In this final chapter of Tales Told Out Of School, the custodian kicks Mr. O’Shea out of the school building.
He finally leaves with a box and goes home, surreal-ly.
Mr. Fred is dead. His noise makers are quiet in O’Shea’s garage.
O’Shea sits in the grass, dissociates, and speculates. Fred is gone, and he lives on.
He sees red taillights. He envisions next year’s kids wailing onto the playground.
That’s it. I’m grateful to you for watching me read this book aloud. The more I spruced it up, I guess I whacked it to bits, imagining that I honed it, so I cannot tell if I sharpened it, whittled it, or chipped it into thin air. Now it’s time to do something new. I don’t know how I’ll query this, put out story feelers to publishers and agents, or whether I’ll just move on. Thank you again!
Your faithful
Hotspvrre
Time to lock up, mister