Junior year started with Bang, Not a Chance, Thanks Mom!
We did it! Masters of the World... Issue #30
What a way to start off my school year after 6 weeks traveling around Asia with my friend Scott and my Dad! I was a newly awakened young dude fired up for what was coming my way. A fresh outlook on what the world could become with me in it. Ha ha, did I take that just a little too far?
School started, and everyone in my year knew that I had been off jet-setting during the holidays, and I seemed to have become somewhat of a rising star. Everyone was firing questions at me. “What did you see? Where did you go? What did you really do?” I started making fast friends with both the boys and the girls. I WAS LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT...
Here I was, hanging out with the Varsity Football guys and going to the Friday and Saturday night parties at people’s homes while their parents were away; it was the thing to do: throw a bash!
I fit in well and started going to all the school dances. I loved those nights. I was drinking a few bevies before going into the dance and getting the courage to ask any of the wonderful girls to have a dance or two or three. I loved to dance, and it became a bigger thing for me when I was older.
I went on dates, many, many dates. I wasn’t shy about asking any of the girls out. By now, I was driving, and I loved to drive, as did my Mom, who taught me how to power shift or another name for speed shift. Mom was a maverick, and she used to race cars back then. She even raced with James Dean.
Life was remarkable; this was the year Mom offered up the family home to make “MY” high school float. Every year, each Class makes a float for Homecoming. It was a 10-day and night process where hundreds of teenagers out of the 1000 in my grad year came to my home, and I was bonding and enjoying getting to know everyone better.
Everything went well until someone brought in a tank of Laughing gas. Oh NO… Who would do that? People were hitting it up; more people started getting wasted.
I believe I was even coaxed into taking a hit. All I could think of is I’m FUCKED! If the parents see or hear of this, I’m not only grounded for life, but it may affect my newfound popularity.
Guess what happened next!
Someone just got hurt, as I remember it, not severely, no ambulance or anything like that; I think some big guy fell on a smaller kid. Now that it was over, I knew I was flippin done, cooked, and grounded. It happened so fast you would even be amazed at the speed of intel back in 76, and of course, I got blamed.
Yip me, I was told I could not go to the homecoming game. I would miss watching our Varsity team kick butt or watch our Class win for the best float created at our home. How do I explain this to all my new friends? Dad and Mom went out of town, and I was instructed to stay inside our home while everyone else was having a blast.
I had a perfect idea… No way would Mom know if I went to the game so I could sneak out to be a part of it and run home afterward. Great plan. My friends had seats saved, and I was off! Run OLLIE run. Aaah safe.
This was the only year our Class of 78’ won “BEST BLOAT” over all 4 years of High School; lucky, I guess, and I was able to be part of it and see it happen. The Sea Kings also had their best performance since 1971 making Post Season Playoff’s so that was a biggie too. Now It was time to get my butt back home and fast.
A short time later, the phone rang; I answered fast as I didn’t want Mom or Dad to think I wasn’t there. “Hello, this is Ollie.” Then I heard a strange voice. “Hello, this is a Telegram message.” This person started reading the most embarrassing message over the phone to me. “This is from YOUR MOTHER! I told you not to go to Homecoming. What did you do? You will get the belt when I get home, and you will be grounded until the rising of Jesus!” Next, the doorbell rang, so I hung up. I was dumbfounded.
I ran outside as the gate was shut and was handed a Western Union letter. Yes, from my Mother repeating what the lady had just ripped me with over the phone seconds ago—a fresh copy for my lifetime records.
My life was in a mess and about to get a lot worse. The fear of the wrath of GOD was undoubtedly in place as I sat shaking in anticipation of an ass-whooping when she arrived. The smoke billows out as she rips down the driveway.
All I could think of was how can I soften this blow. What went through my mind was to wash the entire outside of the house. Polish every grass blade and dust off each petal of flowers so they can rise.
I could wash all the windows inside and outside the house, over 200 panes; that would get me good points. Wash the tennis court, then pick up all the snails crawling up the side of the cliff. Ok, now think OLLIE thinks, ok, got it. Polish Dad's shoes and Polish Moms, too. What else would shock them?
WOULD ALL THAT BE ENOUGH? No matter what, I promised my ASS was going to be black and blue, along with my hamstrings! OMG, “Help, please, God,” I prayed.
ifOnlyi… had not taken that hit of laughing gas, and before that when I knew who brought it to my home and caused havoc, I should have kicked them the HELL out of there ASAP with their tank! My life would have been very, very different, In My Opinion. Sad is not even the right choice of words, To Be Honest.
….ifOnlyi…. short stories are published chronologically, and follow my life growing up in California from 4 years old. If you’ve just found me the stories will come together when you start reading from….Issue #1