Chapter II: The First Day of School
The next day, I wake up to my first day of 5th grade. It's warm and sunny out, warranting a sun dress and sandals.
I complete my usual morning routine, and by 8 o'clock I'm ready to start my day. I leave the apartment having never seen my mother.
As I'm walking towards my bus stop, I watch other children leaving for school, only after their parents give them hugs and wish them a wonderful day.
I want that, I thought to myself, which was quickly answered with you're not good enough by that disapproving voice in the back of my mind that oddly enough sounds a bit like my mother.
The bus pulls up next to Cattaraugus County Elementary School and we all pile out of the front door. I make my way to Mrs. Franklyn's classroom, number 72. She's a stout woman with curly brown hair and a wide grin on her face.
"Good morning class." She says in an excessively cheerful way.
"Good morning Mrs. Franklyn." We all say, simultaneously.
"How was everybody's summer?"
She then points to the girl in the front of the room and conducts us to go around and tell the class what we did over break.
"What about you, Ms. Ronan?" She says, pointing a finger at me.
"I spent my summer at Vacation Bible School."
The room erupts with laughter, and my face erupts in a blush. Soon after, the recess bell rings and I run out to the playground.
As I'm sitting on the swing, I hear feet shuffling the gravel behind me. I turn to see a group of boys with their arms crossed and a smirk on their faces.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Jesus freak." A tough guy who seems to be the" leader of the pack" says.
"Leave me alone." I say in annoyance.
"Oh, look boys; we've got a feisty one."
The group surrounds me and within seconds I'm trapped.
"Whose gonna save you now Ronan? Your precious Jesus?" He punches me in the arm with a force that knocks me out of my swing. Then all of the boys join in.
"Hey, what's going on?" I know that voice. It's the principal.
"She hit me Mr. Grete!" Their leader says hiding a sneer. I push myself onto my feet.
"That's a lie!"
But he doesn't believe me. Nobody ever believes me. We all end up in the principals office.
"I've called your mother."
Oh no.
I gulp, "You did?"
"Yes I did, and she didn't sound very happy."
I wonder why.
Suddenly my mother storms in with a look of rage in her eyes that I'm sure the principal won't notice. After he explains the situation. she grabs my hand and begins dragging me out of the door.
"I can assure that it will not happen again, Mr. Grete."
At that she squeezes my hand so hard that it takes everything in my power not to yelp out in pain. When we're in the car, she releases the anger that has been building up inside of her for the past 30 minutes.
"Listen young lady, if you ever do something like that again, you will never see daylight again, do you hear me?"
I nod in agreement.
"I was in the middle of sleeping when I get a call saying that I need to come down to the school immediately, do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused me? You wait until we get home, you'll be scrubbing floors for a week!" She went on and on until we finally pull up to our apartment and she has to wait to continue so that no one would see the kind of woman that she really is.
As soon as we walk into the door she slaps me across the face and throws the mop at me.
She gives me a look of pure hatred and screams "Get started."
It's only the first day of school and my body is already covered in lies.
"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
-1Peter 2: 1-12