Let them eat someone else's cake.

At SLHS, we here in the English department draw names for each other's birthdays. Whoever's name you draw then you're in charge of organizing their lunch-time celebration in the teacher's lounge. Nothing says, "I have friends who care about me," like the random luck of the draw. The celebrations are nothing fancy because, well--"fancy" and a 25 minute lunch just don't mix. One time I saw a teacher crumble her birthday cookies into her soup because she would have not made it back to class in time with that extra course in her meal. That's just what we hobo teachers do. Adapt. Survive. Thrive.

It doesn't stop there either. This last birthday celebration a teacher brought in a cake that said, "Welcome Home Juan!" Let's just say that the birthday girl was a little surprised, but she shouldn't have been. It's not like teachers have time, let alone the funds, to bake cakes. So she did the next best thing and went to the grocery store and bought a discount cake--one that was never picked up.

It does make you wonder. Who was this "Juan" and why didn't he make it home? Was Juan a soldier that didn't get his furlough? Did Juan not make parole? If so, then did I teach him?