moosehead
Member
- Location
- South western Ontario
After returning to the city from my farm adventure it was time to return to normal activities which, beginning in September, was school and getting back to see friends and starting a new grade.
Our new teacher was Miss Wiliamson who was, according to all the boys, the most beautiful teacher ever...Well, I DID remember Miss Murray.....And as luck would have it my friends...Joey, Butch, Marty and Frankie....Were in the same class. Joey was seated behind me, Marty across from me and in front of me was a girl named Peggy. Now, she was the prettiest girl in the school, according to the boys but, as Joey told me, she wouldn't give any boy the time of day....Least of all me. Each morning I would say hello to her and each morning she would nod to me and look away....Oh well.....
Every morning at first recess the four of us...The guys...Would play marbles. We would bring our bag of marbles to school and from a marked line we would flip a marble toward the wall of the building and closest would win the marbles. On this one morning Joey nudged me and pointed out into the school yard...
"Dougie," He said, " See that big guy over there by the fence? That Richie."
"So?" I said.
"He's one mean kid." Said Marty. "He came over from some other school. I heard tell he spent more time in the principal's office then the principal."
Richie was huge. Tall, rather pudgy and, apparently, hated being called Dick. Which, it seems, he was called behind his back....
So we returned to our game. Just as I was about to flip a marble Joey let out a "Holy crap!".....He was pointing toward the school yard.
Heading our way was Richie.
"Holy Crap!" this once again from Joey.
I proceeded to flip my marble and then heard....
"What kind of stupid game are ya playing? Looks stupid!"
It was Richie and he WAS big. He towered over all of us. He was quite scary....
"Well," Said Joey, " it's called marbles..."
"I ain't talkin to you, squirt! I'm talkin' to HIM!"
I looked around to see who Richie was talking to....It was me....Oh crap.....
I look at , I mean UP at....Richie....And swallowed real hard...
"It's called marbles, Richie. Wanna play?"
Richie gave me a look of utter disdain and promptly knocked the marbles out of my hand.
"Why did you do that?" I asked.
"Cause I CAN! Ya gonna do something about it?"
With that Richie grabbed me by the front of my shirt and shoved me against the wall..This was getting serious.
"C'mon Richie, Let go", I said.
Richie's grip tightened....."Ya gonna MAKE me?"
"No wonder they call you DICK!" I said.....Oops....As soon as I said that I thought my life was over....He was gonna kill me....
Richie let go of me, moved back, glaring at me and, I noticed , his hands had curled into fists....About the size of hams....
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME ??? I'm gonna squash you like a bug!"
"Oh Crap!"....It was Joey...
So, I looked UP at Richie. He WAS angry and I assumed he WAS gonna squash me. I got that fight or flight feeling...I was leaning toward flight when Richie let forth with......…
"Yer a yella Momma's boy and ya ain't got the guts to do NOTHIN'!"
I decided that I had to do something other than run away...So I closed my eyes took a wild swing UP and hit something...AND heard a thump..
"HOLY CRAP!!!" It was Joey....
I opened my eyes, looked up and there was no Richie. I look down and there, sitting on the ground, blood streaming from his nose was Richie. He looked UP at me, saw the blood and started to cry...…
"YOU BROKE MY NOSE!" he babbled....Tears streaming down his face....
A crowd of kids arrived, surrounding the scene. Pushing through them was Mr. Franklin, the music teacher.
"Alright, " He said, " Break it up....What happened?"
After listening to Richie babble on about his broken nose and my attempt to explain my side of the story, he ordered Richie to get up and then grabbed us by the back of our shirts....If he did that now he'd probably be sued.....and marched us off to the principal's office...
Down the hall, into the office. Mr. Franklin knocked on the principal's door and, from the other side came the gruff, frightening voice of Mr. Wilson, the principal...
"Come In!"..Which the three of us did. Richie, babbling on about his broken nose Mr. Franklin tsk tsk'ing and me, trying my best to hide....
Mr. Wilson was seated behind his desk. He was, as they say, an imposing man, always wearing a dark suit and glasses.
