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| 2/27/24 Cafe Javasti |
When I was in middle school back in the Dark Ages (when it was
still called “junior high”), kids did not really have anywhere to hang out
after school. Unless we were in sports, we all just got on the buses and went
home. (At least, I did – maybe others had places to go that I never knew
about.) Now it’s a common sight to see preteen and teenage kids hanging out after
school at Starbucks and other coffee shops, sipping foamy pink or green, venti-size
beverages with dome-top cups that keep the cloud of whipped cream aloft.
When I first walked into Café Javasti in Maple Leaf, I was a bit disappointed to see that I hardly had any victims to sketch. But even as I was paying for my coffee, a gaggle of young teens suddenly burst through the door, laughing and giggling. As they took a while to get settled with their various beverages and treats, I surreptitiously found a seat facing some of them against the window.
They socialized by looking at their phones at length, then took turns showing each other videos or whatever, usually followed by bursts of laughter or whispers. I also overheard amusing bits of conversation.
I guess they aren’t too different from my friends and me at their age. Well, except for the phones. And the $7 beverages. And hanging out at coffee shops.
Technical note: To work as a comic book-like page spread, I think at least one box should extend across the gutter – otherwise, the individual pages don’t look like they are supposed to go together. Even on a single page, the boxes should vary in size and format so that the group looks cohesive. This spread at Javasti doesn’t work well that way; I did a better job on the pages I made at Macrina. (The second Macrina example, especially, has a better flow.) I also want to find a better way to write text and dialog . . . this page looks a little messy.
I see your point about the spread, and that extending a box across the gutter gives cohesion. I DO like your use of white though. :-) For the record, I'm not sure what my classmates did after school since I wasn't exactly in the "in" group. I often had to wait for my mom who taught at the school and we'd leave together. In h.s. I had a small group of equally outside the "in" group friends, one of which had an understanding father who didn't mind us congregating at their house to gab and listen to music and such. I don't think any of us had enough allowance to hang out where we had to buy food or drink in order to stay. No malls in that small town either. I think you are right that teens are teens no matter the era.
ReplyDeleteI guess the difference is that these teens have a bigger allowance than I got! ;-)
DeleteWell...I haven't thought deeply about Junior High in a long time. My school was on the outskirts of town and if I didn't take the bus, I had a 3 mile walk home, so rarely stayed after school at that age. High School was only a mile away, so no more bus. I was allowed two after-school activities. Band and Horse club. Once a geek, always a geek.
ReplyDeleteI have been inspired by this idea of the comic book story style. I watched some of the YouTube videos you referenced, and I want to try it! To Be Continued...
Anne
3 miiles!!? (In 10 feet of snow, uphill in both directions? ;-) ) I do hope you try the comic approach! It really makes me think more about the narrative possibilities of simple scenes.
DeleteHa!! You think that is a joke, but my son went to the same junior high building that I did and wouldn’t ride the bus. He did take his bike and came home furious one day when he ran into a parked truck during a heavy snowstorm and busted his bike! After we moved to Cali, he biked his last year of school uphill both ways, since the school was uphill from our house and he had to bike up a different hill to meet me where I worked. No snow, but I got an angry call one day when he skidded out during a heavy rainstorm. Today’s “free-range parents” got nothing on me!🤣🤣 Anne
DeleteHoly cow, I thought Porto was the only city that had "uphill both ways"! 🤣
DeleteI agree that the pages work better if one of the sketches extends across to the other side...but sometimes the planning of that doesn't happen. I didn't go to junior high. I was in Catholic school until 8th grade and walked to and from school with my siblings. Things changed by HS because we took either the bus or the train to school. The only time we hung out right after school was the afternoon we had our bowling league. We always went for pizza before bowling and hung out there for a while. Money wasn't plentiful so it limited what we did too.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to hear about the different ways we socialized when we were young! Thanks for sharing, Joan!
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