Hard Sun pt 13

[inkandblink]

 Now the officer is grinning shark sharp (shah-shah-shah).
He imagines he smells blood.

Or weakness.

Or at the very least his confidence is bolstered by the
rest of the squealing herd that parks outside the kindergarten.

There's no escape.
In their eyes.
Ms.Cense, on the other hand, tenses.

She's intelligent. She knows,
that if I can command the sun--
If I can command children with
such arrogance then...

the squealing herd might as well be
actual farm animals.

For all the good they'll do.

Heh-heh.
Maybe I'll make pigs fly today!

"Please don't hurt them."

"You're not worried about yourself?"

Ms.Cense musters a dark smile.
"You're not subtle. You've been staring like a
prepubescent boy."

Ouch!
I try to salvage my pride.
"Where did you go to school?"

"Here."
She's magnanimous.

"No. I mean college or university?"

She names the local community college and local university.
"I went here for elementary school. And my middle school is
two miles south of here."

"You never left."

I'm not sure if Ms.Cense is bitter,
or if it's fatalism,
or peace.

"I never left. There's really no reason. Never traveled either."

"I can give you money for travel."

Ms.Cense laughs, bright and too loud.
She has an ugly braying laugh,
it must be popular with the kids.

It's not popular with the police officer.