Chapter 2

"I don't care how big a jerk you are, Josh Logan, you just saved me from a horrible experience. Oh, damn, there's the bell for the first class. I gotta run. Maybe I'll see you at lunch."

That last remark floored me. Maybe I was getting some good out of being less of a jerk. I sure hoped so.

My first class was French. I could get away with skipping that one, since I had never attended a session since the school year started. Instead, I went to the office and asked the clerk, "What are my chances for getting into the dirver's ed class?" Since it was so late in the school year, I figured that the class was booked up solid and I didn't stand a chance. Much to my surprise, there was an opening. A person had just dropped out. I thought, "Genie, did you have anything to do with that?"

"Yes, Master, I did. I thought you would need all of the help you could get."

"Well, thanks, Genie, I appreciate the help." I thanked the clerk and changed the subject. "How do I arrange to take the GED exam so that I can drop out of school?"

"You go down to the office of the School District and apply for the next opening on the exam list. They hold the tests once a month and they normally have openings every time. There is a fee to cover the costs, it says here that the charge is $27.50, payable when you sign up and not refundable."

"OK, thanks for the information."

I stalled around until the bell went off and went to my second class. This one was English Literature. The topic of study was Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. I knew who Julius Caesar was, but I had never heard of the play. I panicked and mentally shouted, "Genie, please help me. Give me what you can on the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare." Suddenly, I knew all there was to know about the play, including all of the lines. As I sat down in an empty seat, I started mumbling to myself Marc Antony's famous funeral oration.

"Ah, Mr. Logan. So nice of you to grace us with your presence. I hear you reciting the famous funeral oration. Please stand in front of the class and give us the benefit of your knowledge." That bastard teacher was trying to embarrass me because this was the first class I had attended all year. Well, I was about to fix him! I recited the passage with all of the proper inflection and emphasis. I actually received applause from the other kids in the class while the teacher stood there with egg all over his face.

I grinned and asked the teacher if he would like for me to present any other excerpts from the play, but he declined my offer, with thanks. There were some kids in the room on my side, since I heard snickers as I walked back to my seat. I was surprised to find that not only did I know and understand the play, but I enjoyed it. Hell, maybe there was something to this Shakespeare guy after all. Did I hear chuckling in the back of my mind?

The next class period was American History. I admit that I was actually a little bit interested in that subject, but I had cut the class simply because it came up too early in the day for my tastes. Anyway, this time I found a seat, but kept my mouth shut. The teacher was so surprised to see a new face in her class that she asked for my name. I told her, so she checked her roster and found my name. "Mr. Logan, why have you decided to grace us with your presence this late in the school year?"

"Well, to make a long story short, I have decided to take the GED exam because I don't want to waste my time in class. However, I thought it would be good politics to attend a few classes on a matter of principle."

"Oh, you think you already know everything you need to know about American History. Perhaps, in that case, you would grace us with a recitation of all of the presidents and vice presidents from George Washington to Hillary Clinton."

"Yes, Ma'am. Would you like for me to throw in the names of the losers each time, too?"

"Yes, that would be delightful, Mr. Logan."

I called on Genie for help and went down the list of winners and losers, occasionally offering some editorial opinion on the winners and losers. The teacher was stunned! She had me sit down, and the rest of the class was a chaotic disaster as she kept losing her place in her notes as she glanced at me to see what I was doing.

The class was finally over, and everybody was glad, but I did get some high-fives from people as they left the room.

The fourth class period was study hall, and there was no point in me going there. Instead, I went to the gym and spent my time shooting hoops with a couple of other guys who didn't see any need for study hall, either. When the bell rang, it was at last time for lunch.

I got in line at my usual place for the free lunch and mooched my was through like I always did. I was trying to maintain some cover, but it was a total waste of time. My experiences in English and History were all over the place, but the main topic of conversation was my rescue of Sheila Harris from that asshole just before classes started this morning.

I was nearly to the end of the line getting my food when he came limping into the lunch room. He was greeted by raucous laughter so bad that he turned around and left without even getting in a food line. I sat down at an empty table as was my habit, but I was there less than two minutes before Sheila and four of her friends got up from their table and came to sit with me.

To say the least, I was stunned. No one had ever deliberately chosen to sit with me at lunch before, but here were five of the nicest girls in the school publicly announcing that I had their approval. Man, this was the sort of thing that John Wayne would have made a movie about!

I was on my best behavior, and, I will freely admit that Genie coached me a couple of times in how to handle a situation. I must say that I have never enjoyed a school lunch as much as I did that day. It was like the first ray of sunshine after a hurricane—I have never had more fun in a social situation.

One thing that surprised me and pleased me no end was that I was able to hold up my end of the conversation. Several times I needed help from Genie, but I was never tongue tied or overly nervous, except when I was asked the cause of my change in attitude.

Again, with help from Genie, I said I finally realized how much of a jerk I had been, and I was trying to change. All five girls insisted that whatever I was doing, it was the right thing, and I should keep it up. They all said that when I acted like this, I was fun to be with, and I would have girls falling all over me if I wasn't careful. I told them that I had resolved to try to improve even more.

Before the bell rang to call us to the next class, Sheila asked me what I was doing Friday night. Genie let me stew with this one for a few moments before he told me what to say. Less than a minute later, I had a date with Sheila for a movie on Friday night. Since I did not have access to a car, she promised to meet me at the theater. WOW! What a day, and it was less than half over.

I got through the school day with a minimum of misadventures and was walking to the bus stop to head home when Genie said, "Danger, Master. Drop to the ground!" I did just as a brickbat (half a brick, we don't have many rocks in central Florida) went flying over my head. It would surely have caught me in the back of the neck if I had not dropped, so chalk up another one for Genie.

From the ground, I looked around to see who could have thrown the brickbat, and spotted Bill Wilson, the boy I had kneed in the balls that morning. There was no way I could let this ride. If I didn't react forcefully, he would think that I was afraid of him and my life could well have been in danger. That brickbat might well have killed me if it had landed.