La Shine

I surveyed the leg wear of one of my favorite students.  Though it is clearly winter,  Bashmal continues to wear shorts, with a strange patch work of socks that he pulls up to his knees, while adding a second, tube-like layer to cover the actual knee, that he pulls as far up his thigh as he can.  Together, this intricate mesh covers his entire leg, while still allowing him to NOT wear pants.  "What's up with this, Bashmal?" I asked.
"I don't like them.  I just don't like pants." he answered.
"You know, I kind of feel you.  I'm not much of a pants-wearer either."
"I've noticed.  You're a skirt-wearer."
"True.  They are more comfortable.  With tights."

Mo, my cart-carrying twerker, has managed to add yet another name to his list of aliases.  He does this crazy Spanglish thing where he entirely fucks up the vocabulary we are supposed to be using.   When learning the word for donkey, he began saying "el donkey" instead of "burro".  When learning the word for mouse, he randomly started saying "el mouse".  For weeks the students would call him by these names, obviously to his liking.  His latest is "la shine".  I think it has a ring to it.

I tore down the road with bags full of Hanukkah treats and a Christmas tree on the roof of Alec's car.  I wanted to beat him home and hit up Hanukkah by sundown and was also GODDAMN sick of traffic and sneezing and hacking with my three-day old elementary school cold.

I am the one that initiated all of these festivities.  Alec and I are both agnostics at best and probably atheists, to be honest.  I am the one who embraced his ethnic celebrations because I think it is fun to buy him eight little presents, each to be unveiled one by one, every evening for over a week.  I buy a tree because I am a fan of string lights and the way the tree smells.  Well, and the novelty.  How often do you have a relatively live tree sitting in your living room, covered in lights, instead of just the normal crap in there?  Only a couple of weeks a year...

"PANTS!  I'm wearing PANTS!" Oliver shrieked in the hallway, pulling his pants giddily to the left and the right in display while sailing down the stairs with his sideways tilted smile on his face.
"YES!"  I called, "Yes you are!"

"Where is Tyrone?"  I asked the class.  "He is absent again?  Is he sick, everyone is sick."
"Tyrone doesn't go to school here anymore." several students announced.
"WHAT?"
"He wasn't in-district."
"NO.  No..."
"He will be back.  His parents will find an apartment and he will be back...." Kimmie stated, rising from her chair. 

As I practically jogged through the hall to my next class, I caught sight of Bashmal.  He looked like a totally normal kid.  He was wearing a long sleeved yellow t-shirt and ...... pants.
"Bashmal.  WHAT are you wearing?" I asked, horrified.
"Pants.  I am wearing pants.  I just gave in.  It was getting too cold, the socks too thin.  I am just going to do it."
I felt my heart plummet as he walked away. 

I slammed on my breaks and nearly hit the car in front of me.  I saw the trunk of the Christmas tree shoot out and nearly sail off of the top of the car toward the car I was trying not to hit.  Fuck.  I kept driving, slowly.  It slid back a little.  I slowly drove home, fearing the thing was going to fly off.  When I got home, the garbage collection thing was in the middle of the driveway.  The tree mother fucker had tied me into the car and I couldn't get out to move it.  I drove forward, pushing the big Herbie in with the car and clawing my way through the strings so that I could exit the automobile.  The tree was basically hanging on the passenger side of the car, suspended by strings.   I went in inside.

Alec loved his first night of Hanukkah gift.  I let him enjoy it and waited, then mentioned casually,

"By the way, can you help me get Christmas tree off of the top of your car....?.".