”She told them, “No, it’s not even your behavior.”And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in...the classroom.By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms. Cothren’s classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk-less classroom, Martha Cothren said, “Throughout the day no one has been. “Yeah! I know that. But, out here too?” “You just said you thought he done fooled a few niggas.”“You right.”“You must be wantin’ to tell me you hit that.”“Naw, nigga! I don’t get down like that,” protested Tito.“It don’t make me no difference. That muthafucka got a ass like a bitch,” chuckled Chee Chee.“You crazy!”“I’m serious, man! You do what you do gotta do. That bitch catch me at the right moment and I’d fuck it.”“For real?”“Yeah. Ass is ass, my nigga!”The cousins went back inside after a. * * * *Awake. Was I? Or, was this just another moment? The sounds outside … I can identify them. The birds, the insects, the sound of chopping. Wood was being chopped. Fire. The crackling of a fire. Smells. Smoke, the smell of smoke. The fresh smell after a heavy rain. Feelings. Humidity. Heat in the air. Soreness in my body. Soreness, I haven’t been aware of that before. Different, this is different. Not fading, not disappearing into a void. Not fading. Staying. I still hear sounds, still. The weather's not suppose to be so good. I hear there's a lot of snow coming. Well, fuck me, but the last one wasn't bull shit, and here we are snowed in on day 3. College canceled and I'm stuck at my old home with Ma. And you'd think after years of having a young adult male living with you, that she'd have learned to wear some clothing around the house. I know we've both been living alone, but running from the laundry room to her bathroom topless because she forgot a towel was a bit much. Then.