Grossdale Middle School News 2

That’s right I go to Gross Middle School.

Go ahead laugh. I just got punched in the face by Bob Brown. I took a blow to the face but just stood there. Then these kids kept edging me on, “Come on Craig, hit him!” I looked at Bob and he was asking for it.

Any inkling of pacifism just escaped my mind..

for the moment. I imagined Bob was my older brother and I just swung and swung at him until he was on the ground eating gravel. He covered his poor face with his hands but I couldn’t stop pounding him until his friends Ryan Debroski and Dean Salerno pulled me off of him. They said,

"Come on. Leave him alone. That's enough."

There was so much testosterone and epinephrine pumping..

I didn’t know what was going on.
Kim Smiliano looked at me and said,

“Are you out of your mind? Old lady Tompkins called the cops. You’d better get out of here quick.”

I jumped a gate and cut through a yard together with my best friend Ed Stuart. His house was right there. We went up to the second floor bay window and watched as twenty middle school kids scattered in all directions.

I’m not even sure if Old Lady Tompkins called the cops...

or if the kids just made that up to stop the fight ‘cause no cops came. I breathed a sigh of relief. As we walked down the stairs we passed by Ed’s brother practicing Led Zepplin riffs on his Les Paul. He looked up for a second and with one word cast his judgment, “Dweebs.”

Ed agreed to walk me home.

He said he would do anything to get out of the house. We talked on the way home about a plan to take over the world one kid at a time. I kind of felt like a champion. Ed said,

“Did you see the way Kim Smiliano looked at you? She really likes you.”

I didn’t really like Kim.

She was nice and all but I really liked Becky Jenkins. There was just something about her. She was there at the fight but she didn’t even look at me.

She just walked away looking down at the ground. It all happened so fast and now I’m walking home with Ed Stuart and not Becky Jenkins or even Kim Smiliano. Ed nudged me,

“I asked you a question. What are you day dreaming about? Hey… You really do like Kim?”

Ed teased me.

Whatever!!

I wasn’t going to tell him that I like Becky so I just said, “I gotta go.” Then I rushed up my front steps.

Could this day get any more confusing? I got twenty questions from my mom about being late and then went to my room and crashed. The next thing I knew my dad was waking me up at 4:30 am to do my paper route.

I’m quitting. I only took the job because I needed some new clothes. I deliver the Chicago Tribune and Sun Times every day for just about a dollar a day. After a month I’ll have enough to buy a Polo shirt. But maybe I can just use my brother’s old clothes.

Oh no! Did I just do that?

Mr. Meyers is going call the news agency and complain about that broken window for sure. I hate this job. I’d better quit before they fire me.

The red brick walls around me...

and counting the random splotches on the ceiling tiles give me a strange sense of security at school. I’m a new student at Gross and this is my first day of language arts class. It must be my lucky day because there is an empty seat right next to Becky Jenkins.

I casually slipped into that seat and was ready to enjoy language arts. Just then Starica Bossy walked in and with her puppy dog eyes begging me,

“Can I sit here please? Please can I?”

I don’t know if it was the mall bangs and the perfume...

but I was like out of that seat and all red in the cheeks. I'm a sucker for these things and I really didn’t want anyone to find out I liked Becky. Not in the first week of a new school.

When I changed seats so easily without saying anything Becky looked dissapointed. She kind of just hung her head down and didn't even talk to Starcia Bossy. I wanted to be real cool about it but I was messing up big time.

Then an announcement came from the PA interrupted everything.

This is your principal P-A-L Mr. Nethead speaking. I have been informed of incidents of street violence in our Grossdale community. It has been reported that this violence is coming from our wonderful Grossdale students. I hope this isn’t true. Remember I’ve got my eyes on you. Coming from you principal P-A-L because I’m your pal.”

Where is my pal when I need him?

At recess I was followed by Ken Dasper, Ryan Debrosky, Dean Salerno and Bob Brown. Ryan said to me,

“You did a pretty good job yesterday. Yeah you fight real good. We want to see you fight Ken, right Ken?”

Ken just snorted. This was not at all what I wanted. Ken was taller and stronger than me and his Dad spent half his day under his ’67 Camaro. There was nothing I could do. I was already the kid who won the fight. I had to take the challenge.

The next thing I knew I was in the alley..

with an even bigger group of kids than before. There were sixth graders, seventh graders, eighth graders and it looked like some high school kids were there as well. I was face to face with Ken Dasper. This time I threw the first punch…

Blocked and returned..

with a right-left-right combination. I was feeling dizzy. My older brother watching from the side stepped in with a full swing to Ken’s jaw. Ken was knocked down and my brother took my hand and said,

“Let’s go home.”

Just then a blow came to my brother’s nose

out of nowhere. That was Ozzie Jerome a high school student and Ken Dasper’s friend. Ozzie was the youngest of the Jerome boys but in Gross Middle School he was

“a shadow of lawlessness and delinquency”
as Principal Nethead put it. Anyway my brother’s nose was bleeding and all because of me. It was time to go home.

I felt like the biggest loser...

walking home with my big brother who “tried” to protect me. When I looked around there was a large group following us home. Kim Smiliano and her friend Annette Delatato were there with some tissues trying to help me and clean the blood off. They were saying things like,

“Are you okay? Awe… You did great. Those kids are jerks.”

I had more fans when I lost the fight than when I won the fight. I kind of liked the popularity and attention for a change. That is until I got home.

My mom looked at us and said...

“What happened to you too?”

We had no choice but to tell her the truth. Our clothes were dirty and bloody and we could not hide my brother’s nose. Ozzie Jerome broke my brother’s nose with one punch. There was still fresh blood oozing down.

My Dad was so angry he went directly..

to Ken Jasper’s house. We found Ken's Dad in the driveway under the '67 Camaro. He gave my Dad a greasy handshake and then called Ken. My Dad was expecting to see some giant kid by our description but Ken must have looked skinny to my him because when we got home my Dad said:

“You could have had him. He is taller than you but you were not quick enough. You should have kicked him.”

I can’t believe this is the advice I was getting from my dad. But it seems that my Dad and Ken's dad got along just well.

After that talk with Ken’s dad...

a lot of things changed at school. Ken invited me to his house to play Atari Games and watch MTV. Ryan Debrosky, Dean Salerno and Bob Brown became good friends. I quit my paper route with the Chicago Tribune and picked up a route with a suburban newspaper that came out only twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Things were looking up for me at Gross Middle school and summer vacation was right around the corner. At least I won't be waking up at 4:30am every morning.

More Grossdale Middle School News is on the way
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