Thursday, August 30, 2012

The Denim Vest Girls and The First Day of School

It is nearing the end of back to school week here in these parts & I sure do hope that your kiddos have had a great first week!  I was reminiscing the other day about my first day of high school and I realized that I should share my embarrassment if for no other reason than to make you laugh.

So here goes...

A little background:
Like all incoming high school students, I was terrified of what would be awaiting me at Monterrey High School.  I had a great Jr. High experience and I knew my friends were all facing the same fate, but I was still so very nervous.  So, I did what any Type A personality does - I planned.

I planned as many details as possible to try and ensure that my experience be as smooth as possible.  Here is what I made sure was set up:  

Clothing - I scoured the latest trends and magazines & carefully chose an outfit that was trendy enough to fit in, but not so fashionable that I might stand out.  The choice (remember this was 1994) a white shirt, jeans, denim vest (ha!), and doc martin type boots.  I also got the ever popular JanSport green back pack.
Drop Off - I was concerned about the fact that I did not drive nor did any of my close friends.  I quickly discovered that someone would have to drop me off at school, so I planned to have my friend Kristie’s mom drop us off.  We gave her implicit instructions that AS SOON AS the drop off was made that she was to exit immediately.  There were to be no long good-byes or circles around the school to make sure we were okay.
Lunch - At Monterrey, we had an open lunch where everyone had the freedom to go off of campus for lunch.  I knew that it would be social suicide to eat lunch in the cafeteria, but without access to a car where to eat was a dilemma.  After many phone calls and long talks with friends, a small group of us determined that we would walk to a friend’s house near the school and eat there.  So, I packed my lunch and carefully hid it in the bottom of my backpack.
With these careful plans I was all set to face my first day of high school.

I was confident.  Imagined that it would be a great day....

Until I opened my front door and stood face-to-face with my friend Kristie.  She was there to pick me up, and I immediately knew that this day would pose some problems.  As much as I love Kristie, I was horrified to realize that we were wearing matching outfits.  There standing before me was my dear friend in a white shirt, jeans, denim vest, similar boots...and wait for it...the same JanSport backpack.

“Oh my gosh!”  screamed my Sophomore self.

Hadn’t I discussed my clothes with Kristie?  Obviously not (she was horrified too).  We stood there dumbfounded and I considered going to change, but I had put careful planning into this clothing choice - it was part of my security plan...I couldn’t just discard it now.

We talked about it and decided that we didn’t have that many classes together - surely no one would notice.  So I hopped in her mom’s car and we headed to school.

I decided to ignore this bad omen and we focused on what lay ahead.  We were giggling by the time we approached the school and we reminded her mom of the plan.  She was to drop us off and get out of there fast.

Apparently, she heeded our advice well.  I got out of the car and then began to reach back in for my backpack.  As I was reaching for my bag, her mom let off the brakes and the car moved forward so that she could make her get-away.

My foot just so happened to be next to the back wheel and before I knew it, the car was on top of my foot.

“My foot!” I scream whispered, and my friend’s mom hit the breaks.  The car was now stopped on my foot and I was in excruciating pain.  My eyes darted around and I realized that screaming was NOT an option.  Kristie’s mom was also beginning to panic and wasn’t sure if she should go forward or reverse.

Kristie was screaming at her mom at this point as tears brimmed my eyes.  Her poor mom moved the car off of my foot while begging for my forgiveness and attempting to get out to check on me.

“Stay in the car,” Kristie and I hissed in unison...that was definitely not part of the plan.  I promised that my foot was fine and I did my best to hide the limp to show her I could shake it off.

Krisite tried her best to console me while I held back the tears.  I tried hard to not think about my foot pulsating with pain.  Afterall, I had something much bigger to face.

And with a deep breath, we turned around side-by-side in matching denim vests and faced the ominous building...

Surely it would get better.

to be continued...

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