My fourth grade teacher
once called
my younger brother,
who met me every day
in the cafeteria for lunch,
her "favorite misanthrope".
We needed
her help in spelling it
so we could look up
what it meant.
Misanthrope: noun: a person who hates or distrusts mankind.
I was jealous.
Not because
I hate or distrust
mankind,
but because she
only noticed me
when I hummed
Bee Gees songs
in class,
trying to impress
Wendy Harnagel.