The day was almost done, the last bell, a few minutes from ringing and I had spent the last half hour waiting for Jerome...
"Wandering the halls again I see Mr. Dodd."
"Wasting time trying to bust my balls again I see Miss Popejoy."
"Doing my job, keeping track of students at my school is not a waste of time Mr. Dodd."
Miss Popejoy, the principle of the Washington Carver High School, had been on a mission to convert me, to save me, to turn me into someone who cared about school for three years. She was about out of time and she knew it... it made her angry and desperate. It caused her to dog me and harass me. It might have bothered me if I only cared...
Her 3 inch heels clicked on the concrete halls... her nylon clad thighs swished as she walked in the almost empty halls... Melissa Popejoy was a professional administrator... efficient and organized... I have no doubt that she had a file on everyone with copious notes... I could care less what she had written about me.
She was late 30's early 40's and full figured without being fat. 5' 9", 150 lbs... Most of the time she wore pants suits that were well made and looked good on her...
"If you spent half the energy on learning something, that you put out, to stay out of class, you might amount to something someday young man."
"Well then we are in luck Miss Popejoy because I spend no energy on staying out of class, I just don't go, so spending half of nothing on education is already in the bank. I hope that makes you as happy as it does me."
She was winding herself up, letting her frustration and failure in my case get to her... and me mocking her was only poking the bear...
She stopped three foot short of bumping into me and leaned in another 6 inches to emphasize her point. "I should have kicked you out of school two years ago! You are such a bad example to the other kids!"
"See, that's where you are wrong..." I said crossing my arms and leaning back against the wall... "None of these kiss ass kids wants to be anything like me. They all want to run in your rat race... they all want that gold ring... You keeping me here has been a great reminder to them as to why they want to stay in class... the district should be paying me to hang out and remind them."
"You are such a waste Casey... you could not make a dime in my neighborhood... no one would hire you!"
"You on the other hand," as I looked her up and down, exaggerating my actions, "could make more in three months in my neighborhood than you take home in a year working this dead end job."
She blushed and then got more red as anger took her words...
I saw the slap coming from the moment the thought first crossed her mind. I let it land to see what she had... it was not impressive... It hurt her hand more than it stung me.
I saw the horror enter her thoughts as it dawned on her what she had actually done.
I shrugged and said in my deep and menacing voice, "You are wasting your time and beginning to annoy me. Class is going to be getting out momentarily and unless you want everyone to witness my next lack of impulse control, I suggest you go about your business."
She took two tentative steps back, spun on her heels and made a beeline for her office several buildings away.
On second thought, she would not last three months in my neighborhood.
The bell rang and doors flew open. The day was done and everyone was headed home. Jerome walked with his eyes on the ground... about a foot in front of where his feet were. If he looked up when he walked, he tripped a lot... if he looked down he bumped his head once in a while, but that was preferable... it hurt less and no one laughed about it, at least not where he could hear. Because of it though, everyone made sure that they got out of his way... no one tried to squeeze though the door when Jerome was walking though...
I pushed off the wall as he came alongside and fell in with him. Neither one of us said anything until we headed out towards the parking lot where I knew his mother picked him up everyday.
