She walked out of the school and took a deep breath of fresh air.
“Please don’t go, Miss Zarves,” said a voice behind her.
Startled, she turned around.
“We need you,” said a bald-headed man. He was standing between two other men. Both had black mustaches, and one carried a black attaché case. The bald man didn’t have a mustache.
“Can you see me?” she asked.
“Yes, of course,” said the bald man
. “And we appreciate all your hard work.”
“You do?”
All three nodded very sincerely.
Miss Zarves was touched. “I’ve been teaching for thirty years,” she said. “And nobody has ever said that before.”
“Well, it’s not easy being a teacher,” said the bald man.
“I don’t get any respect,” said Miss Zarves. “People treat me like I’m a nobody.”
“It’s not easy being a teacher,” said the man with the attaché case. “You have to work long hours for very little money.”
“I’ve never gotten paid,” said Miss Zarves. “And this is the first time in thirty years I’ve ever left the building.”
“It’s not easy being a teacher,” agreed the other man with a mustache.
“Even the book I’m reading to my class,” said Miss Zarves. “The author makes fun of teachers!”
“It’s a tragedy,” said the bald man.
“Then why do it?” asked Miss Zarves. “Why teach anymore? I could quit and nobody would care.”
“The children need you,” all three men said together.
Miss Zarves sighed. “I like to teach,” she said. “I really do. I love the children. It’s just—”
She stopped and wiped her eyes.
The man with the attaché case opened it. He took out a handkerchief and handed it to Miss Zarves.
“Thank you,” she said, blew her nose, then gave it back to him.
He placed it back in his attaché case.
“Can you at least get the cow out of my classroom?” she asked.
The bald man smiled. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.
Miss Zarves smiled as she slowly shook her head. Then she turned and walked back into the building.
g
Chapter 20
Elevators