Written and photographed by Elliot Schena // M-A Chronicle
It's 11:25 a.m. on Sunday and Lisa Otsuka is in her kitchen preparing loaves of bread. Steeping tea sits on the counter next to her. She's been awake for a few hours, but preparation for the day started on Friday evening.
Yesterday, she cleaned up a bit around the house, made cookie dough, and baked some brownies. A pot of pasta in red sauce is placed in the corner next to her knives. Today, roughly 55 of her students are coming to her house for "Austen Day."
After completing Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, students were cordially invited to her home to celebrate over food, ping pong, and the 1995 BBC adaptation of the novel.
The invitation stated that the event would be from "1:00 to 5:00 (or so)," but to help make bread, some planned to come at noon. At 11:50, students began trickling in.
Whether they took the train, drove themselves, or came with a group of friends, people quickly absorb into conversation. Almost every newcomer is offered a drink or some food within minutes.
Soon, students bustle around her house, squeezing past each other to crowd into the kitchen. The five-and-a-half-hour-long movie is started, and people grab plates of pasta. Plates, cups, and cans of La Croix litter nearly every surface.
At around 1:30 p.m., some people filter outside to chat or play ping pong. Others stay inside, cracking open bottles of sparkling cider or cramming onto the couch. Loaves of bread steadily come out of the oven, interspersed with batches of chocolate chip cookies. No one waits for things to cool.
People come and go; when one person leaves, another arrives. Yet everyone seems to agree on their appreciation of Otsuka. Opening up her home "shows that she has a commitment to our welfare — and to good literature," says AP Literature student Miranda Mueller. Her statement is followed by a chorus of affirmations from others.
Around 3:45 p.m., people gather to watch the long-awaited ping pong game between Otsuka and James Beckwith. After a few warm-up rallies, they decide on the terms.
Some congregate in the yard, grouping and separating depending on the time; others remain inside, sipping tea and spilling sparkling cider. Eight loaves of bread disappear.
By 5:00 p.m., the last people thank Otsuka and leave. The kitchen is clean, and only one or two jackets are left behind.