He stared at me and then turned his attention to Richie who was still blubbering but hadn't mentioned his broken nose for a while....
"What, pray tell, happened to HIM?" asked Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Franklin explained what he knew of the confrontation and that it appeared Richie's nose appeared to be injured somewhat.....I noticed Mr. Franklin didn't call him Dick....And Mr. Wilson told Mr. Franklin to take Richie to the nurses office.....AND for Dougie to stay here....Oh Crap, I thought....
After Mr. Franklin left with Richie, who had stopped sobbing now and looked rather forlorn, Mr. Wilson turned his attention to me....
"So, Douglas, I hope you learned a lesson here. Violence never solves anything. I'm afraid I'm going to have to send a note home to your parents about this unfortunate occurrence. Do you have anything to say?"
I did but I thought silence might be the way to go. Also, I was scared....Mr. Wilson, whom I had never seen smile, asked me how my hand was and I detected a bit of a grin....Then again maybe I was seeing things....
"Well," Said Mr. Wilson, "Off you go to your class. I hope I don't see you back here any time soon..."
I Thanked Mr. Wilson, though I'm not sure why, and trudged out of the principal's office, past Miss Dunn, the secretary who was typing away, heading down the hall wondering how this was going to end....
When I got to the class room I opened the door. Miss Williamson stopped talking and all eyes focussed on me. I felt like the deer in the headlights. I hurried to my seat. Joey, sitting behind me, tapped me on the shoulder and congratulated me, Marty punched my arm and, to my surprise Peggy, the prettiest girl in the school, turned and said " You did good, Doug." And turned back facing Miss Williamson....Peggy talked to ME!. My day turned into a good one...
Anyway, Peggy, the prettiest girl in the school, became my lunch partner and we actually held hands, sort of, when nobody was looking.....She left before grade seven, moving to another city.....I was heartbroken for a while but got over it as one usually does. Of course I often wondered how life would have been had she stayed.
As for Richie we actually became good friends. And, for some reason, Mr. Wilson didn't send that note to my parents. I guess he forgot....
Our new teacher was Miss Wiliamson who was, according to all the boys, the most beautiful teacher ever...Well, I DID remember Miss Murray.....And as luck would have it my friends...Joey, Butch, Marty and Frankie....Were in the same class. Joey was seated behind me, Marty across from me and in front of me was a girl named Peggy. Now, she was the prettiest girl in the school, according to the boys but, as Joey told me, she wouldn't give any boy the time of day....Least of all me. Each morning I would say hello to her and each morning she would nod to me and look away....Oh well.....
Every morning at first recess the four of us...The guys...Would play marbles. We would bring our bag of marbles to school and from a marked line we would flip a marble toward the wall of the building and closest would win the marbles. On this one morning Joey nudged me and pointed out into the school yard...
"Dougie," He said, " See that big guy over there by the fence? That Richie."
"So?" I said.
"He's one mean kid." Said Marty. "He came over from some other school. I heard tell he spent more time in the principal's office then the principal."
Richie was huge. Tall, rather pudgy and, apparently, hated being called Dick. Which, it seems, he was called behind his back....
So we returned to our game. Just as I was about to flip a marble Joey let out a "Holy crap!".....He was pointing toward the school yard.
Heading our way was Richie.
"Holy Crap!" this once again from Joey.
I proceeded to flip my marble and then heard....
"What kind of stupid game are ya playing? Looks stupid!"
It was Richie and he WAS big. He towered over all of us. He was quite scary....
"Well," Said Joey, " it's called marbles..."
"I ain't talkin to you, squirt! I'm talkin' to HIM!"
I looked around to see who Richie was talking to....It was me....Oh crap.....
I look at , I mean UP at....Richie....And swallowed real hard...
"It's called marbles, Richie. Wanna play?"
Richie gave me a look of utter disdain and promptly knocked the marbles out of my hand.
"Why did you do that?" I asked.
"Cause I CAN! Ya gonna do something about it?"
