Throughout
my time in elementary school, there was another student who was
odd. For this post, I'll call him Joey. He was usually hyperactive
and he caused a lot of trouble in class. He wasn't a big fan of
rules. My group of friends didn't really accept him but he would
sometimes hang around anyway.
A
great example of Joey's behavior is the time is hit the teacher with
a pencil. It wasn't a stabbing. He used the eraser end. But it was
extreme compared to the typical behavior of the students in the
class. Over the years, he calmed down a little. He wasn't so bad to
be around by fourth grade. It was around this time that he invited me
to his house. I'm not completely sure why, but I accepted the offer
and went. Going to somebody's house was a big deal for me. I always
lived in a rural area, as did many of the other students in my
elementary school. It wasn't like a suburban housing development or
apartment building where we were all within walking distance of each
other. I made few enough trips to friends' houses that I can still
remember all of them, especially this one.
When I
got inside Joey's house, he turned his radio on to 101 KUFO, the hard
rock and metal station that no longer exists. This was the most normal part of my visit. It could be even be called comforting. If I was given control of the radio it's the station I would have chosen. We sat down to play a
round of the Pokemon trading card game. All of the cards were Joey's.
I didn't bring any of my own. Because of this, he had first choice
when building his deck which meant he got all of the good cards. With
my weak selection of cards, I engaged Joey in battle. Things didn't
look good for me, especially when he started making up rules. I'm
pretty sure he specifically arranged his deck rather than shuffling
it since I seem to remember him drawing six Bill cards in a row. The
rules limit you to four of the same type of card. Bill cards were
very useful because they allowed you to draw two cards from your deck
and add them to your hand. I lost the game, of course. Confronting
him about it seemed pointless since I wasn't any good at the game
even when it was played as intended. I wanted to get it over with
quickly. I could have said the same thing about the whole event.
I was
there for a few hours so I was glad that Joey offered me some food.
At least, I was glad until I saw what was available. The menu
consisted of strawberry Pop Tarts, strawberry ice cream, and plain
waffles. I wasn't angry and I didn't act rudely about the situation
but I wasn't feeling too hungry after hearing my options. Joey
partially toasted a waffle for me but I wasn't very interested so he
ate it. I wonder if better food would have improved his behavior.
I
don't regret going to Joey's house. It was a little weird but there
was some fun to be had. My friends found it very interesting that I
went over there. Their reaction was a mixture of shock and curiosity. Far too much kindness and the lack of alternatives were factors in my choice to go to Joey's house. There was no way I could just say "no" to an offer like this when I was that young. Luckily for me this was the only time I was asked.
Joey's father drove me home and Joey came along for the ride. When we
arrived at my house, Joey insisted that I borrow his martial arts
video game for the Game Boy. I still have it and he never asked to
get it back.
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