Today while I was working on homework in my room with a couple friends, I realized how weird the sounds of the room were. There were four of us, all doing different homework assignments. Each one of us was frustrated because none of us knew how to solve the problems we were working on.

This is the scene that I’m imagining my sound appearing in, and the sound that inspired me to do this scene was of the vent. When many people are all intensely focused on what they’re doing, they aren’t talking or moving around very much. The only sounds in the room were of the vents blowing, the blinds moving from the vents, pencils scratching paper, and the occasional sigh.

The mood of the room is very similar to the sounds. The room and sounds are both subdued: quiet, focused, and slightly sad. Anyone who walks into this room would feel compelled to stay silent, and most people wouldn’t stick around long after wandering in.

Every once in a while, another sound can be heard from outside the room. Someone in another room laughing or cheering or shouting to a friend. The distant sounds only serve to subdue the mood in the study room even more. It frustrates everyone there; they know that everyone else around them are enjoying their afternoon, relaxing in the closing hours of their weekend. But none of them are making progress and are unable to help one another.

Eventually the soundscape changes radically. Books and laptops closing, notebooks and papers being shoved into backpacks, backpacks being zipped up and put on, and finally feet shuffling dejectedly out of the room. With these sounds comes a stop to the others, no more pencils scratching and no more sighing. The afternoon’s work is finally done.