Vinnie, the bus crew chaperons and I herd the rest of our freshmen hoard to the Egyptian gallery. A para-professional nicknamed “G” stands at the sole exit. We give the group twenty-five minutes to explore the gallery on their own. They disperse down two corridors.

a fast walk past Egyptian reliefs student-free

I stride down the ancient Egyptian antiquities corridor, stride for stride with Vinnie. He tells me of his travels down south, and how he and his wife accidently walked into a gourmet restaurant well out of their price range. We reach the temple of Dendur as the first wave of freshmen arrive. They line up to glimpse the inside of the open-face pyramid. Then they sit on perimeter benches and snap photos of each other. While we wait, we receive the news we’ve been waiting for: Johan found our missing freshmen.

 Central Park through the great window another selfie

We all reunite where we entered the museum shortly after one. Each freshmen recovers a backpack or coat left behind. The train crew departs first. We make it intact to the 86th street five station and board a train back to the Bronx. Once on board, we dismiss the students.  Individuals, pairs and small groups of the crew depart at stations closest to their home, or the next connection to home. Against all odds, we brought all of our freshmen from school to the Met and back.

uptown ride the last six freshmen return to the campus