8/7/2019 Mr. Bromley

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8/7/2019 Mr. Bromley

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already. It was junior year and we had learned about the god ear two years ago. He had told the

same stories, the same way, with the same expressions, and same motions countless times to the

 point where people could recite them verbatim.

Mr. Bromley taught five classes and had been doing so for over thirty years. Everything

repeated. The years collapsed and faces melded, but his persona remained. It was just a character 

for him – all just part of a very long act.

Senior year and people are divided: there are the disillusioned and the still enamored.

Sitting at his desk, back straight, he isn’t bouncing around between the broken groups. A few

hours ago someone left a recent and highly respected acting magazine on his desk. The cover 

article was entitled, “Dictators and Instructors;” a scathing piece that broke down the faults

 prevalent in many acting teachers – [expand on what he did]. Someone had bookmarked it and

highlighted each sentence that pertained to him. It is the first time I see him quiet. It is his first

 break in character.

The summer after freshman year of college my friend and I make a trip back to see some

old teachers. The bell rings and doors open. Through a steady stream I can see him sitting at his

desk, his hair a wavy dark grey – he’d been dyeing it.

The next summer the only thing left of him is a brass plaque hanging over the newly

dedicated theater.

The next summer I stop going back.