Night Classes…

A Horror Story

If you’ve never taken a night class, let me set the scene for you. Imagine the energy of a Monday morning meeting, but it’s 8:47 p.m., everyone is holding caffeine like it’s a life support system, and someone just realized they forgot their homework that was definitely due at 11:59 p.m. the night before.

Night classes are a special kind of academic experience. They exist in this strange time warp where technically it’s still “today,” but emotionally it feels like tomorrow already started three hours ago. By the time class begins, half the students have already lived an entire day. Some came straight from work, some from practice, some from three other classes, and at least one person definitely woke up from a nap ten minutes ago and is still psychologically in that nap.

The first ten minutes of a night class are always the same. Everyone walks in slowly, like a group of zombies that accidentally enrolled in college. Backpacks hit the floor. Laptops open with the enthusiasm of someone clocking into their second shift. Someone sighs deeply. Someone else whispers, “Wait… what chapter are we on?”

Then there’s the caffeine situation. Day classes run on optimism. Night classes run on coffee, energy drinks, and whatever snack someone found at the bottom of their bag. The person in the front row has a full iced coffee the size of a flower vase. The person in the back is quietly opening a bag of chips like they’re trying not to wake a sleeping bear.

Participation also changes at night. During a morning class, people raise their hands confidently. In a night class, when the professor asks a question, the entire room suddenly becomes fascinated with their laptops. You can practically hear everyone thinking, “If I stay perfectly still, maybe I’ll become invisible.”

But the funniest part of night classes is the collective exhaustion. Around the halfway point, the room hits what can only be described as “the academic slump.” Someone yawns so hard it starts a chain reaction across three rows. One student is staring at the board like they’re trying to decode ancient hieroglyphics. Another is taking notes that slowly transform into doodles.

Yet somehow, despite the sleepiness, night classes have their own weird charm. There’s a sense of camaraderie among students who all know they could technically be home in pajamas right now. Instead, they’re here together, fighting through equations, essays, and PowerPoint slides like tired but determined soldiers.

And when the professor finally says, “Alright, that’s all for tonight,” the entire room wakes up instantly. Backpacks zip, chairs slide back, and within fifteen seconds, the classroom empties faster than a group chat after someone asks for help moving.

Night classes may be exhausting, but if nothing else, they teach one valuable life skill: how to function academically while your brain is already in sleep mode.

By Lily Morris