Teacher trouble

In the sixth grade, I tried not to make waves. I just wanted to blend in. But every once in a while, I would do things, without forethought, that would get me noticed.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the first few days of school, I was unable to get into my locker. This meant I had to carry all my books for all five classes all day long. It was a big load that was difficult to handle under one arm while I was walking. (And keep in mind that I was 10 years old at the beginning of the school year.)

I came across a solution in which I could hold all the books and keep them under control. I was able to place them on top of my head and keep them balanced with both hands. This worked great! For a couple of days, this was how I walked to each class. I didn't care what anybody else thought, I was able to carry my books and not worry about dropping them.

However, on the second day, my English teacher stopped me while I was walking down the hall. He gave me some lecture about not carrying my books on my head, so I stopped doing it. Pretty soon after that, I got a new locker, so I didn't have to worry about having to carry all my books around all day long.

The next day, after I got home from school, my Dad asked me about me carrying my books on my head. He basically told me to stop doing idiotic stuff like that at school. I knew right away that my English teacher had called him. I wasn't expecting that. I didn't even know my Dad knew my English teacher. But Artesia is a small town, so it's not surprising that all the teachers know each other.

I do wish that my Dad had taken this stance when he received the phone call:

"Mr. Ogolon? This is Fayd's English teacher at Zia."

"Yeah?"

"Fayd was walking around school carrying his books on his head. I told him to stop it."

"Oh, my gosh! Did he hurt somebody?"

"No."

"Did he stop doing it when you asked him to?"

"Yes."

"THEN WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME AND BOTHERING ME WITH THIS?"

"Uh..."

"Listen, Fayd is going to do a lot of weird stuff at school. Every day for four years, all I heard about was everything strange he would do in class. Last year was nice because I didn't have his teachers coming up to me every day complaining. So, unless he kills someone or is disobdient or disrespectful to you, I don't want to hear about it!" >click<

I think my Dad gave up on me being a "normal" kid when I got to high school. It would have been nice if he had decided to do that when I was 10.