All edge,
thinner than
we’d ever be again,
with no sense
of consequence.
We were like
dogs when
it came to sex,
sniffing each other
for a while then
moving on
to the next.
The air we
breathed was
all adrenaline,
chasing new
adventure,
often involving
weed, drinks,
or games
of different kinds.
That Christmas
of our senior year
we got our first
year typing teacher,
Miss Handly,
drunk at a school Party.
She was only
a few years older than us.
All of whom had been
won over by her
endless patience and corny
jokes that still made us
us laugh. We loved her.
But the punch was spiked
and she naturally
joined us in several toasts
to our impending
graduation.
Three boys made out
with her passionate kisses.
I saw them touch her
slim breasts too. While
I traded tongues
with three different
girls who were
equally soused.
All this at a
private school no less!
When we came
back from vacation
pretty Miss Handly
was gone, replaced
by one of the
school's oldest deans
who always
seemed angry at
or us or life. Speaking only
in a low condescending
tone.
Not a fair trade,
but a life lesson
of losing something
or someone you valued
for very temporary pleasures.
A lesson we were
too young or stupid
to understand
and would repeat
again and again.
Or at the
very least,
I did.
