So it hit thirty degrees (Fahrenheit) at last today, which was call for the Purple Monsters long prophesized arrival. I have nothing, I am sad to report, between my windbreakers and The Purple One, so I had little real choice in the matter. Out it came, to school it went. Since I carry all my materials on my exclusive person, I basically leave the managing and use of the locker to Stephy, but I could hardly be expected to lug the Monster with me to class. So the bell rings. Which locker is mine? It is a problem. I know not the number. There are over 2000 lockers in the school. However, I know the lock. It's been my lock since sixth grade, and has served me well year after year. No time for fond memories. The time is ticking.
It is in the Sophomore Hallway. The lock is black. I move from lock to lock. No time to try the combination, but I've had this lock forever. My fingers move the dial. The grain on this one is too rough. This one is too sticky. This one is slippery. This one... just right. I know it is mine. I enter the combination. Lo and Behold! I gain access. I slide the Purple Monster in and rush up to Latin class. I'm barely on time, but I doubt Mr. McAllister would care, really. Aiyee! Good thing I did manage to be on time! The principals sitting in on our class today.
Hours go by. It is time to leave. I return to the locker, and hopefully turn the dial. Of course, it is mine. I reach for the Purple Monster with surprising fondness. Stephy appears behind me.
"I found a monster in my locker today." She says.
"Didja now? It is that time of year..." It is difficult to put on such a fluffy jacket while standing in the middle of the hall with a backpack full of books and arms full of binders. I manage it and head to the bus. The air is rather warm with all the people and the school to break the wind. I remember my dad being nasty to me that morning.
"I thought you liked the cold." He said as I replaced another flimsy paper-jacket with something that might be considered a coat.
"I like the cold." I said. "I don't like being cold. There's a fine line between eccentricity and insanity."
As always, I struggle to walk that line. Whether I succeed is another matter entirely. Another story, another monster.
November 16, 2005
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3 comments:
By the time I got home, it was below 25 degrees! Hurrah! Now we can get snow! Oh, Ary, I was suddenly thinking. The only time the darkness would bother me is when I wanted to play in the snow. ;_; When its dark you see how pretty the snow is, you don't tramp around in it!
Goddamn. I must have changed tenses like three times in that little thingy. Good thing no one cares. o.O
My coat, silly! :P
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