Young girls pass as they make there way to school
Heavy backpacks weighing them down
Full of school work, lunches and snacks that they packed when their parents weren’t looking
Older boys going in the opposite direction
Instead of backpacks they carry gym bags
Full of smelly cloth and shiny new basketballs
Their rowdy as they pass the small girls
One of them knocks a girl to the ground
He doesn’t even turn around

Minutes later the sound of the school bell rings throughout the town
Echoing down the empty streets
Throughout the vacant stores

A daring,middle age man across the street peaks his head out the window
And when he gives the signal
The town comes to life

Without worry
People are free to get in their cars and go to work
They smile and wave to other adults as they pass
Whistling softly, housewives begin to clean

Everyone tries to distract themselves from the inevitable
But as the last bell rings
The streets once again swarmed with acne and body odor
They hide back in their houses
Waiting till morning