FRIDAY, JANUARY 4

Dr. Kareem makes us all shy

Even the girls who came into the music room

filled with bubbles and chatter

settle into their chairs like bashful deer

with her chair completing the circle

at the front of the room.

I want to know all your names, she says

and I want to know who you are

what you’re afraid of

what your biggest challenge is

what you think you need to overcome

to be the person you want to be.

I can tell by their faces

that most of the other girls

are thinking about college

and scholarships

about being good and kind

and pretty and famous

and I know right away

that agreeing to this group

was a mistake.

Everyone is so optimistic

one foot on a rainbow

ready to ascend.

Everyone wants to impress Dr. Kareem.

Everyone wants to be the best version of themselves.

Everyone wants to shine.

I feel like a stick in the spoke

of a glowing bicycle,

a popcorn kernel that will inevitably

stick in the teeth. I look around

the room and think I am the only

one who brought rain to the parade

which is why I’m surprised when it’s

Blake Felipe’s turn and rather than speaking

she closes her eyes and cries.