141442 There is a definite appeal to being on the outside inside. The building sub is, as I’ve noted before, in some ways the perfect job for me. You get the benefit of consistency *and* the benefit of fringe inhabitance. You connect with other fringe people—the kids in the school jail, for instance, or sometimes other staffers who have their own (usually unspoken) reasons not to be aligned with the highest levels of institutional heirarchy. Like for instance, I just met Jill, the spiky-haired lady I’ve seen over by the special-ed hall. She thought she was supposed to be in here this hour, Cheryl told me I was in here, so Jill’s unexpected proposal was let’s both stay here. She’s reading, I’m typing. Ben (my old buddy from Aide’s class) and the gentle Maria are in here kind of working, chatting, listening to music, hanging out. It’s like some kind of warm alien cafe juxtaposed with the sterile fluorescence of in-school suspension. But I still have to find a way to have a better income. And to have some friends in the larger world.