Teacher’s All I said to Molly was that Mr. Hanson was kind of cute. He is our chemistry teacher. Chemistry is the boringest stuff on earth, but he gets excited about it. He is really dorky, but he tries to make chemistry interesting. He makes terrible puns and tries to be funny to help keep us awake and make us understand. He is a nice guy, goofy as can be, but in a cute way.That is what I meant.
wasn’t there. When I went upstairs looking for him, I found him standing at my desk reading the letters. “NO!” I screamed, pushing him backwards onto the bed. He is two years older than me and quite a bit bigger. He just laughed. Everybody was laughing at me. I was out of my mind with rage. I was on
Has anyone seen my tie?
H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 22
Molly knew it. She even agreed. But then over lunch, right in front of me, she told Kelly and April that I think Mr. Hanson is cute! She acted like I was some geeky kid with a crush on old Mr. Hanson—just for a laugh. She knew it wasn’t true. She knew Kelly and April have a mean streak and she played right into it. What made it worse was that I completely lost it. Molly laughed harder than anyone. By the end of the day, the whole school was laughing at me. They called me “teacher’s pet.” It is not like I am super sensitive.This isn’t the first time I’ve been subjected to public ridicule. I am, after all, in high school. But it is the first time I’ve been betrayed by someone I really care about. I can handle April and Kelly.They’re just a couple of stuck-up dolts. But Molly! Molly was my friend. She handed me over to their ridicule like a lunch lady slopping seasoned beef into the all-you-can-eat taco bar. She did it just to gain a few seconds of female bonding! She and April and Kelly were the “in” crowd. I was taco filler. I was so furious I misspelled my own name on my Econ paper in 5th period. I plotted my revenge all afternoon. I would make Molly endure public humiliation. As soon as I got home, I started writing letters to the school newspaper about her. Wouldn’t they be interested in the fact that Molly won’t drink out of the drinking fountains at school for fear of germs? Wouldn’t they get a chuckle over her summer polka festivals with her grandparents? She has costumes and CDs. Who even knew there were polka CDs? Vengeance would be mine. She was no match for me in a war of words. I was well into my second draft when Mom called me down to get Dad and my brothers from the garage for dinner. I got Dad and Michael, but John
top of him and trying to hurt him, pummeling him with all my strength.Then Mom and Dad were there, telling me to stop, and pulling me off of him. I melted in frustration. I curled up into a ball and rolled onto the floor between my bed and the desk and cried. Mom and Dad told John to leave, but he didn’t. He just stood in the doorway.They eventually got me calmed down and off the floor. I told them what
