Mrs. ArGee remembers some kid who sat behind her in home room and relentlessly kicked her chair for the entire year - whatever year that was.
I guess I was lucky to be as shunned as I was until I was a Junior in H.S.
In first grade, there was a boy who sat behind me. We had those old desks where the seat for one held the desk top for the desk behind. There was a hole for an inkwell and a groove across the top to hold pencils.
My hair was long and I kept it in braids. He would sit there, being bored and pull my braids. I finally got tired of it and told him, “Sam, if you pull my braids one more time, I’m going to punch you!”
Sadly, Sam did not listen...he pulled my braid, but in doing so, he snaked his left hand into the cubby hole of the desk, grabbed my braid with his right hand and stuck it into the inkwell where he grabbed it with his left hand. Wrong move.
I pivoted on that braid, grabbed him by the lapels on his shirt, yanked him out of his seat, tearing the lapels in the process, and punched him in the nose. He let go of my braid. And his nose was bloodied.
I was sent to the Principal’s office where he reprimanded me, but I told him in 6-year old language that Sam had been warned and I was a woman of my word.
My parents thought it was funny, but ya know? All the way through school, none of the boys wanted to date me.