Chapter 6

The more things change the more they stay the same.

At least that was the way I felt waking up Monday morning for school. For some reason I was actually looking forward to school. Not only that but I was planning on leaving early for school so that I could get into the gym before classes started. Getting up to do chores before heading to school was not a part of what I remembered from the previous year. Now though all I could think of doing was doing my chores so that I could get out on the road and do my four point six miles to school. There was another thing that had changed; my mother thought it was safe enough for me to run to school. Why she considered it safe now I had no idea but I was not going to look at the gift of freedom in the mouth and say something to screw it up.

So it was that I did my chores, alongside Brodie and the men he hired to help him though the school year outside before sunrise. When I was done with my chores I did not bother to clean up since I would be out running on the road then in the gym so a shower was an operation in futility. Because I already ran the distance to school most days the run itself was easy enough with the sun already rising over the eastern sky and the roads were fairly empty with only a couple of early morning drivers on the road.

The part of my plan that I had not considered was how I was going to get into the school. Because this was all new to me I didn't think about the idea that no one would be there so early. Circling around the school I was hoping that there might be a janitor around that would take pity on me. What I found instead of a friendly janitor was what appeared to be the entire football program standing outside by a pair of double doors. Saying hello all I got back was a few hellos and quite a few of indifferent stares as the players wondered what anyone was doing up at this hour when all they wanted to do was go back to bed. The one exception to the group of morning zombies was the guy who had answered back when I wandered up saying hello. His name just happened to also be Brian, when I gave him mine as Brian too, he laughed. When I asked what was going on he explained that the gym was opened early before school to let the all the teams practice since there was not enough time in the day for everyone to get in. From there he went around introducing me to the other players that were standing around us who happened to be the starting defensive line of the varsity team consisting of Hans Delmen, Jordan Wilson, Zach Ritter and John Eisleman. All four of them stood over six feet tall with Hans being the biggest at six feet five inches. I was truly in the land of the giants standing a mere four foot eleven.

After the introductions were finished Brian asked me why I was there since school would not start for another two hours. I explained that I liked to lift in the mornings because I worked in the afternoons. Since the other players were listening in on our conversation that produced a number of groans and a few other comments from the other players. But before Brian and the other varsity players could tell them to stop complaining the doors opened with one of the coaches behind them.

Being towards the back the six of us were the last ones through the doors when we were stopped by the coach asking Brian who the new guy was. Which Brian explained that I had just showed up looking to get into the gym to lift before classes started which produced a few groans from the players already inside. After the varsity players told everyone to "Knock that shit off," I gave Coach Hickem the basic version that I was a new student in town. Coach Hickem laughed saying that he wished his players had my desire. Asking why I did not just go to a normal gym I stated that my work interfered with my afternoons. After that Mr. Hickem shook my hand inviting me into his little version of hell. I was not sure if I would call it a little version of hell but as a coach he was merciless towards his players constantly extolling them to work harder.

As far as the gym being a little part of hell I would have had to disagree as it was one of the best apportioned gyms I had ever seen with twenty different lifting stations for the required lifts with free weights along two of the walls and various machines along the other two walls. Whistling at how large the room was Brian mentioned that there was over ten thousand square feet divided in two different gyms with this being the larger section. The other section was set aside for the wrestling team which would not meet up until football season was finished since most of the football team also wrestled. Before Brian could continue Coach Hickem called everyone together and gave them their morning speech telling them that their schedule was on the board. I was perfectly content to lift by myself but that ended after the first time I asked for a spotter. This in turn got me invited to join the rotation of a bunch of freshmen that were stronger than I was but could not do as many repetitions as I did and we continued this way until Coach Hickem called an end to the session.

That was when I noticed that everyone including the Coach who was watching but hanging back had surrounded the station I was working at. Drawing my focus I knew that no one had an intention of charging me or really doing anything other than watching. Asking what was going on Brian stepped forward saying that since I was lifting with the team then I needed to face the challenge of the pegboard. Brian went on to explain that what was required which sounded simple that two challengers needed to scale the boards with two dowels using each hole going up with the first one to reach the top then rang the bell then came down as fast as possible again using all the holes in the board

Asking who I was going to have to climb against, a chant started low with the other players calling out, Brian, which quickly built to a shout. Raising his hand in acceptance the chant changed to a cheer with a lot of clapping. Of course I would not back down (Too much like my father) and with Coach Hickem standing in the back watching I figured everything was fine. That was not to say there was not some razzing because when I took my position everyone realized that I was too short to get my pegs into the lowest holes since they were set at what I was told later was six foot six inches. For Brian he had to little more than set his pegs as he was already six feet tall before he even raised his hands.

With both of us hanging there I found my focus and simply waited for Coach Hickem to call out the start. When I heard the word "GO", I just climbed not thinking about anything else. IF I had been thinking at that point I should have realized that I should have been pacing myself so that I did not stand out. Even when the cheering stopped I did not think that anything was wrong, it was only when I dropped to the ground and looked around did I realize that the team was staring at me. Looking over at Brian he was still on his way down and was nowhere near done.

