MISTER GEORGE

Marta bends down to scrutinize the rubbish at her feet. From a distance, the Box Tops for Education look like an exploded piñata stuffed into a shoe box. Up close, each one is evenly cut with a faded yellow and blue boarder. Mister George asked her not to throw them away. He’s been saving them for the Forest Hill Elementary fundraiser and every cent counts. Oona, his oldest daughter, hasn’t gone to the school in decades and her own children go to Dwight-Englewood Academy, an expensive private school north of their grandfather’s house. Marta empties the shoebox into an extra large Ziplock bag and sets it aside.