The Broom

Every friday I was in the only class that got out at half past three. It was the worst day of the week. Most of the classes were out at 2, some at 2:45, but I was out at 3:30. I hated it, My math teacher would never let us out earlier. It's a normal class just like any other class, he would say. I can understand it, he only got 3 classes and we were behind the other math class, but I still hated it.

Every time I walked out of the front door, in the schoolyard. A man was sweeping. With a broom. It was an old witch-kind like broom. He swung it left and right, he crossed the whole schoolyard. When I got close to him, he never answered. He kept sweeping his broom.

That was what I hated the most about fridays, that man sweeping his broom. It would probably be underpaid. He would sweep there in rain, in snow, in the hot sun, every friday I saw him sweeping his broom.

That old witch-like broom, that kind of broom you expect Harry Potter to fly on. You expect to see it in history books. That kind of broom, that long brownhairy broom. I pitied him, I pitied him very much. My friends didn't care about that guy sweeping.

I was sad every friday, because every friday he was just sweeping, never looked at me, never said anything, never gave away anything that made it look like he noticed me. I was so sad about it.

Can I help him? How, how could I help this man out of his misery when he doesnt even notices me, he only notices that broom, that broom that he kept swinging left to right. That's it. That's it! I'll buy him a new broom! A nice broom, not that old-fashioned. A new broom.

It was friday again. I haven't bought him one, but I will next week when my salary had come in. I'll say it to him today though. The day, as all school days, moved slowly from one brabbling teacher to another. And finnaly the bell rung at math class. Well, finnaly.

How would I start. How would I start this conversation about me helping him, when we aren't even on a 'we-say-hi-to-each-other-relationshop'. Should I start with a 'hi' again, and a I'll buy you a new broom. Maybe he's deaf! Wow, why did that never cross my mind. Well, if he's deaf, and I just say 'I'll buy you a new broom' he wouldnt notice. I walked out the front door.

I was in luck, he was on the left side of the schoolyard. That's in the direction of my bike. I walked to him. Said hi, he didn't react, and then just flapped it out. 'I'll buy you a new broom.'

He looked up, finnaly our 'relationship' has come to a new level. He looked back down again. He heard me, he had hear me say 'I'll buy you a new broom.'

'I'll give it too you next week.' I said, he didn't react. 'Bye.' It was friday, and I wasn't sad. I was happy. I was happy some guy who was sweeping the schoolyard reacted to me.

It is Thursday, and my salary has come in. I went to shop and looked for the best broom I could find. Ah, this one should work well. It was a brown broom. With black hairs. Much better as that old thing he was working with.

I got my broom to school at lunch time. I got a lot of 'Great work yesterday's.' But I did not care. He would be happy with his new broom. The Math class was more boring than others. But it didn't matter. He would get a better broom, and I won't be sad once more.

I walked out of the front door. I looked left, he was not there. I looked right, he was not there. He was gone. I went in to ask the janitor if 'the guy who sweeps the schoolyard' was sick. He answered with a very cold voice.

'No, he killed himself last wednesday.'