some sleep, and then start out fresh tomorrow. But I guess my mind was so tired I just couldn’t see the right path —both literally and figuratively. Suddenly I realized I’d taken a very wrong path and I was standing at the very back of the school where all the trash containers are.
I’d never actually been back here before, but I’d heard stories that this is where some of the kids came to smoke cigarettes and pot between classes and after school. The moment I realized where I was I knew I’d made a mistake. I started to turn around when suddenly someone stepped in front of me.
I knew immediately who it was—and my heart skipped a beat. My body went cold all over. I tried to hide my fear, but I’m not a good actress. I’m sure even someone as dumb as Ben Thompson could see the fear on my face.
I could smell the cloying, sweet smell of marijuana coming off Ben and that made me even more scared. But at the same time a little voice in the back of my mind started trying to tell me something. The voice wasn’t quite loud enough for me to hear it clearly, but there was something about Ben that was familiar. I’d seen him somewhere else today, and it wasn’t in class. No. I’d seen him . . . .
“Well, well, lookie who we got here!” Ben said, inching his way closer and closer to me. Ben had been held back at least one year, maybe two. He was big, and mean, and dumb. He was slowly backing me up. Suddenly my back was up against a brick wall. Now I was really scared. “The snoop. So now ya come to spy on me, huh?”
“I’m not spying on anybody,” I said, trying unsuccessfully to push past him. He laid a big, beefy hand on the wall next to my head, blocking my escape.
“Is that so?” he said, leaning close to my face. The smell of marijuana was almost overpowering. “Well I hear you’ve been doing a lot of spying. You and your faggot friends. What’s your dorky boyfriend’s name? Jimmy? Jannie? No. Wait. Jason. Jason the nerd. Jason the nerd with two broken legs and two broken arms if you don’t stop your snoopin’. Understand, little girl? Or do you need me to give you a little demonstration?”
“I-I understand what you’re saying,” I answered as I ducked my head below the tattooed tree trunk he called his arm and hurriedly made my way to the walk leading back to the school grounds. For a moment he looked as if he was going to follow me, or stop me. I had the idea that he’d decided to hurt me to show me he meant business. But at that moment two janitors came down the walk pulling wheeled carts filled with trash cans.
One of the janitors looked at me; I’m sure he could tell how scared I was; then he looked at Ben and I could see a hardness come over his face. Both janitors immediately made room for me to get by. The one janitor never took his eyes off Ben as he said to me: “This ain’t no place for a nice girl like you, missy. You get on home.”
I didn’t look at Ben. I was so scared I didn’t even look at the two janitors as I slipped past them quickly. I’m not even sure they heard me as I whispered, “Thank you!”
The next thing I knew I was running across the campus, then down the hill. I don’t think I fully stopped running until I reached Wesley’s house.
* * *
I was counting on the fact that the guys would be at Wesley’s, working on his history project, but when I got there, his bug wasn’t in sight and no one answered when I rang the bell.
I was still scared to death. My run-in with Ben Thompson had been the ultimate caper to a really bad day! I sat on Wesley’s front porch and I could feel my body shaking with adrenaline-tinged fear. I tried taking several slow, deep breaths, like I’d seen people do in movies when they wanted to calm down, and I felt myself getting calmer and calmer with each breath. Who says it doesn’t pay to go to the movies?
Now that I was calming down that little voice in the back of my head started making annoying noises
I’d never actually been back here before, but I’d heard stories that this is where some of the kids came to smoke cigarettes and pot between classes and after school. The moment I realized where I was I knew I’d made a mistake. I started to turn around when suddenly someone stepped in front of me.
I knew immediately who it was—and my heart skipped a beat. My body went cold all over. I tried to hide my fear, but I’m not a good actress. I’m sure even someone as dumb as Ben Thompson could see the fear on my face.
I could smell the cloying, sweet smell of marijuana coming off Ben and that made me even more scared. But at the same time a little voice in the back of my mind started trying to tell me something. The voice wasn’t quite loud enough for me to hear it clearly, but there was something about Ben that was familiar. I’d seen him somewhere else today, and it wasn’t in class. No. I’d seen him . . . .
“Well, well, lookie who we got here!” Ben said, inching his way closer and closer to me. Ben had been held back at least one year, maybe two. He was big, and mean, and dumb. He was slowly backing me up. Suddenly my back was up against a brick wall. Now I was really scared. “The snoop. So now ya come to spy on me, huh?”
“I’m not spying on anybody,” I said, trying unsuccessfully to push past him. He laid a big, beefy hand on the wall next to my head, blocking my escape.
“Is that so?” he said, leaning close to my face. The smell of marijuana was almost overpowering. “Well I hear you’ve been doing a lot of spying. You and your faggot friends. What’s your dorky boyfriend’s name? Jimmy? Jannie? No. Wait. Jason. Jason the nerd. Jason the nerd with two broken legs and two broken arms if you don’t stop your snoopin’. Understand, little girl? Or do you need me to give you a little demonstration?”
“I-I understand what you’re saying,” I answered as I ducked my head below the tattooed tree trunk he called his arm and hurriedly made my way to the walk leading back to the school grounds. For a moment he looked as if he was going to follow me, or stop me. I had the idea that he’d decided to hurt me to show me he meant business. But at that moment two janitors came down the walk pulling wheeled carts filled with trash cans.
One of the janitors looked at me; I’m sure he could tell how scared I was; then he looked at Ben and I could see a hardness come over his face. Both janitors immediately made room for me to get by. The one janitor never took his eyes off Ben as he said to me: “This ain’t no place for a nice girl like you, missy. You get on home.”
I didn’t look at Ben. I was so scared I didn’t even look at the two janitors as I slipped past them quickly. I’m not even sure they heard me as I whispered, “Thank you!”
The next thing I knew I was running across the campus, then down the hill. I don’t think I fully stopped running until I reached Wesley’s house.
* * *
I was counting on the fact that the guys would be at Wesley’s, working on his history project, but when I got there, his bug wasn’t in sight and no one answered when I rang the bell.
I was still scared to death. My run-in with Ben Thompson had been the ultimate caper to a really bad day! I sat on Wesley’s front porch and I could feel my body shaking with adrenaline-tinged fear. I tried taking several slow, deep breaths, like I’d seen people do in movies when they wanted to calm down, and I felt myself getting calmer and calmer with each breath. Who says it doesn’t pay to go to the movies?
Now that I was calming down that little voice in the back of my head started making annoying noises
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