Reply #24: I can't remember the kid's name, but... [View All]

[Systematic Chaos]

...I attended 7th grade, for a brief time, at Northside Jr. High School in Roanoke, VA, before moving to Florida (we left the exact same day that John Lennon was shot). I was 11 at the time, and one year ahead in school. I attended a couple of classes, including Phys. Ed., with this kid who was only 10 and who must have had a 150 IQ if not even higher. I will never forget this one shirt he wore that had little planets and comets and stuff on it because I was just discovering sci-fi and thought it looked cool as hell, even if geekish.

We had Phys. Ed. together during the last period of the day, and it was common for us all to want to shower and dress as quickly as possible, then gather up our belongings and wait at the locker room exit for the final bell so we could run to our buses and go home. One afternoon, everyone decided to all-out stampede out of the locker room and in doing so they knocked this poor kid over and literally trampled him. I was at the back of the crowd, witnessed this horrible thing and just freaked out. Our teacher, who IMO was a bit of an asshole, was nowhere to be seen. I remember so vividly how this poor kid started to cry afterwards, and that one of the lenses popped out of his glasses when they fell off his face.

I stayed behind with him just long enough to ask if he was okay and make sure he wasn't seriously hurt. I have always regretted that I didn't stay with him long enough to escort him to the office and report the incident. I had a chance to be a much-needed friend to him but instead I just went my own way. All I know is that for the final couple of weeks before I moved from there, I hated that teacher and most of my fellow students with a passion that has been matched only a few times since.

Damn, I didn't think my response was gonna be so long. Sorry 'bout that. :(