Ballot Tote Rolling Across Gym Floor at School Gate

Tropical late-afternoon sunlight glares off the polished varnish of a gym floor, transforming a crosswalk surface into a mirror of wet pavement. A heavy-duty ballot transport tote, dark and utilitarian, rolls across the striped white lines, its wheels catching the sharp light. Beside the path, concrete barriers hold up posters that have peeled away from the damp surface, their edges curling and clinging in the humid air. Late autumn leaves, brown and brittle, scatter across the dry patches of the asphalt near the school gate. The tote moves past the weathered signage, casting a shadow that stretches long and sharp across the white crosswalk stripe, ending abruptly at the curb.