The Arnold Waltz

Arnold, a school kid with a vacant stare and hair sticking out, takes the bus to school. He sits idly through lessons. Then, it’s time for band, where he plays the piccolo. He daydreams through the Vienna waltz, imagining himself ice-skating, and sending the school bully into the cold water by cutting a circle through the ice around him. The band plays a second song, and Arnold imagines spring. The music ends, the room empties except for Arnold. The teacher says, “Arnold, everybody’s gone to recess.”