© 2006 Patrick Frank

BAD DAY FOR A SUB

The teacher comes back too soon and makes me turn down
my Celtic CD. The kids are spread out on the floor
playing. I have been debating the merits of black
music with a girl from India. I joke with her, "That
hip-hop will make your brains fall out." She smiles
back and says "I like what I like," then tosses her
head.

Half the kids are out of the room, at the library or
gym. The teacher averts her eyes as she counts the
ones who don't have a pass. The kids walk around like
robots, pick up paper and discard it in the trash.
Then I tell the teacher I froze her computer by
mistake.

The final bell rings.

A MAN ON THE GREEN

Someone is camped out on the green. A man circles,
asks for a dollar. His old flat voice reveals nothing.

I used to be the same.

All work is property of Patrick Frank.

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