Caveat: The Unknowable Girlfriend

Yesterday, in the Newton2 elementary cohort, a boy who goes by Jhonny (the mispelling is deliberate and he's quite adamant about it) announced to the class that he had a girlfriend. He's always a bit of a clown, so this interruption wasn't completely inconceivable.

"That's nice," I said, blandly. "What's her name?"

"I don't know," he said, sheepishly.

"You might want to find out her name," I suggested. "Girls like it when you know their names."

"I can't," he protested.

He's not great with English, and it was clear he wanted to explain more. He explained, in Korean, to the boy, Jerry, next to him, who is better at English.

Jerry said, "A girl gave him a note. Secret note."

"Aha," I said. "That makes sense. So you don't know her name."

Jhonny nodded, vigorously. The girls at the front of the class tittered. "It's so horrible," Jhonny complained, burying his face in his palms dramatically.

"I can see that. Well good luck," I said.

[daily log: walking, 6.5km]

Caveat: Nonnet #47

(Poem #72 on new numbering scheme)

Death.
"Oh my.
That's not good."
She made a face.
"But it's upside down."
I pointed at the card.
"True," she admitted, smiling.
The Tarot card looked so scary.
"It means you should be dead. But you're not."

– a reverse nonnet
picture

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