The school bell rang 3:30 and Bobby Watson gave me the middle finger while Craig Peterson flashed a demonic smile. I jumped up, stuffed my history notes in my bag, and booked for the door and the boys were in hot pursuit. I made it to the B wing exit and my pursuers were halted by Mrs. Passarello, who insisted they slow down. As I rounded the corner of Court Road, I ran across Mr. Dilkins lawn and he yelled, “damn you kids!” Just as I got to my house, they caught up to me and tackled me on the lawn. “What’s your hurry, sissy boy? You going to play with your dolls?” said Craig. “No, today he’s gonna play dress up with his Mom’s wedding gown!” “Get off, me!”, I screamed, “you’re hurting me!” Just then, My Mom came out on the porch and demanded the boys leave immediately, which they did. I ran into the house crying and My Mom added to my pain by exclaiming, “Why do you taunt those boys? Just leave them alone!”
“I didn’t taunt them! They are just creeps! Why don’t you believe me!” as my voice trailed off into tears and I escaped into the solace of my bedroom. After 20 minutes or so of blubbering, I acted on my self pity by reaching for my favorite stuffed animal, Gorman. He always knew how to comfort me when things got rough, and, as usual, he was right! Now’s a great time to play my new 45 rpm records I just bought from Harmony Hut! As Toni Tennile’s sultry voice playfully cooed away, I assembled all my stuffed friends into a frenzy of fierce familiarity and slowly the torment of the school bullies drifted away.