School portraits / December 2025
The Hallway Blockade
At Berkeley Carroll, a trip to class turns complicated when a sophomore blocks the hallway with a plastic spoon.
Reaching a high school classroom ought to be one of the simpler transactions of an afternoon: you pick up your books, head down the corridor, and step through the door. At Berkeley Carroll, Mikaela Gerstenhaber found that routine disrupted by cutlery. In her December 2025 account of Spoon Games—where a plastic tap eliminates a player—her path to class was blocked by a sophomore waiting outside the door with a raised spoon.
Facing an impasse, she recruited Mr. G. An adult asked to inspect hallway traffic might ordinarily urge everyone along, but Mr. G assessed the corridor and delivered a frank conclusion: she was “not getting through that blockade.” Even so, she persuaded Mr. G and a friend to attempt an escort anyway.
The escort did not get far. As they approached, reinforcements had gathered, and birdcalls—“CA-CA-CA”—alerted her opponent. In school hallway warfare, communication tends to be remarkably efficient. Mikaela moved a little closer, but realized the sophomore was prepared to walk after her until the tag landed. With that, the diplomatic mission collapsed.
She never made it to class. In her published account, she offered an apology to Ms. Sandoval for failing to arrive—an honorable surrender after an afternoon undone by plastic cutlery.