late spring big city

The kids are on the train today… the first day after a long holiday weekend… and they have their teacher with them. He’s the bookish, concerned, engaged type who brutally enjoys exposing these teenage giggle monsters to the cultural verve of the city. On the train they have the good fortune to meet a graduate… now studying at some tech school just outside the city… and the teacher sits with her and she uncomfortably tells him of her exploits since she left him in high school. He listens and offers back sage sounding empty advice as his charges sit and giggle over the awkwardness of the day. As the train makes its stops everyday commuters… monthly pass holders… file into the train car and right out the back as they see the unusual collection of teenage minds. Some… the older, more retired types thrive on the shot of youth… the conductors seem psycho-sexually charged by the teen vibe… half remembering their high school girlfriends… until the realization of the extra work settles in. At the final stop the train empties and the energy that had collected disperses like pollen into the softness of the late spring big city morning.