Playing the numbers

We're halfway through spring registration and so I'm seized by suspense daily, repeatedly checking online course listings to see whether certain classes will attract enough students to be offered in the spring. Will that learning community class soar or flop? Will the numbers in the new creative writing courses remain low, or is there a huge flock of sophomores out there just waiting their turn to sign up? I breathe a sigh of relief when I notice that one literature course has moved above the magic number--there's one colleague's schedule I won't have to shuffle again. But I keep going back to check on two or three other courses, and I silently cheer every time the enrollment number rises. Go students! Fill that class!