Back in 1968, I was just 16 years old and like many girls my age, desperately wanted to fit in and be accepted with all the other girls. My body hadn't matured the way some of the more popular girls had and my mom absolutely prohibited me from using any type of make-up except clear nail polish. Even my clothes were bought off the rack from the local K-Mart store, and again my mom decided what I was to wear. Most of my school clothes consisted of white blouses and plaid skirts. I would have given anything to have the tight fitting dresses and beautiful sexy outfits my friends wore. Almost all the girls wore stockings and I dreamed of the day I would slip on my first pair and stride off to school with all the boys admiring my beautiful legs. The thought of wearing a pretty and lacy, bra and panty set under my school clothes sent chills up my spine and made my insides seem to glow in a strange way. Certainly those beautiful underclothes were far more appealing to me than the plain white panties and maidenform bra my mom had me wearing. The knee socks I wore made me look like a 12 year old instead of my true age.

During the fall of my sophomore year, I had made friends with a group of girls that were considered quite wild. There were known to smoke cigarettes and drink a beer whenever they could sneak one from there parents house. One Wednesday, Laura, the leader of this small group asked me and another girl named Becky if we would like to join there special group. In my school this was considered almost as important as being asked out to the prom. The other girl Becky, was one year younger than me and really a nice person but very shy. We met all the girls after school that day, and they explained to Becky and I, that there was an initiation to be passed in order to join the group.

The following Saturday afternoon the football team was playing a home game. During the second half of the game, the girls would stand by at the doors to the boys locker room make sure all the boys were out and then Becky and I were to run into the locker-room past the shower area to the towel storage closet, grab a towel and run out. All the girls had done this before and since all the football players were on the field, no body had ever been caught. Needless to say I had never even peeked inside the boys locker room. The truth was that I had never been on a date. I didn't even really understand how or why boys were different than girls. My parents had only one child and that was me. My mother never spoke about the birds and the bees and felt I would learn everything I needed to know on my wedding night.

Saturday afternoon found me in the hallway with Becky, standing outside the door to the boys locker-room. Becky was wearing a pretty print dress that showed her curves and I had my usual white blouse and plaid skirt with knee socks. My knees were knocking so badly that I knew all the girls could hear them. Finally Laura signaled that the locker-room was empty and Becky very slowly pushed the door open. We sneaked inside and quickly realized the towel closet was at the far end near the door that led outside to the playing field.

I don't remember breathing the entire time it took to get to the closet and take a towel. Becky was right behind me and was white as a ghost. Suddenly I heard several older boys talking loudly and the click, click, click of metal cleats on concrete as the boys approached the outside door. As I turned to run the door began to open and I realized we would be caught red handed. A vision of my life passed before my eyes as I saw myself being expelled from school and the horrible punishment my parents would inflict upon me. Becky quickly ran behind some old lockers that also had a large trash can blocking the view. I practically dove behind a couple of large dirty towel bins and sat on the floor to conceal myself. Four senior boys came in all dirty and limping. One boy had hurt his leg. They went to the far end of the locker-room to shower and dress. Just then two other boys walked in. Tod McKenzie and Eric Lewis. Although they were eighth graders and only 14 years old, they both had reputations as the most foulest and crudest two boys in the entire school. Everybody knew of them. There clothes were always dirty, they dressed sloppy and talked filth. Words that I didn't know the meanings to. Nothing was beyond this pair and to prove it they had been expelled from school numerous times.