First Day of School
For years I had watched as my brothers went to school, and I wished for the day when I too could go. I vaguely remember attending the Head Start program, but it didn’t matter because as one brother pointed out to me, it was just for babies anyway. But now I was older, so I could go to school with all the big kids.
I was excited in the days leading up to my first day of kindergarten. My parents had taken us shopping, and with checklists in hand, we bought all the required school supplies. Brand new crayons, new pencils, my very own eraser, a blue apron to paint in, and a denim sleeping-bag to take naps in. For me, all for me! Oh, I couldn’t wait for my very first day of school.
The day had finally come. One brother showed me where my class was and then he quickly left for his own class. Suddenly, I was alone. My excitement and joy turned to fright. With my school supplies tucked under one arm, and my prized Gingerbread Man record album that I had brought for show-and-tell in hand, I remained outside the classroom and leaned against the big sink. All the rooms designated for kindergarten classes had big sinks next to their doors. Little ones tend to require more handwashing then the bigger kids, what with all the finger painting and bad habits yet to be broken.
A pretty teacher came outside of the classroom and asked what my name was. She then told me her name and asked if I wanted to share the Gingerbread Man album with the rest of the class. I panicked under the immense pressure that she was putting me under, and I responded with a resounding Noooooooo. I then turned and ran down the hall as fast as my feet could go. I ran up the stairs and left the school, deciding right there and then that I didn’t want to go to school after all.
When I arrived home, Mom was having a cup of coffee with Hilda, the woman from across the street. I tried to explain to them that this school thing was highly overrated, but neither of them were listening. They took me back to school that very morning. Later that evening, Dad gave me a spanking for cutting class.