Life in the Second Grade
I had enough time to catch the game in Pittsburgh at the Big House between sitting out in the sun to warm up between innings. Carrie was working hair and make-up for Izzy’s shoot, Irish was leaving for training at DQ, and Mom told me about plans to visit the Walton’s house and Mayberry in the fall.
Mom then joined me on the drive to school that afternoon, practice for when she picks up Puck next week. I noticed his name chalked up on the board in his room. Comfortable enough to be warned for talking in class. Then I noticed his buddy’s name a couple of names above his. With five tick marks next to it. My suspicions were later confirmed that Puck’s buddy is a little more comfortable in class than Puck is … so far.
Anyway, Puck had an earful for us.
“That girl who called me Pizza Man, tried to choke me today. Like she could choke me! I’m big and strong! Then she sat on me two times!”
This was an interesting development. I’ll venture a first guess: second-grade crush.
Then he told me that he threw a pinecone during recess that accidentally hit a kid, so he apologized.
“I don’t get why I had to apologize. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Then he displayed a small chain of blue paper elephants that he had found on the art room floor and was given permission to keep.
After dinner El Oso was still gone and a heavy drape of rich dark blue storm clouds flattened the southeast. Puck and I stood on the porch with Hawaiian punch Bomb Pops to watch the show. Anna came careening up our lawn on her bike.
“You guys should get inside! It’s about to rain!”
But we like watching storms. When the rain did hit, we watched behind the glass, pale blue flashes of light in the sky becoming a deluge. Puck crafted a recent inspiration on Minecraft.
“It’s that salt shaker water tower near our house,” he explained. “I copied it from memory.”
As the storm dissipated, the windows were fogged over like a greenhouse, wet salad behind glass. Late evening sun shining on dark bark, the silhouette of a hummingbird sitting on the branches against a yellow night tropical sky. Puck and I lounged for awhile, watching through the windows, listening to ripples of distant thunder. No hurry to leave.