A hush fell over the room as the boy at the front began to speak, his voice slow and measured. The rhythm of his words engaged the boy fiddling with his guitar, the one crouching on the carpet and the girl pouring herself a cup of coffee. When the speaker was finished, there was a heartbeat of silence and then a smattering of applause.

This was the first meeting of the Coffeehouse, a new club run by juniors Peter Fletcher, Vivian Eggleston and Matija Jankovic. It is designed to be a place for anyone at the high school to share their art, from paintings to music to computer programs, and find an audience and a community.

“We’re creating a coffeehouse,” Fletcher said, “an outlet for people who have creative interests that they pursue outside of school.”

The club meets every X-block in room 301. There will be free coffee every week. According to Fletcher, he wants to emulate the atmosphere of a coffee shop, mellow yet lively.

“A place that anyone can come and instantly be excited about the world,” Fletcher said.

At the first meeting, people sat comfortably scattered around the room, chatting in groups until the club’s leaders began speaking, welcoming everyone to the Coffeehouse. After the poetry reading and a discussion of the poem, Fletcher, Eggleston and Jankovic answered questions, and then each person introduced themselves and said what kind of art they did, if any. The conversation went on until the end of the block.

Junior Brian Xu came to the first club meeting and said he intends to continue with the club as a place to discuss art and ideas.

Eggleston said she wants the club to be a “safe space” where artists feel at ease showing other people their work. According to Jankovic, he wants a casual atmosphere where anyone can engage in as much or as little as they would like. He said he wants everyone to be comfortable with themselves, their art and each other.

All three founders are artists. Jankovic and Fletcher are musicians and Eggleston is a visual artist.

“It’s easy for me to make this club sound like a music-oriented club, but this club is for every and any form of art,” Fletcher said.

According to Jankovic, there are many creative people at the high school, but he feels there are not enough outlets for them to share their art.

“School doesn’t always bring out what people are really interested in,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher said his goal is to use the club as a place for students to connect to each other on a level deeper than just daily academic interactions.

“I want to be interested in people,” he said. “I want to see them as people, and not just students.”

Rosa Stern Pait can be contacted at [email protected]