IN the early morning light, Robert Chippendale, an English teacher for over 20 years at Tower High, arrives at 7:04. he will never touch the card again. he does not know that before the end of this day, Tower will be shaken by murders, highlighted by the ten o'clock television news and denounced by the general public. Dressed in blue jogging pants, he carries his sports jacket and his newest pants, his school clothes, on his shoulder, in a clothes bag that he hangs in the teacher's locker room. Walking slightly down the stairs to the back bedroom, he opens it to cross the short path to the running track. He lets his mind wander. Is it too late to change your life? A season spent going in circles, starting and stopping at the same point on the track, a metaphor, he thinks, for his teaching career, now rutted like the track itself, in the sweet years of familiarity. he bends down to tie his shoelaces and notices that the air is surprisingly sweet. he doesn't see the face inside the red hooded sweatshirt, the body falling on top of him. lying on the ground, Chippendale tries to regain his face, the morning sun blocking his view. he certainly hears the torrent of words. The red hooded sweatshirt Hey, man, watch where you're going. You haven't heard of it, excuse me? hey, I'm talking to you. Chippendale thinks, a canceled morning run, an incident report to the dean, a trip to the office. It's not worth it, not at all, not on this glorious winter day. The voice again: Hey man, where are you going? You owe me an apology. you think I'm nobody? something psychotically nervous in the voice, all the more reason to drop it. As Chippendale stands up, he watches the red hoodie pick up a long thin package and head out the back door, towards the school... middle of a paper... my cool program you got executed last time. . I liked that; It made him look like a famous person, a movie star or something. I think you're wrong about murderers being forgotten. We remember a lot of bad guys. I too want to be famous one day. Maybe like in the movies, one of those guys who can scale the outside of buildings, or shoot hundreds of people, like this movie I saw where this WWII German is standing on a balcony with his big gun, and he's attacking people left and right, like it's no big deal. So cool. People were falling everywhere. Hysterical, man. Why are you looking like that, is it funny? Anyway, I have to go to class. Do you look like my red sweatshirt? I swear I had it when I got here. Okay, okay, I'll do it. Who do you want me to meet? IS he a new teacher? Will he replace Mr. Chippendale??