2. Right Back At Ya

It was my freshman year of high school and my parents had recently divorced. My mom, siblings, and I moved to a small town in upstate Pennsylvania. It was difficult enough dealing with family dynamics, let alone moving to a new town.

During my first week at my new high school, I was trying to find my way around the school and get familiar with the teachers.

Most of the kids there had known one other for years. They had grown up together. I was an outsider with a weird accent and a different style. Some kids were very kind and welcoming. Others were cruel, unkind, and very stuck-up.

In English class, I just so happened to sit in front of a girl who was one of the stuck-up kind.

The teacher asked me to introduce myself and share where I was from. So, I did. After I finished, we were told that there would be a pop quiz. The teacher asked me to take it so she could gauge my skills.

As the teacher was handing out the quiz papers, the girl sitting behind me tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to look at her.

She leaned in and said with a smirk, “Special ed is down the hall”. I just looked at her for a second, blinked, and then turned around. I was slightly irritated.

This girl had no idea who I was, and yet she had already made up her mind about who I was…and wasn’t.

Yep, I was fully irritated at that point. I filled out the quiz and handed it in for immediate grading.

As the teacher handed all the quizzes back she said, “There was only one student in the whole class who got a 100% on the quiz. Do you want to know who that is? It’s the new student”. She looked at me and said, “Congratulations!

If only everyone else would do that well on the next quiz”. I turned around and looked at the girl behind me.

I gave her a big smile and said, “Remember, special ed is down the hall”. The smirk on her face disappeared in a flash. She didn’t say a word.

Cris Good

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