Read Online As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Gregory Galloway
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friend. It was always interesting to see who was buying what from Carl. It wasn’t just the burnouts and the jocks, there were people who everybody thought were squeaky clean, good students. There were preachers’ kids and teachers’ kids, even adults, who would meet Carl behind some building or at some out-of-the-way spot, and he would hand them a small bag of something and take their money. When I got bored watching Carl, I would pretend to run into him and then walk around with him for a while. He was good, though he never talked business. He was business.
Melissa and I had a few classes together and we would pass each other in the halls almost every day at school, but she had stopped talking to me. We ignored each other to the point that I had almost forgotten about her. But when Anna and I found those notes in our lockers after the football game, I was certain that it was Melissa who had left them.
halloween
It had snowed the night before. I looked out my bedroom window and saw a good five inches on the ground, covering everything. The plows hadn’t come by yet, and no one had driven on the street. A perfect blanket of white stretched as far as I could see. I wished that it would stay like that, but no sooner did I wish it than I heard the sound of a shovel scraping against concrete. My father was out in the driveway. He would need help. I pulled on my clothes and a pair of coveralls, laced up my boots, put on a cap and a pair of gloves, and went out to ruin the spotless snow.
“It’s a lot of snow,” I said. “Have you ever seen so much snow so early?”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” my father said. “There’s school.”
It was costume day. Everybody was supposed to wear one. Carl went as an executive. He wore a suit and tie and carried a briefcase. His visor was tucked away in his locker and his hair was combed and neat. During classes, he pretended to be on his cell phone the whole time.
Anna came dressed in a private school uniform: black shoes, white stockings, plaid skirt, white blouse, and a blue blazer with a crest on it. She didn’t wear anything black (except her shoes), not even eyeliner. Everyone was shocked. I thought she was beautiful, but by then I thought she was beautiful all the time. On the crest, in tiny gold script, were the words “Satan’s School for Girls.” Only a few people paid attention to the details.
At first I didn’t want to wear a costume, but in the end I went as a box of Velveeta. I should have gone as a pirate. I could have put on some junky clothes and a bandanna, and had a hook cover the splint on my finger. Instead, I got a big cardboard box and attached a pair of my father’s old suspenders, so it would rest on my shoulders. I painted the box bright yellow, and had my mother help me with the logo. She made a stencil so I could paint the letters red. “Why do you want to go as a box of cheese?” she said. “It seemed like something easy,” I told her. “And who else is going to wear anything like it?”
Billy Godley, a freshman, also came as a Velveeta box. And his costume looked a lot better than mine. I had made mine too big, and it got bent when I tried to fit it into the backseat of the car. It was snowing again when I got to school, and the heavy wet flakes spotted the paint and made some of the red run. The worst thing was that I couldn’t sit down in class. The cardboard went from my shoulders to my ankles, and I had to either keep standing or take off the costume, and what was the point of that? Billy Godley had hinges in his costume, at the knees and waist, so at least he could sit on a chair, even if he couldn’t fit into a desk.
Before last period I stopped by Mr. Devon’s classroom to throw the thing in the trash.
“I like it,” he said. “It’s a statement.”
“Billy Godley’s got a better one,” I said.
“Well, how many pirates did you see today?”
“About twenty.”
“And what was their statement?”
“I don’t
Melissa and I had a few classes together and we would pass each other in the halls almost every day at school, but she had stopped talking to me. We ignored each other to the point that I had almost forgotten about her. But when Anna and I found those notes in our lockers after the football game, I was certain that it was Melissa who had left them.
halloween
It had snowed the night before. I looked out my bedroom window and saw a good five inches on the ground, covering everything. The plows hadn’t come by yet, and no one had driven on the street. A perfect blanket of white stretched as far as I could see. I wished that it would stay like that, but no sooner did I wish it than I heard the sound of a shovel scraping against concrete. My father was out in the driveway. He would need help. I pulled on my clothes and a pair of coveralls, laced up my boots, put on a cap and a pair of gloves, and went out to ruin the spotless snow.
“It’s a lot of snow,” I said. “Have you ever seen so much snow so early?”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” my father said. “There’s school.”
It was costume day. Everybody was supposed to wear one. Carl went as an executive. He wore a suit and tie and carried a briefcase. His visor was tucked away in his locker and his hair was combed and neat. During classes, he pretended to be on his cell phone the whole time.
Anna came dressed in a private school uniform: black shoes, white stockings, plaid skirt, white blouse, and a blue blazer with a crest on it. She didn’t wear anything black (except her shoes), not even eyeliner. Everyone was shocked. I thought she was beautiful, but by then I thought she was beautiful all the time. On the crest, in tiny gold script, were the words “Satan’s School for Girls.” Only a few people paid attention to the details.
At first I didn’t want to wear a costume, but in the end I went as a box of Velveeta. I should have gone as a pirate. I could have put on some junky clothes and a bandanna, and had a hook cover the splint on my finger. Instead, I got a big cardboard box and attached a pair of my father’s old suspenders, so it would rest on my shoulders. I painted the box bright yellow, and had my mother help me with the logo. She made a stencil so I could paint the letters red. “Why do you want to go as a box of cheese?” she said. “It seemed like something easy,” I told her. “And who else is going to wear anything like it?”
Billy Godley, a freshman, also came as a Velveeta box. And his costume looked a lot better than mine. I had made mine too big, and it got bent when I tried to fit it into the backseat of the car. It was snowing again when I got to school, and the heavy wet flakes spotted the paint and made some of the red run. The worst thing was that I couldn’t sit down in class. The cardboard went from my shoulders to my ankles, and I had to either keep standing or take off the costume, and what was the point of that? Billy Godley had hinges in his costume, at the knees and waist, so at least he could sit on a chair, even if he couldn’t fit into a desk.
Before last period I stopped by Mr. Devon’s classroom to throw the thing in the trash.
“I like it,” he said. “It’s a statement.”
“Billy Godley’s got a better one,” I said.
“Well, how many pirates did you see today?”
“About twenty.”
“And what was their statement?”
“I don’t
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