Day 10

“Why do you work so hard on this school? I mean, it’s just a job isn’t it? You come to work, you clean the hallways and toilets, you go home.” That type of question is dumb, I know that now. I would shortly figure out that that particular question was dumb, but I wouldn’t really understand how universal the stupidity of that question until I got asked it about teaching. “That’s all work is isn’t it?”

He was irate at the notion that his job was nothing more than a pass time to fill the days. I hadn’t directly said it, it didn’t even realize that the question would be taken that way, but it was true. His reaction, though surprising at the time, doesn’t bother me at all now. He threw the cards onto the cold floor and basically picked my up out of my bed before realizing I didn’t really understand what I had done. After letting me drop back down he walked to a corner of the room and muttered to himself for a while. I was scared. I have to admit that because anything less wouldn’t be truthful, and there’s no reason not to fake the truth in this instance.

It took a bit of time, but eventually both of us calmed down to the point that we could look at each other without reacting in some way. Tim remained in the corner, but leaned his back against the wall. “I’ve been asked that question by many people over the years and never once has it really bothered me.” He laughed at the cold air. “It’s funny. The way you phrased it just set me off. I dunno, I guess it just the situation. I’m starting to come down with a bit of cabin fever.” He slowly let himself slide to the floor and, when he was sitting, brought his knees up to his chin. “I work here because I love to work here. There was a time when I was in your position. I had the resources to do what I wanted and the intelligence to surpass some of the more childish barriers if you understand my meaning.” He opened his palm and looked at it for some time. “I had the world in the palm of my hand. I could do anything I wished.” It was trite and cliché, he may have believed his own story but I had my doubts. “You probably don’t know, since this is likely the first time you set foot inside this school, but I went here as a child. I grew up inside these walls attending classes like any normal student. I enjoyed it here and my entire life is devoted to making sure other growing children enjoy it too. You see, I whole heartedly believe in the phrase ‘children are our future’ and I intend to make as many of our future upstanding individuals by making sure their learning experience is in the best of facilities I can manage.” It at least sounded nice.

It was too perfect for me to believe, though there was some hope in the back of my mind that it was true. Human beings simply didn’t work like that. At least no one that I knew was that altruists in their daily lives. Though that could mean my friends were simply that much of egotists I felt there was more to this little story than Tim was little on. “You have any children of your own Tim?” Unlike Claire I didn’t know if he wasn’t telling the truth so there was no reason for me to back him into a corner. This time I truly wanted to know more about the man who claimed to keep the school running, if I just happened to find and inconsistency in logic then I’d be able to better figure him out.

“Nah, I’ve been single most of my life. My wife died shortly after we got married ten, maybe fifteen, years ago.” He sighed and stared off into the room without really focusing on one particular thing. “She was a lovely woman, never got mad at anyone. No, I guess that’s not true, no one could not be mad at some point. It’s human nature to be angry sometimes, but she hid it well. I remember one time when she got mad at me for staying at work just the tiniest bit too later. It would have been okay, except that it was out anniversary o’course.” I smiled at the implied chaos, he was going to explain it to me but there were just so many possible bad outcomes that I had to wonder which one was his. And wonder what kind of woman would kick her husband out of the house and thrown their clothes out of the building, it had to be possible though I hoped I’d never fall for a woman like that. “She never yelled at me, though I apologized for weeks. Instead she smiled like she always did and rescheduled our dinner for the same time next week.

