“Well, fuck you,” Ted Frank Page said.

“Hey,” Meldrick said, “it’s his money, his clothes.”

“So how much did you save after all of this shit? Anything?” Page asked.

“In the long run, he saves fourteen thousand,” Josie said. “Next time you want a date, Window, go to church. Meet a nice girl. A girl with virtues.”

“I can’t go to the damn church without falling asleep,” Window said, “and all the church girls are ugly. Plus, Ted Frank Page, I didn’t do it for the money! I just wanted to know if the baby was mine. If it was mine, I pay gladly. Now in my heart I’m satisfied.” Window looked at Page squarely and Ted Frank Page returned the look.

“Well good for you, Window. I am sorry I said that. Please accept my humble apology.”

“And no more special ed jokes!” Window said.

“I’m going to shut my mouth,” Page said.

The head custodian said, “Window has become a man. He’s making inroads. Now let’s go scrub that lower hall.” It was Christmas break and the custodians were all working the day shift. The school was quiet and they had taken an hour-long break, which was now becoming oppressively long.

Window said, “I’m tired of being the mop jockey.”

“Window runs the scrubber,” Page said. “I’ll sling the mops.”

The custodial crew set out the yellow caution signs in the lower hallway and without a word, each picked out a task. One laid down the stripper solution. Another took the doodlebug and began edging the sides of the hall. Yet another set up the wet vac while Window plugged in the scrubber, looked to his left and right to see that everyone was in position and then squeezed the power trigger. The black stripping pad was dry, causing the scrubber to lurch violently for a few seconds. Window had to muscle the big machine until it picked up enough water and then began to sing as it glided effortlessly over the scuffed tile. When Ray turned on a country/western station on the radio, Window said, “Turn off that hillbilly shit and play some rock and roll.” As the designated operator of the scrubber, Window had that right since at East High, the designated operator of the scrubber was janitor king of the day.

Mosquitoes