Issue 16
Toss
J. R. Salling
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Think Fast
"Look at the detail in the face," Katy admired. Jacob leapt beside the art table and announced, like P. T. Barnum, "Those eyes see all!" Each word of praise that I hungrily collected seemed to take food from Bobby, who sat alone with his clay figurine, chewing his lip, plotting again. Later, he pinched me hard and spat, "Looks like your mama."
Mrs. Simpson gave us all little boxes to transport our objets d'art safely home. We put them above the coat rack, our names in marker on the outside facing front. At the end of the day Bobby got there first. Looking at me with a devilish grin, he retrieved a box with my name on it. "Think fast," he said, already hurling it toward me.
It bounced short against a desk and onto the floor, the death rattle of more than one piece clearly audible.
Unbelievably, our teacher saw him do it.
"Robert Paulk! How dare you!"
"I ... I ... was just giving it to him to take home," he pleaded, a facile
liar.
"That's not the way we ..."
"It's okay, Mrs. Simpson," I interrupted. "That was his box. I accidentally
wrote my name on the other side."
~J. R. Salling
J. R. Salling is a former creative director and future mathematics teacher
in Ohio.
© 2004 by J. R. Salling. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2004 by Cayuse Press. All Rights Reserved.