With that Richie grabbed me by the front of my shirt and shoved me against the wall..This was getting serious.
"C'mon Richie, Let go", I said.
Richie's grip tightened....."Ya gonna MAKE me?"
"No wonder they call you DICK!" I said.....Oops....As soon as I said that I thought my life was over....He was gonna kill me....
Richie let go of me, moved back, glaring at me and, I noticed , his hands had curled into fists....About the size of hams....
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME ??? I'm gonna squash you like a bug!"
"Oh Crap!"....It was Joey...
So, I looked UP at Richie. He WAS angry and I assumed he WAS gonna squash me. I got that fight or flight feeling...I was leaning toward flight when Richie let forth with......…
"Yer a yella Momma's boy and ya ain't got the guts to do NOTHIN'!"
I decided that I had to do something other than run away...So I closed my eyes took a wild swing UP and hit something...AND heard a thump..
"HOLY CRAP!!!" It was Joey....
I opened my eyes, looked up and there was no Richie. I look down and there, sitting on the ground, blood streaming from his nose was Richie. He looked UP at me, saw the blood and started to cry...…
"YOU BROKE MY NOSE!" he babbled....Tears streaming down his face....
A crowd of kids arrived, surrounding the scene. Pushing through them was Mr. Franklin, the music teacher.
"Alright, " He said, " Break it up....What happened?"
After listening to Richie babble on about his broken nose and my attempt to explain my side of the story, he ordered Richie to get up and then grabbed us by the back of our shirts....If he did that now he'd probably be sued.....and marched us off to the principal's office...
Down the hall, into the office. Mr. Franklin knocked on the principal's door and, from the other side came the gruff, frightening voice of Mr. Wilson, the principal...
"Come In!"..Which the three of us did. Richie, babbling on about his broken nose Mr. Franklin tsk tsk'ing and me, trying my best to hide....
Mr. Wilson was seated behind his desk. He was, as they say, an imposing man, always wearing a dark suit and glasses.
He stared at me and then turned his attention to Richie who was still blubbering but hadn't mentioned his broken nose for a while....
"What, pray tell, happened to HIM?" asked Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Franklin explained what he knew of the confrontation and that it appeared Richie's nose appeared to be injured somewhat.....I noticed Mr. Franklin didn't call him Dick....And Mr. Wilson told Mr. Franklin to take Richie to the nurses office.....AND for Dougie to stay here....Oh Crap, I thought....
After Mr. Franklin left with Richie, who had stopped sobbing now and looked rather forlorn, Mr. Wilson turned his attention to me....
"So, Douglas, I hope you learned a lesson here. Violence never solves anything. I'm afraid I'm going to have to send a note home to your parents about this unfortunate occurrence. Do you have anything to say?"
I did but I thought silence might be the way to go. Also, I was scared....Mr. Wilson, whom I had never seen smile, asked me how my hand was and I detected a bit of a grin....Then again maybe I was seeing things....
"Well," Said Mr. Wilson, "Off you go to your class. I hope I don't see you back here any time soon..."
I Thanked Mr. Wilson, though I'm not sure why, and trudged out of the principal's office, past Miss Dunn, the secretary who was typing away, heading down the hall wondering how this was going to end....
When I got to the class room I opened the door. Miss Williamson stopped talking and all eyes focussed on me. I felt like the deer in the headlights. I hurried to my seat. Joey, sitting behind me, tapped me on the shoulder and congratulated me, Marty punched my arm and, to my surprise Peggy, the prettiest girl in the school, turned and said " You did good, Doug." And turned back facing Miss Williamson....Peggy talked to ME!. My day turned into a good one...
Anyway, Peggy, the prettiest girl in the school, became my lunch partner and we actually held hands, sort of, when nobody was looking.....She left before grade seven, moving to another city.....I was heartbroken for a while but got over it as one usually does. Of course I often wondered how life would have been had she stayed.
As for Richie we actually became good friends. And, for some reason, Mr. Wilson didn't send that note to my parents. I guess he forgot....
For Peggy.