text: Damon’s 2 nd Chance By Jame Michaels Just as I was coming through the classroom door, the bell rang. “Damon, I’d like to see you after class, please.” It was Miss Mc Gary. “Yes, ma’am.” I knew what this was about. I didn’t think anyone saw me when I left school last Friday, but someone must have spotted me besides Rat Face. The real name for Rat Face was Richard. Richard was on me like stink on dodo. Not just once in a while. But ALL THE TIME! He must have a terrible home life because every day when he came to school, he had one mission. GET DAMON!! But it’s not just get GET DAMON!! It was get Damon down and beat the ever loving crap out of Damon. Over and over. Three times a week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tuesday and Thursday I have band practice and my Mom picks me up after school. I stopped by Miss Mc Gary’s desk at the end of class. Was I fighting with Richard after school last Friday? “No ma’am. He was fighting me.” “It looked like you were fighting.” “No ma’am. I didn’t even have my hands up. He fights me and he beats the-you-know-what out of me three times a week.” “Damon - you have to start standing up for yourself.” “But Miss Mc Gary, if I fight him I’ll get kicked out of school. I’m better off to run home.” So, I stopped taking the bus from school in the afternoon, so I didn’t have to meet up with Rat Face at the bus stop when I got off Number 23. He had to take Number 17. He got kicked off Number 23 for fighting and they put him on Number 17. And guess what? Number 23 and Number 17 wind up at the same bus stop - the last stop, at the end of the line. So I stopped taking the bus home. I walk home because it is safer. So I am walking home one day about a month ago. It had been a while since I saw Rat Face, and it looks like my walking home to miss Rat Face has been working, and who do I run into? Carolyn O’Connor. She is like the cutest girl in the whole school. She’s (secretly) the girl of my dreams. I know it’s stupid. Her father is a dentist and I don’t have a father. Her mother is on PTA or something that rich mothers do for the school. My mom works a nine to five. She wears the cutest little outfits, a different one every day, and I wear the same pair of khaki pants every day and a polo shirt. When I see her I can’t even talk and she thinks that is the cutest thing that I am tongue tied and can’t get any really smart things out of my mouth. I’d like nothing better than to take her into my arms and, and, well you know what I mean. So what does she tell me last week? This ugly guy Richard something or other has been asking her out and she can’t make him see that she has no interest in him whatsoever. What can she do? “I’d have your father call the principal and tell the principal that Richard is bothering you and it has to stop.” Carolyn nods her head up and down. “O.K. I’ll try that.” I just make it into class as the bell is ringing. “Damon I’d like to see you after class, please.” It was Friday, my last class for the week. “Yes ma’am.” I got an A on my report. My mom will be happy to see that bit of good news. After class I go see Miss Mc Gary. She wants to know how I have been making out with Rat Face. She doesn’t call him that but that is who she is talking about. I tell her what I have been doing and she wants to know how that has been working out? I tell her and she says. “Do you have a minute? I’d like to show you something.” “I was talking to my father about you and he wants to give you some training. Interested?” “Yes ma’am!” I met her dad. He was the same size as me. We spent a half an hour on hand to hand training he used in the service. I had to go back and meet him in a week for the second lesson. He and I met up in the gym at school on Saturday. Miss Mc Gary’s dad wants to see what I remember. We go through the steps. “Perfect!” her dad shouts. “I have one more for you!” They go through the paces and her dad asks if Damon thinks it will work. “Do I ever hit him in the face? That’s what he always does to me.” “No,” her dad says. “Let’s wait for the last class next week.” I walked into the last period on Friday a little early. Miss Mc Gary said, “Damon. How are your lessons coming along?” I didn’t say a word. I gave her a thumbs up sign and sat down. I got to the gym a little early on Saturday. When her dad walked in, her dad said, “Ready?” I hollered a little louder than I meant to, “Yes sir. Ready!” ”This is your last class Damon, let’s go over the first two lessons. Miss Mc Gary’s dad and I went over the three moves from the first class. “Perfect!” Then they went through the moves from last week. “You are a little rusty on the second move. Do you have someone you can practice with on that one?” I thought about it. “I think I know a guy.” They went over the last three moves. “O.K. Damon. You need to join a gym where you can go and practice these nine moves in order. Next you need to do your warm up exercises, every morning except for Sunday. O.K.?” On Friday the following week, I got on Number 23. More than just a few of my buddies knew what happened the last time I rode on Number 23. But no one said a thing. One of the kids who rode to the last stop hollered out, “Look Damon, Number 17 is already here!!” Everyone got off the bus. I got off last. As I descended the stairs of the bus, I noticed Rat Face to the left, but I was looking to the right when my foot touched the ground. Rat Face called out my name, but instead of looking to the left, I swung around to the right and did a straight arm move right into Rat Face’s chest. That move knocked Rat Face smack on his back. I then backed up to give Rat Face a chance to get up. Rat Face came forward, and WHAM, BANG , I stuck my left leg out and pushed Rat Face back and down Fat Face went for a second time. This time on his face. The ground where we were fighting was a little rocky and Rat Face cut his check when he went down. The other kids were all brave now and lined up behind me. “Had enough Richard, or do you really want me to really give you an ass whooping?” Richard raised his hand. “I give.” The following Monday I walked home from school. Carolyn hollered out from behind, “Hey wait a minute!” I stopped and waited for her to catch up. “Can I ask you a question,” I asked when we were standing next to one another. “Sure.” “Can I take you to the Homecoming Dance in two weeks?” “Oh yes!! You bet you can!”