As a freshman, one of the highlights of my North Atlanta tour two years ago was the cafeteria. Not only was it big, colorful, and had a television, but there was also a smoothies sign. You know a cafeteria is fancy whenever it had a smoothie sign, regardless of whether or not the smoothies are actually good. But what also had caught my attention was something Sutton (nor any other middle schools that I can think of) did not have: an outdoor patio.

The outdoor patio alone was one of the reasons that I chose North Atlanta as my high school (other than the fact that I had no other choice). But the perplexing issue was when I realized that, five months into freshman year, that no one, not even the royal seniors themselves, were using the patio to eat. In fact, there seemed to be no way out at all.

Actually, the number one reason for the patio being closed is for safety. After all, a 30 foot drop into shallow water is usually considered hazardous for one’s health. “People are stupid,” said junior Grant Paul, imagining a clumsy student falling over the barrier into the water.

Paul said the idea of possibly eating outside has never really appealed to him. “I honestly couldn’t care less either way,” he said.

Before the era of North Atlanta, when the building still belonged to the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), the patio had been open to anyone wanting to get a whiff of fresh city air. Unfortunately, it is much more difficult to look after the hundreds of students that fill each lunch period than corporate businessmen.

“The school probably forgets about it,” said freshman Liz Bock. “I was in eighth grade and the rumor we heard was ‘Yeah, you could eat out on the patio!’ Did we? No. But it’s still fine.”

Despite this nice part of the school being closed off, there are still eleven stories left for all of us to explore.