A bunch of parents take a gamble

We didn't have a plan, but all of a sudden late in the afternoon, just as it was time to pick the kids up, we decided to go to the Lottery as a group.

It was interesting to see people who were nonchalant about putting in an application, along with people who knew very little about the school, mixed with people who had all the details. We all ended up reacting the same: nervous with anticipation (some with sweaty palms and a lot of leg crossing); tyring to keep track of the names of any children we might know; catching potential duplicates in names as they were announced; kind of subdued if our child's name wasn't called; and actual excitement and lots of smiling if our child's name was called.

After the Lottery, many of the parents who had their child's name drawn stayed for questions. Just the basic stuff like: "What are the school colors?" "Will you be double checking the names on that list before sealing the envelope?" "Will there be uniforms?" "How do you know that all of these people are actually siblings?"

It was surprising to see how many people brought their children along. It was difficult to see the look of actual anguish on some of the faces as the Lottery wound down. As alternate number 30 was called, I heard one concerned Mom say sadly, "I was really hoping to get my boys out of that school".

Before the Lottery started, I was talking to one of the parents who was there with her child. She told me her husband took off work to come down, but he was running late. She went on to tell me that they weren't even sure if they wanted their child to go to the school. She said she couldn't get anybody on the phone to answer any of her questions when she called; and they never returned her calls. She said that extra-curriculars were important to her children and she couldn't even get an answer on that. When they called her daughter's name (and a sibling) - she was ecstatic.