Mel

“Things are not going well,” Mel said. Mel was the second of the hall monitors. He was working on his Phd in history. He took the job as hall monitor to see how he felt about teaching kids.
“Can't get a parking space?” I asked. A lot of students had brought cars to school. Space was at a premium.
“I can't stand the kids,” Mel said.
“They're not that bad.”
“They say that I snort when I talk,” Mel explained. Met did snort. “Its a condition that I have. And sometimes when I'm not alert, they'll walk single file behind me down the hall.”
I shook my head.
“Sometimes,” Mel said, “I get dark thoughts. Like I come into the school with a gun. And take them out. One by one. I know it would cost me my job but it is so tempting.”
“Maybe you need to take some time off,” I suggested. He did. He quit.
............from my ebook HALL MONITOR