BAE BOY

2-19

My production teacher Halley did this little dance-y thing, clapping her hands and sort of running in place when I told her about Yoshi and the J Squad.

I couldn't hold back. I had to tell her. I mean, I walked into the studio and saw her on her knees, trying to Frankenstein an old camera together out of bits and pieces from a couple of big cardboard boxes. Which, of course, made me sad as hell.

So as soon as I sat down with her in her little cubby of an office in back, I told her that Yoshi and maybe some others were going to be coming in pretty soon. And she did that little bouncy thing like a little kid opening the best birthday presents she'd ever received.

"I'm hoping they'll get a real feel for this place. The whole neighborhood, you know?" I said. "And why I'm doing what I'm doing. They could make such a huge difference around here."

"God, I'm so excited about all this," she said. "It's almost unreal, isn't it?"

"It feels unreal. But I believe we can do it. I really do."

She just shook her head and sighed, trying to take it all in. And then she said, "Well, let's get this done so you can go out there'n' get that done!"

I logged in so she could look over the units I'd finished. And she laughed and said, "Of course, you're about halfway through already. What am I going to do with you for the rest of the semester, kiddo?"

"The hands on is the problem," I said. "I mean, I read this stuff but I don't have the equipment to try it out on. So I'm going to YouTube and Googling around trying to see someone actually use it in a video or something. Which of course is not nearly the same as actually doing it yourself."

She smirked and said, "Listen, there are people going to online colleges to be nurses and shit who never touch a human being 'til they're on the job."

"Well, thank you for that. Now I'm going to be eyeballing all the nurses who work with Kendall wondering which ones got their credentials online."

She laughed and said, "You kill me. You do."

"Why?"

"I dunno. It's like you're from another planet. You realize that, right?"

"I've heard worse."

"No, it's a good thing. I just wish lightning struck more often, I guess. All these kids...I just wonder sometimes..."

She paused, trying to find the words. And then she just tossed a hand, as if to dismiss the whole topic.

But I said, "About?"

So she shrugged and said, "Same thing we all wonder. All the teachers here. Whether we're really making any kind of difference. I feel like I'm lying to 'em sometimes--I'm being honest, okay? Half the kids I work with every day...well, we know they're not gonna be working at NBC or anything. Their lives just aren't headed in that direction. But even the ones who try--will they even be prepared? Coming from...this?"

She nodded toward the Frankenstein camera.

And I said, "I know. Bothers me, too."

"I know it does. That's how this all started. I mean, after the last time we talked, I just stood there for a minute thinking, 'Ho-ly shit! What just happened?'"