The Master Key

Most that read my previous post are probably wondering what kind of self centered guy decides to write about himself in his free time.  I don't care. I consider this a sort of journal containing my memoirs. And so, I begin.
At Saint Thomas, there was one key that opened every door in the school, a key that only a select amount of faculty owned. It was called the "A" key, because of the A printed on the back of it, signifying it was the master key. Every student dreamed of obtaining this key, especially when senior prank time came around. Now one of my friends was what Saint Thomas called a "legacy student." Both his parents and his uncle went to Saint Thomas years ago. His uncle had always told him about a secret room that he used to up to during break. Scott told me about this but I honestly just thought his uncle was bullshitting him, making his uncle believe he was some sort of legend years ago. Scott believed him, though, and was determined to find this room. He was on the robotics team, which was led by the vice principal, Jason Strniste (a true legend at that school). Scott was pretty close with Strn, and asked him for some floor plans of the school. Amazingly, he agreed. Scott studied the floor plans and found the secret room. His uncle remembered that it was around the auditorium somewhere. Scott found the room on the plans. There was a problem, we had to go through three locked doors before we got to the door. Scott wanted the A key, and once asked Strn for the key to unlock the robotics lab. He made the mistake of giving Scott the key. Scott took a mold of it and later poured gallium into the mold and made himself a copy of the key. We went through the auditorium and found the room. Scott, however, told too many people, and Strn eventually found out. He made Scott give him back the key and he had to do 30 hours of community service. We then began to look for another way to get a key. I was once in the Dean of Students office for an undisclosed reason, and there was an "A" key, lying on the conference table. I swear it was a gift from god, if you believe in that. The table was completely clean and empty, except for that single key, with a Saint Thomas keychain on it. The Dean of Student's back was turned, and I grabbed it. It was so ridiculously easy. Soon, people heard about it, and suddenly people were calling in "favors." I only used it for the secret room, and after a week or two, we had set up an all out chill room. Scott had brought in two chairs, and we set up an alarm that rings when the bell rings, so we could go up during lunches and breaks without being late to class. That secret room is where I spent most of my lunches. When we graduated, we carried everything out, and I gave Strn the original key that I had taken (I made many copies). He looked at me and started laughing, and just told me not to tell him where or how I had gotten the key. That was a touching moment, one of the highlights of my high school career.

Introduction to Saint Thomas

My name is Jack O'Reilly. When I found out that I had to write a blog, I had no idea what to do, so I decided to embrace my narcissistic side and write about myself. Most people, when they knew me in high school, had (or have) any idea of some of the adventures that I had in high school.

A lot of people that I've met here at Purdue have told me that they hated their high school and that they don't really have any particularly good memories from their high school days. I, personally, loved high school. Don't get me wrong, nothing compares to the short time I've had here, and the parties I've gone to, but while Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover New Hampshire looked like a preppy Catholic high school, its students had a night life. This blog is going to be about my part in that night life.

Most parents sent their children to this school for its reputations as being higher class and offering a better education (it didn't). By the end of the first quarter, most freshmen would realize that not everything is as it seems. There were always little snippets of information passed between students at break or at lunch regarding the next party to come, who it was hosted by, who's bringing what drinks. These were big events and, as far as we know, the faculty never had any idea the scope of involvement with STA students. There was a sort of camaraderie going around before homecoming weekend, when everyone knew what was going to happen. That silent bond was something different that people from other high schools couldn't understand. The blog will also explore that, and tell plenty of stories about some of these experiences. Enjoy.