I hate that feeling when you severely need to pee but you’re stuck in class in the middle of a project. You sit there staring at your water bottle, covered in condensation, wishing for nothing but the bell to ring so you can run the bathroom. The pressure continues to build as you sit there until you begin shaking your leg. You look up trying to gain the courage to ask your teacher if you can be excused, but then you remember your suppose to be concentrating on the very important piece of paper sitting on your desk.

Then you make the mistake of telling the friend sitting next to you that you’re about to explode if the bell doesn’t ring, and they begin to make whooshing water noises at you. Now you’re trying to block them out as well as fight the urge to just run out the door down the hall and not look back. Then you begin to get thirsty again as you stare out your half empty water bottle. You know that you are already about to explode but the bottle is tempting you, calling upon your dry mouth and throat. You fight it, telling yourself that you are going to regret it if you pick up the bottle.

Eventually you give in and as the water soothes your throat, you immediately regret it. The pressure in your bladder increases and just when you think you can’t stand it anymore, the bell rings. You jump up, grab your stuff and run down the hall to the awaiting relief.

The problem is that during the time that you spent concentrating on not having an accident, you have barely gotten any work done at all. If you would have just asked to go to the restroom when you first realized that you had to go, by the time you got back you would be ready and focused on the assignment. It’s better to take a little break and actually be able to concentrate, as opposed to not doing any work in fear that the teacher won’t let you leave.