And Many More

"I got three questions from my students today."  a fellow teacher announced as she entered our mandated professional development session.
"How old is glass, were you alive during slavery and can time move backwards."  she continued, plunking herself in a chair.  

I snickered to myself.

"Why we here......?" she whispered lowly, looking at me from the corner of her eye.  

I hovered around the vegetable section trying to get a bell pepper while some bougie lady tried to transform the guy stocking the shelves into her personal shopper.  

Well I need blah blah and blah blah and blah blah for a recipe and I just don't see it!

That means it's not here....I found myself mentally answering.  That means you might have to go to another store.  That means you might not make that recipe.  The stocker may not know a substitute, but I bet Google does...

"Why don't you wear a mask?"  the stocker asked the woman with what appeared to be genuine curiosity instead of antagonism.

"There is no longer a mask mandate in the city."  she responded brightly.

"Besides, everyone wants to see my smile!"

"I DON'T!"  I blurted out.

"I'm with you."  another stocker seconded, giving me a nod and trucking her huge cart of vegetables down the aisle.  

I drove home with my bougie groceries, glad I didn't end up in the newspaper for getting in a mask-fight because I can't control my tongue.  I approached a huge intersection when I saw something lying in the road.  It was a person.  I glanced around furtively, looking for emergency vehicles, assuming someone had been hit by a car.  I crept forward on the green light, then stopped.   Cars whirred around me, some honking.  There were no emergency vehicles.  The person was curled up like a little cat, sleeping.  Cars continued whizzing past, many with Christmas trees on top.  I sat, frozen, while people honked and tore around me.  I inadvertently covered my eyes, knowing the person was about to be run over.  

Suddenly, another car screeched to a halt and a bleach-blond woman emerged wearing high heels and a longish gold embroidered coat.  She walked authoritatively through the congested intersection, throwing her hand up whenever cars advanced toward her.  She woke the person in the intersection, imploring them to get up before they got killed.  She got the person on their feet and slowly advanced them through the passing cars toward the sidewalk.  I again covered my eyes, as speeding cars missed them by inches.  They made it to the sidewalk and the blond woman moved her car to the side, exited and continued talking to the person she had just saved from the intersection.  I drove home.  

I walked up the hill with the students on the last day of school before winter break.  

"You fat!"  one yelled at another.

"You're fatter than me!"  she responded.

"FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  another screamed from the front steps of her house.

Some of the kids gave us the finger from the passing school buses.

"Bye everyone, be careful going home and have a great break."  I responded and walked back down the hill to the school.