I had my earbuds in and was grooving to my favorite song when I saw a flash of someone at my side as they tackled me. Luckily, I landed in the grass. I found two police officers on top of me, and was quickly cuffed. By the time I was apprehended, the other two squad cars and the girls cross-country team, with their coach, were all on the scene. When they pulled back my hood, Peggy Pratt was screaming at the police to let me go. I finally shook my earbuds loose so I could hear.
Peggy was pissed.
“You idiots! You said some guy was chasing you. Do you not recognize who this is? This is David Dawson!”
“Did he try to do anything to you other than follow you?” the officer that tackled me asked.
None of the cross-country team would look me in the eye. The coach got in their faces.
“Answer the man!”
They all shook their heads no. The policeman took the cuffs off me.
“Son, what were you doing?”
“I was running, sir. I play football and didn’t have practice this morning, so I decided to run. When I saw the girls, I noticed that they were running at my pace. I let them lead. It’s more enjoyable to run with someone than alone. When they got back to the school, I turned to head home. That was when you tackled me.”
Peggy was in her street clothes.
“I used to run with him, but he’s too fast for me,” she added. “David’s our starting quarterback, and these airheads should have recognized him.”
She chuckled.
“You realize how fast you were running? These girls will be sore for a week.”
“How come you weren’t running?”
“I have two tests today. I was coming in early when our coach grabbed me and told me that the girls were being chased.”
“I have a first-period math test. Do you need me for anything else?” I asked and pointedly looked at the policeman.
I jogged home and got into the shower. I was running late, so I sent a text to Greg to see if he was still home. He sent me one back that said he was already at school. I ran down, grabbed my bike, and rode it to school and was five minutes late. I ran into my algebra class to find everyone had already started to take the test. I sat down in my seat, and Mrs. Sinclair motioned for me to come out into the hall with her.
“David, you were late for class, so I’ll be giving you a zero on the test. I don’t care how big a star you think you are, you’ll not slide by in my class.”
I was stunned. I currently had a B+ in this class and a zero could pull my grade down to a D or even F.
“Mrs. Sinclair, I’m not sure what I’ve done to make you mad at me, but this will kill my grade in this class.”
“You jocks are all the same. You think you’ll get a pass in life just because you’re popular. Well, today you’re learning a valuable life lesson.”
I thought of several comments I wanted to make, none of which would help the situation. Some might actually get me kicked out of school. This was too big for me to take on by myself. I needed advice.
“Mrs. Sinclair, would it be okay if I made a phone call on how to handle this?”
“If I let you leave class to make a call, I’ll have to let everyone. Sit quietly until class is done.”
I felt sorry for myself. This was so unfair. Why would she single me out? There had to be a way for me to make up the test. Surely I wasn’t the first one to ever miss a test or be late. They shouldn’t give me a zero just for that. When class ended, I waited for everyone to leave. Mrs. Sinclair didn’t look happy that I was still there.
“Ma’am, there has to be a process for students who miss an exam. How can I make this test up?”
“As I said earlier, you were late for the test to start, so you get no credit for it.”
I was stunned. Students were streaming in for the next period so I just left. I knew Coach Lambert had a free period now so I went to his office. His door was open and I knocked.
“What can I do for you?” Coach Lambert asked.
“I’m having a problem with my math teacher. We had a test this morning, which I was late for, and she’s not letting me make it up. If I get a zero on this test, I’m afraid it’ll really hurt my grade. Can you help me, or give me some advice?”
“Can you think of anything that would have made this teacher mad at you?”
“Well, two things, actually. The first is I’ve missed some class time, but all of that was excused. The second is a comment she made: she said she didn’t care how big a star I was, she was going to make an example of me. I think she thinks that I’m treated differently because I’m an athlete.”
“Well, get used to it. People will always think you’re getting special treatment. Let me give you some advice: work this out with her. Your best approach is that she’s treating you different because you’re an athlete, and you want to be treated like everyone else. If that doesn’t work, come back and talk to me.”
“Thanks, Coach.”
I looked at my phone and it told me that World History was almost over. I figured I would just go back to Mrs. Sinclair’s room and wait for the period to end. When the bell rang, there was a rush of students as they exited her class. I waited for the majority to leave before trying to enter the room. Mrs. Sinclair didn’t look happy to see me.
“Ma’am, could I have a moment of your time?”
“Since you’ve been polite, I’ll give you a couple of minutes.”
“I just have one question: what would have happened if I wasn’t an athlete? Would I have been able to take a make-up test?”
Her body language told me she wasn’t happy with what I asked. She gave me a stern look.
“This is going against my better judgment, but I’ll give you one chance to prove me wrong. When is your study hall?”
“Last period.”
“I’ll give you a make-up test then. Don’t bother asking what was on this morning’s test, because it’ll be different.”
“Thank you, I’ll see you then.”
AT LUNCH, I PULLED Luke, Mike, Tim and Jeff aside to talk to them about the Wesleyan Christmas Dance.
“Tami needs a favor. Wesleyan is having a Christmas Dance, and she wanted me to ask you guys if you’d be willing to be dates for some of her friends.”
They all smiled.
“Okay, what’s the catch? Are all these gals unfortunate-looking and have great personalities?” Jeff asked.
“No, they’re all good-looking, well, except for yours, Jeff. She has a bit of a mustache. But according to the other girls, she’s a good kisser.”
“They kiss each other?” Luke groaned.
“Well, of course, what do you think boarding-school girls do when they’re lonely? I’m sure that if you go, there’ll be plenty of girl-on-girl action.” I had them hooked. “The dance is on December 19, which is a Thursday. We’ll go up Thursday afternoon and stay until Sunday, so come prepared, Jeff. That means bring condoms. We’ll have a fun weekend.”
“I don’t think I can go,” Tim said dejectedly. “My family’s flying to Florida for Christmas. I need to check the dates with my mom.”
I handed him my phone.
“Call and find out. I need to tell Tami today.”
Tim went off to ask. Of course, the other three went and told everyone that would listen. Tim came back and told me that he couldn’t go. As soon as everyone knew that there was an extra slot, Jim pulled me aside.
“David, good buddy, friend of mine ...”
“I don’t know, Jim. What’s in it for me?”
He thought for a moment.
“I won’t tell my mom what you’re doing to my sister.”
“Jim, I’ll go with you, and we can tell your mom together if you’re worried. Just be prepared to live with your sister until she goes off to college. After a few weeks, she’ll be cranky. After a month, you’ll be losing body parts.”