“Well, I got there just fine that time. Called and everything to make sure she knew I was on my when. I guess that was my undoing. I got there and the lights were all off and a small fire was burning in the kitchen. I at first figure it was a couple of candles lit to set the mood.” At this point he began laughing so hard he could barely get out the next few words. “Turns out she’d waited until I was walking in the door before she lit my dinner on fire, the dinner I should have had week before. She was just sittin’ at the table casually eating a bowl of soup watching the flames cake the plate in black soot. I sweat I almost died I was so scared. I thought she meant to burn down the house with the both of us in it. Our kitchen smelled like charred steak for the next couple of months, though she never once took notice to tried to clean it away or cover it with some other smells.” I smiled and let out a couple laughs myself, but it was nothing more than due to nerves. It was a strange story and I couldn’t quite figure out what he wanted me to glean from it. Other than he’d married a crazy women who was passive aggressive there didn’t seem to be a moral or point really. “It got to the point that I had to clean the entire kitchen myself when I just couldn’t stand the smell anymore. And when I’d finished she walked in and asked me how I’d liked my steak.” Horribly passive aggressive.

***

Tim was up and moving before I got a chance to ask any questions. He didn’t leave, but he clearly wasn’t paying attention to me. Every time I said something it was as if I didn’t exist. Apparently he’d learned a few lessons from his now deceased wife on how to get exactly what he wanted out of people, or maybe I’m being a little harsh on the guy. He seemed nice enough, and despite my misgivings he at least seemed genuine about what he wanted in life even if there was something off about it. Besides, like I’d just finished telling Jessica, if I didn’t have a problem with the lie then there really wasn’t a problem overall.

At least, that’s what I wanted to believe. But there was something wrong in the logic somewhere and I spent the next few minutes trying to sort it out in my head to no real conclusion. I would get as far as the point that all sides felt the lie was necessary and then stick on the part where I didn’t know either how to determine the all these sides were actually in agreement or how to tell if the lie was actually what it seemed to be. When it got this far my mind struggled to keep ideas and thoughts straight but invariably confused different levels of thought or made assumptions that turned out to be incorrect.

It was very frustrating, I wanted to pace or write on a piece of paper to help me keep my thoughts order. So it was somewhat of a relief when Coach Z walked in the room with two very tired children and Claire. Everyone was smiling from the good time they’d had and I sat and listened to their recounts of the makeshift rink in the gym.

It turned out that Coach Z had been working on it for some time, grabbing a pail of snow here and there and packing it into the gym’s floor or melting some next to the space heater and carefully spreading it over the packed snow to freeze. It wasn’t fantastic, but then again they were using their shoes instead of actual ice skates. It was smooth enough that they could slide in specific places yet rough and snow enough that they could walk back to and from the carpeted floor of the hallway without too much trouble. “I’m so glad that you set that up for us Coach Z.” Claire said, smiling wider than he’d seen since first getting here. “We had a great time.”

Coach Z was certainly proud of his work. “I am glad to help out. I know everyone needs to spend some energy here and there, why spend it all on work?” I was impressed. It was the most he’d spoken so far. He rubbed Jessica’s hair affectionately. She, in turn, tired to duck out of the way. “It will be here until the ice melts at least.”

Tim grunted. “Yeah, at which point I have to clean it.” He was back at his game of FreeCell, though I could see he’d re-dealt. “Did you even ask me if it was okay to cover that floor in frozen water? Think of the damage it’s gonna do to that there floor.” Coach Z’s face was serious in an instant as his work was attacked.

I was quick to open my mouth in defense but so was everyone else. Five voices were instantly talking over one another to tell Tim that he was in the wrong. Each one claimed a different reason: Coach Z wanted to make sure that Tim knew it wasn’t just his gym, Johnny said that they could clear it up before it melted, Claire reiterated the point she’d just made to Z and I claimed it got the kids out the room for a bit. Through it all Jessica’s voice could be heard saying what I thought was the best answer. “Oh don’t be such a mud sitck!” I had to ask what she meant. “Mommy always told daddy he was a mud stick when he told her that he couldn’t or wouldn’t go on picnics or day trip with us.”

Claire laughed at the confusing of words, which made Jessica pout. “Do you mean that the janitor’s being a ‘stick in the mud?’” Jessica nodded but kept pouting. “Sorry honey, I didn’t mean to laugh at you. It’s just that I’ve never heard it phrased like that before. Can you forgive me? I promise I won’t ever laugh at you again.”