He was carrying two trays of Valentine's cupcakes and wearing a sports coat.
"Hey, Jeremy, let me put your cupcakes on the table so they don't get crushed...." I said, trying to make him more comfortable. He handed me the cupcakes and walked over to a friend, while fumbling with the buttons on his sports coat.
"Help me get this shit off....." he mumbled, while his friend struggled with the buttons.
I drove to the Housing Authority, already feeling a little relief that I had finished conducting three weeks of testing and the last day of school before a four day break. I only had two hours of preparation and then two hours of the Black History performance to go before the break began.
"Hallelujah!" the radio screamed.
"And when your heart is troubled...." Neil Diamond continued, when I suddenly had a weird vision of my principal singing the song on the stage of the school.
"You gotta reach out your other hand...." she belted into the microphone.
"Hallelujah!" the teachers of the school sang, all while lined up behind our singing principal. The meanest teacher in the school stood in the middle of the line, singing loudly.
"Reach it out to the man up there!" my principal continued.
"Hallelujah!" the teachers sang, now kicking their legs up like Rockettes as they sang back up.
"'Cause that's what he's there for!'' she sang, eyes closed and arm in the air.
"Take my hand in yours..." our assistant principal sang earnestly, after grabbing the mic. Her big eyes stared straight ahead in a reassuring manner.
"Walk with me this day..."
"In my heart I know..."
"I will never stray..."
"Halle, halle, halle, halle, halle, halle, halle, halle!!!" the back up singing teachers screamed, legs kicking high in the air with each word.
I glanced at Steve, riding shotgun on a branch in her new, ten gallon terrarium and continued driving toward the apartments.
*Lyrics, Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show, Neil Diamond
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