I Didn’t Like High School

I didn’t like High School. Not at all.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to learn stuff. And I’m a wealth of useless information but…..

If it’s not something that interests me, or if the teacher is a windbag that drones on and on, or it’s a boring topic and no amount of magic tricks will make it more interesting, you get the idea.

I just didn’t like High School.

So I didn’t go.

I would go to homeroom, so as to not be marked absent and trigger a call to my parents, and then I would go with my boyfriend to his college. Sometimes I’d audit classes; sometimes I’d use the library to do my homework.

Yes, I said homework. 

I’d go to homeroom, then visit each of my teachers, hand in my homework, get that day’s work and be on my way. The teachers all knew I wasn’t there but I was doing the work and keeping up my grades, so what did they care?

I was on a work/study program. I would attend school (ahem) for half the day and then work for the rest of the day. I was working full time by my senior year.

I worked as a cashier at the neighborhood grocery store. My mother would shop almost daily. I think it was to check up on me, but I didn’t mind.

One afternoon I was sitting in front of the store on my break as she pulled up in her car.  From across the street you couldn’t hear what she was saying but you could clearly ‘read’ the words on her lips, 

‘I’m going to kill you!’

The school had finally caught on and called her. Nine weeks later!  Yep, I had skipped school for 45 days straight!

The school threatened not to graduate me, on a technicality. 

Although my grades were good and they couldn’t use them as the reason, they could use the fact that I hadn’t fulfilled my physical education requirement.

The principal called my mother to the school where he proceeded to lecture and denigrate both of us. 

Apparently the fact that she didn’t know I was skipping school was unconscionable, but that the school didn’t know was okay!

After his little tirade was over, my mother very quietly said to him, “YOU didn’t notice she was missing for NINE WEEKS! A fact that the school board and the media would be VERY interested in, I’m sure. Her grades are good so you can’t say she flunking. And I’m sure if we discuss the problem with the physical education teacher we can come to a mutual agreement. If she doesn’t graduate, that means you have her for another year!”

Talk about threats! LOL

All I had to do was write a paper for the Phys Ed teacher.

I graduated with my class!

(When the boys were growing up she reveled in the telling of my little escapades! I think she hoped she was giving them ideas!)