Layla Sheikh

Senior Anika Chandra (12), posing in her new car affectionately named “Whole Lotta Blues” or “Blues” for short.

Rain pouring down on Anika Chandra’s new Hyundai, she was making her way to EBHS with a determination to be on time. The day before was her birthday, and was also her feared driver’s test at the Edison DMV. After mastering the arts of k-turns and parallel parking she left the DMV, temporary driver’s license in hand. Yesterday, she thought that driving to school would be a breeze but today, the weather had other plans for her.

Anika left her house early that morning hoping to secure a prime parking spot in the range but as she drove through the roads of her neighborhood, not far from the high school, she noticed the traffic start to build up. Gray skies and bright red brake lights defined the rest of her drive to school.

“I left early and it still took 30 minutes longer than it was supposed to,” Anika expressed, “I was completely surprised and freaked out, I’ve never seen traffic this bad and it was my first day driving to school.”

After making it through the treacherous traffic, Anika pulled into the range, ready to park perfectly between the white painted lines. But with a little too much confidence she pulled in, right in the middle of two spots, the same painted white line going right through the middle of her car.

“It was already 8:10 so I had to park all the way at the back of the range,” she says, “I was terrified I’d be even more late to my first period class after having to walk all the way back up to the school.” She made the decision to not move the car, but that decision cemented her fate.

@ebhs_bad_parking_2023 is a satirical Instagram account run by an anonymous EBHS student. This account is not affiliated with EBHS in any way other than the fact that it is enjoyed by students poking fun at the seniors’ (and some unlucky teachers’) bad parking.

Anika’s two spot parking landed her with a prime spot on the Instagram page. The baffling placement of her car ended with two separate pictures of her parking getting sent in and posted to the account.

“It was inevitable,” Anika says, “I knew that when I put the car into park.”