March 17: Katie steals things almost every time she is drunk. Over the years, she has drunkenly stolen a full set of steak knives, a pair of bowling shoes for both me and her, and a 3 liter bottle of wine. Once, I happened to be near the cash register when my dad leaned over to the cashier and explained that the girl in the hat was going to steal a pint glass and he wanted to pay for it before hand. He has been paying for all of her ill-gotten gains for years.
March 18: The men and woman with pushcarts lined the waterfront. The lids to the carts were makeshift hot plate where they could grill onions and hot dogs wrapped in bacon for tourists and drunk locals. They can vanish within seconds if a police car pulls up. The only sign that they were ever there is a long trial of water that dripped from the drain of the wheeled beverage cooler.
March 19: An older woman that had been volunteering with Reading Partners loudly complimented herself on wearing a bright, beaded necklace. “All my students keep pointing it out. I think they really appreciate it when people try. All these teachers I keep seeing wear leggings and so much black.”
Maria and I looked down at ourselves. We were both wearing black leggings with a black sweatshirt. The older woman spends one hour with one child in one room twice a week. I’d like to see how she would start dressing if her outfits needed to survive a full day of having 20+ children for hours in the cafeteria, outside for recess, teaching STEM classes, and the unavoidable vomiting.
March 20: The top storied on my news app are reports on shootings in schools, bombings in Texas, and Selena Gomez in a bikini.
March 21: I shrugged my backpack onto the floor and dropped in my chair. “There was so much crying today,” I said, still haunted by five children sobbing over their spot in line.
“And how were the kids?,” Maria asked.
March 22: After the Eagle Awards, seven students pushed past me in the cafeteria and into the hallway to get a slice of ice cream cake for Kelly’s birthday. As soon as I returned, I took their plates and threw them into the trash. It is now one of the few times I a very glad my class is so bad at working together, otherwise, they would form a mutiny and I would probably be burning at some stake right now.
March 23: There was a shooting at a barbershop yesterday. A man on drugs got into an argument with someone and decided to settle it for good. One person died and five more were injured. Melissa had a friend who was had an appointment there when the shooting happened, but he ran late and missed it.
“That’s why I’m never on time for anything.”
March 24: My dad always told me to keep my standards low, that way I would never be disappointed, that way I am either I am right or I am pleasantly surprised. It gets pretty confusing when people ask me if I am an optimist or a pessimist.
much love,
hedgie
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