Nerd, Dork, it's all the same

Today I decided to try out a new floor of the library. Yes, I know, my life is boring. The big news is that I ventured out of my usual cubby hole in the basement in an attempt to find a warmer place to strain my eyes and wear away the keys on my laptop. The spot I picked was empty at first: four wide tables, end to end, occupied by just my self. But after a couple of hours the empty chairs around me filled with eight men studying for the bar exam, who clearly claimed this area as their territory long ago. So here I am, one lone first year female student surrounded by eight third year male students. As they skim the pages of their review books, I am reminded of when I was studying for the LSAT.
I took a 16 week Kaplan course to prepare me for the exam. I had a stack of books almost 2 feet high that I would carry to the Kaplan study center to review. The routine became mundane…practice problems, timed section practice, strategy review, practice tests, and then more practice problems, timed section practice, strategy review, and yet another practice test. As the exam date drew closer, the stress within me became more palpable. Finally, it was two days until the exam. I made my way to the Kaplan study center to take one last practice test before relaxing my brain for the next couple of days. As I sat down to start the exam, my nerves were at an all time high. This was it, the last time I would open these study books. I was nervous about my preparedness for the real exam but also excited at the prospect of putting this phase of my life behind me. Toward the end of the practice exam, a large group of high school kids entered the room. They sat down and were waiting for a Kaplan proctor to administer a practice SAT. Most of the kids were quietly talking to each other, but this one kid…oh, this one kid…he was loud, and he was annoying, and he was sitting next to a T.V. Trying to be funny and garner the attention of his classmates, this kid grabbed the T.V. remote and began turning the T.V. on and off, on and off, on and off, on and off. The sound of the T.V. snow – that noise the T.V. makes when there's no reception – was too much for my frazzled nerves. I turned around and looked at this kid; without flinching and in an accusatory tone I asked him, "Are you using this T.V?" The chatter stopped and the T.V. snow filled the room. He sheepishly replied, "No." I reached over and slammed my hand down on the T.V.'s power button and rhetorically asked, "Then why are you playing with it?" Without giving him time to reply I turned back to my exam and didn't say anything else. The room was silent until I finished my practice exam and got up to leave.
Now, as I sit here surrounded by these men quietly studying their bar review books, I wonder if they are annoyed by this lowly first year student, hacking away at her computer keys, flipping through stacks of papers, and interrupting their routine?