by Matt Witten
But not quite.
Andrea was officially awarded tenure, and the whole family went out to Bruno's Pizza to celebrate. Meanwhile, Elena and Melanie were both rehired for next year. Did they actually cheat on their students' Terra Nova tests? Guess I'll never know for sure.
I got a call from Lou Robinson one morning, and he apologized endlessly for going gonzo on me. He told me that he and his family had started going to a therapist. I wished him the best.
My inmates did their three performances at Mt. McGregor Correctional Facility and got standing ovations every time. Of course, they did have captive audiences. I sent Brooklyn's one-act play to a couple of friends of mine in New York City who run off-Broadway theatres. Hey, you never know.
My favorite thing that happened recently is Laura Braithwaite's new boyfriend—she's going out with a Schenectady Gazette reporter who did a feature on her. He seems like a nice guy.
When Andrea heard about it, she said, "So something good came out of this whole business after all."
Life is something else. One moment you'll be sailing along peacefully, and the next moment you'll happen to aim a spelling bee trophy at the wrong part of somebody's head, and your goose is cooked.
The truth is, my family is blessed. And if my kids don't get the best education in the world . . . well, as Charizard would say, even if school is thirteen-fourteenths boring, there's always recess.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my literary agent, Jimmy Vines; my editor, Genny Ostertag; and the folks who helped me along the way: Carmen Bassin-Beumer, Betsy Blaustein, Nancy Butcher, Tara Clavell, Julia Fleischaker, Bill Harris, Joe Pittman, Mike Sauro, Benson Silverman, Justin Wilcox, Celia Witten, and everybody at Malice Domestic, the Creative Bloc, and the late, lamented Madeline's Espresso Bar.
Also, I'd like to thank my son Zachary, who contributed the poem "Corn" to this book, and my son Jacob, who contributed the poem "Spring."
Finally, many thanks to Nancy Seid, who is not only my wife and girlfriend, but also a darn fierce editor.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Witten has written four Jacob Burns novels: Breakfast at Madeline’s, Grand Delusion, Strange Bedfellows, and The Killing Bee. He’s written for several television shows including Law & Order, House, and Pretty Little Liars. His published stage plays include The Deal, Washington Square Moves, and The Ties That Bind. His first movie, Drones, will be released in 2014. Matt lived in Saratoga Springs, New York, for ten years with his wife Nancy, who was an English professor, and their two young sons. (Not that The Killing Bee is autobiographical or anything.)
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