Snowflakes and Bus Charms

It is the girl who always sits in the front-left seat, and once I blink my eyes dry, I can see her dyed, red hair beneath her black hood. Another panic attacks me when I take my seat (always the Emergency Exit seat: it’s easy to remember and applicable to every other bus I will ever ride) and peer around my brown “leather” fortress to see that the scalp reflected in the long mirror above the windshield is thin, and covered in an orange-knit hat. Not blonde, with brown glasses perched in the thin waves. I blink again, but the snow is definitely gone and that is definitely not my bus driver.

Benedict’s Turns Brick-Red

Highlight me with methyl flame until I turn blue-black

Sun-Dried [draft]

Jumping for UFOs and catching Frisbees

Staring at the knees of fall

Landing Strips

I play hopscotch on ScanTrons

Muddy Shoes

Benjamin, who had taken his shoes off the first time I asked, sat with his tiny legs crossed neatly on the carpet and sorted through his backpack. I could see how his hands did what he wanted and flipped papers over for his eyes to inspect. I saw that he could recognize right and wrong and proceed accordingly. Proceed quickly. Xander looked at the wall.