two townhouses, at 816 South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, MD lies a tiny restaurant that feels just like you’re at home, the women who work there are some of the sweetest people you will meet, and there’s only five of them who run the whole joint. The harbor blue of the house pulls your attention as you drive. You pull over and walk up the door and see a sign, “No checks or cards. Please use cash.” You check your wallet and see some cash, enough for breakfast on a Saturday morning.

You are in the most horrid mood, and as soon as you walk in there, you feel like a kid again with the smell of the bacon grease and fresh toast. You can watch the food be made Antique items hang on the walls above the tables where groups and families gather for an amazing home-cooked meal. Original Cracker Jack boxes, vintage saws and signs, and a multitude of other elderly objects hang above the heads of the people who come in and support this small business. You sit down at the bar in between two older men who are enjoying their pancakes and coffee. The one to your left turns to you and offer to buy your meal simply because they see you aren’t in the best of moods. You accept and once you tell the waitress your order, the man pays for it right before he leaves.

You see another man, in his early 40s, walk in and he sits next to you. They smile at him and immediately give him his coffee — three creamers and six packets of sugar. He nods and thanks them by name. They say, “No problem, dear.” which makes you wonder if he’s a regular. Then they ask if he wants the normal and he chuckles, saying, “You know me too well.” You look up at the menu and see it is one from way before your time, with the white letters unorganized and crooked telling you what each item is and how much it costs. There’s whiteboard next to that that says “Specials!” The two pancakes with bacon and eggs is what the sweet gentleman from earlier paid for, for you.

The space behind the bar where all of the action takes place is very slim, but all of these wonderful women make it work. They seem to have it down pat, moving out of the way before another one even comes close to them. You smile and appreciate how hard these women work to please the community.

Once you finish your meal you give the women a large tip; $35 to split up between the five of them. They are discouraged for a second and you simply say, “You ladies work your butts off to keep everyone in here happy, you deserve it.” They thank you with a free coffee to-go and you head off on your merry way.

Katherine Napier is a Junior at Barbara Ingram School for the Arts