Ten.One Thousand, Six Hundred & Sixty-Five

1. Game day.

2. Small sips of coffee, emails, quiet.

3. I wear my slippers in the car. The morning light is soft and the colors are muted. Friday.

4. Things are moving right along.

5. Espresso in one hand, dry eraser in the other. The list is smaller when it’s on a big board.

6. I rush through the aisles grabbing whatever I think makes the most sense. Plus a package of peanut m&ms.

7. We get the big bus today.

8. We pull up to the school and I think about the financial sacrifices my parents made and we make so that our children have access to a decent and safe environment. “We’re privileged,” I hear one of the girls say. “But it’s not fair for them to classify all of us as rich. Not all of us are rich.” Yet, when you pull up in a coach, it’s hard to not think we are.

9. None of the refs introduce themselves to me and I know that means it’s going to be a rough game.

10. I tell her that at one point I wanted to throw my water bottle across the court.

11. All of this is bizarre.

12. McDonald’s before the long ride home. Only two more games left. I am going to miss it.