THE HISTORY CLASS:

Craziest thing I have ever seen. SWAT ghosting down the hall. Six of them. Body armor. Machine guns. Cop holds up a finger to his lips and signals for me to keep quiet.

I’m huddled in a corner, hiding under a water fountain. Lockers to my left. Classrooms to my right. Heard screams and gun shots for the past half hour.

Sirens. Alarms.

And I know what they’re going to ask me once they kill him.

Yeah, I knew the dude.

He was my friend. But I never thought he was serious.

Until now.

THE LAYOFF:

My wife is screaming.

So is my baby boy.

They’re in the front yard.

So are the police.

I grin.

Raise my pistol.

And kiss my ass goodbye.

THE FORECLOSURE:

Idling.

Nobody has noticed. Parked half an hour and nobody has noticed. Imagine that?

Busy Christmas shopping I suppose. Slush is falling.

People have a tendency to look down in weather like that.

Loaded five magazines. Watching folks come and go.

Imagine that?

Wife died while I was looking for work.

These fancy people don’t know what’s coming.

It’ll be hard and fast when I make my peace with the world.