Over the summer I could only imagine what high school would be like. My boss, who was a recent high school graduate, told me many incredible stories about his high school days and experiences.
And for my birthday this year my mom bought me a whole collection of clothes that were in the current style. Another plus was that my acne had finally become manageable even while my face was covered in grease on the days that I worked.
Now it was time for the summer to be over and the new school year to begin.
I was so excited to be going to high school. I think I was hoping it would be a continuation of my last year in junior high school which greatly improved after I joined the track team.
My first day was uneventful, which I was happy about. But I will add that it was a challenge.
The high school was so much larger than my junior high school. And I was disappointed that none of my fellow classmates from junior high school were in my classes. This made me feel alone in navigating the corridors and classrooms in this new school.
And the juniors and seniors were very intimidating to me. I was a newbie and they knew it.
Over the summer I grew some more. I was no longer a smaller sized teenager. I had grown in height and now pushed well past five feet with some added inches. But I was still a skinny kid compared to some of the older teen boys.
As the first day progressed, I kept getting lost in the corridors during class changes. My locker was in a corridor that was far away from my classrooms. So, most of the first day I was consistently late for class.
At least the teachers were understanding of the freshman and the challenges we faced on the first day navigating this new school building.
As the week progressed, I tried to fit in. I already hated several of my classes. But I kept pressing on.
In my math class I was put at a table at the back of the classroom, and it was a very large class of students. I think I was assigned to the table of misfits.
And then there was my chemistry class.
Each student was given a slide rule and quickly showed how to use it. I was lost the moment I picked it up. I knew I was going to have big problems in this class after I asked the teacher to help me, but his attention was given to the table with all the cute girls. Go Figure!
He was a young chemistry teacher, and I will admit that the girls were pretty.
I was also told by some sophomores that there was this challenge for incoming freshmen students. And the challenge was a big one.
I was told that if a freshman could capture the senior’s baton the freshman would be granted immunity to all the incoming class challenges and heckling in the first semester that freshman experience.
I felt I could do this challenge without any help from other freshmen. I started to follow the senior group that held control of the baton. I carefully plotted my moves.
Before the end of the first week, I made my move in the cafeteria and captured the baton. As the seniors chased after me, I quickly exited the school cafeteria and headed towards the desert, the same desert where I had ridden my bike on the trails.
I knew this desert like the back of my hand.
And I was fast.
They could not catch me.
As I approached the edge of the desert where the houses started, I stopped and turned to face them. They quickly caught up to me. I was a bit scared that they were going to beat the crap out of me, but I was ready.
I took the baton and that was my goal. I achieved my goal and was very happy that I did.
I prepared myself for the pain.
The seniors surrounded me. I closed my eyes, expecting the worst. Nothing happened.
I opened my eyes and one of the seniors said, “The senior baton challenge does not start until next week.”
Now I felt stupid.
To my surprise they acknowledged my achievement of stealing the baton and granted me a free pass. And they noted that I was fast, and they did not think they could catch me.
So, there would be no beating. No heckling.
I handed them the baton. They acknowledged that I was free to go.
This would be the high point of my first semester.
As the weeks went by, I settled into a routine at school and struggled to do well.
I learned that the high school had a boys bowling team. I went to the tryouts and made the team. Honestly, it wasn’t that hard to make the team. I was a very good bowler now and easily outscored the others trying out.
The high school bowling season wasn’t that long of a season. There were not that many high schools to compete against. Our team did okay. If I remember correctly, we finished in the middle of the group.
By late fall I began to crash. I think my brain was done. While I still wanted to do good in school, I stopped doing my homework.
I began to fail in my classes. I did not want to be in this place. I had no one to talk to during the day. I was becoming a loner.
I think that the last two years of the challenges that I had experienced finally began to creep back into my life. I began to smoke cigarettes. And where did I get the cigarettes from you might wonder. I took them from my mom. And they were menthol Virginia Slims.
This was not a good move for me.
By the end of November, I was no longer going to school. Yes, I dropped out of high school. And I quit my job at the A&W Root Beer restaurant.
I had become lost in life.
I felt alone…
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