I will say that Brian was the most gracious of losers since at the end of his congratulations about my win as he was one of the team co-captains he gave me my official nickname as the Squirrel, proclaiming that since I climbed the board like a squirrel on a tree that should be my name. Congratulations continued for a while before the coach reminded his players that school was going to start soon and they still needed to hit the showers. The players of course moaned about it but left quickly still congratulating me on my win. When there was only a couple of players left the coach pulled me aside asking why I was not on the team especially if I was that fast. To which I answered that I had an accident over the summer and now my mother would not sign off so that I could play. Inquiring further as to why she would not sign off I simply removed my shaded glasses which produced a gasp from him and the few remaining players. Explaining about the accident I could see him nodding his head saying that although he was disappointed that I could not play but he understood why.

When I made it to the locker room the other players repeated the question as to why I was not on the team and when I mentioned my accident most of them stopped but a few continued to inquire why until I took off my glasses which quieted them down somewhat but instead produced a room full of; "That's Gross" and several "That's so cool." After my demonstration the excitement about what I had done dissipated slightly as players left the locker room for classes and as they left they stated that they would see the Squirrel later.

Stepping out of the locker room, Peter spoke to me for the first time in over a month, saying, "You have got to be kidding me!"

Being caught off guard at his sudden appearance and statement I looked around me to see what was wrong. The room was the same as the last time I was here waiting for the results of my assessment the only difference was about fifty students milling about talking to their friends and no one paying any attention to me. Finding nothing out of the ordinary I asked, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You're telling me that you don't see those legs in those short skirts?" Peter asked.

Looking around the foyer I could see what Peter was talking about but the skirts weren't any shorter than what the girls wore back at my own school. Answering Peter, I offered, "What about them they are no shorter than what the girls wore back home."

"But this is a school, how are we to concentrate with legs like those?" he asked.

Continuing on through the room trying not to stare I saw what he was talking about but to me they were nothing new. Answering Peter, I said, "I suppose that I will do what I did in class last year and ignore them."

"Right, ignore them, maybe you can ignore them but I have been around women and now we have legs like those around, there is no way I can concentrate enough to help you."

"Well I'm not sure if I want your help, it's because of your memories that I got stuck with all those science and math classes."

"Don't blame me, all you had to do was pay attention to what you were doing and if you did not recognize a problem you should have gone for the obviously wrong answer."

"This just sucks," I answered feeling a whine coming on.

"Sucks or not this is what is, I have no answers for you other than pay attention otherwise more of my own memories are going to leak though. Of course there is always the other side of the coin."

"Which is?" I asked.

"Well instead of whining about all of this you could embrace it and make my memories your own and who knows maybe you could become a prodigy with your schoolwork and get us out of here."

"I thought you wanted to remain anonymous. Becoming a prodigy with our history of the accident will probably draw all sorts of unwanted attention."

"That is a possibility but there can be advantages." At that point Peter flashed a memory of him with a woman small breasted with very firm legs. After that image he chose one of the girls we had just passed and put her face on the woman he had been with and played his memory for me. The first time he did it was such a shock that I did not react this time though with the girl Peter used as his model standing in front of me I of course had the typical teenage male reaction. All I could do was hurry past her and her friends before they noticed and laughed at me. While at the same time Peter simply had a good chuckle at my expense while making other comments about some of the other girls in the hallways whether they are seniors or freshmen. By the time we made it to my first class his tune had changed to more of a whimper as he realized that he would never be with a woman ever again. Of course he was still flashing images of his previous companions and what they had done together leaving me with a problem that I could not resolve standing in the hallway. When the doors opened I tried to keep my eyes away from all the skin that was showing because the more Peter complained about not getting laid anymore was having an effect on my physiology which with my heightened hearing I caught one or two girls commenting to their friends as I passed heading for a seat in the back.

As for my first class I was assigned to calculus and as all the students filed in I was glad I was stuck with the nerds as the amount of female flesh visible dropped quite a bit which in turn got Peter to go back to sulking wherever he did that in my head. With Peter gone to mope about what was no longer there, I now had time to relax and for the few seconds before the bell rang that is what I did because once the bell rang the instructor whose name was Mr. Jarrels introduced himself and his topic which was Calculus. For the next fifteen minutes he covered his syllabus and that was easy enough to follow then when he started in on the review of what the rest of the students were to study over the summer I soon found myself confused but understanding more than I thought I would. When he finished twenty minutes later he stated that he would give us the balance of the class to work on the summer review material. When Mr. Jarrrels stated we could work with a partner I asked around the table if anyone had done the work and I found out that like my friends and I back in California, no one did anything over the summer.

At least there I had that comfort as I had an empty table as my previous table mates went to hang out with their friends and discuss what they did over the summer. Myself I was content to sit alone and try to figure out what it was I was supposed to do in the book. The thing was my plan did not last as I was joined by several other loners who did not belong to another group. Then after names were passed around we settled into a nice working rhythm that unless someone had a problem they needed help with everyone was quiet. So with that I called to Peter since he was around now and asked for some help instead of help all I got back were images of problems he had done and him telling me that all I needed to do was remember them. That turned out to be harder the second time now that I was thinking about what I needed versus just clearing my mind and doing the work.

When the bell rang Mr. Jarrels reminded everyone that anything not finished was to be done as homework ready to be turned in the next time we met. With his statement there was a collective groan in the class that suggested that I was not the only student not prepared for the first day of school. Myself I was happy with my effort as I had answered over half of the problems assigned. Of course I did not know if the answers were correct but at least I had done the math. Then there was Peter who simply smiled at my efforts. Hearing nothing else from him I took it as a good sign. Heading out of the classroom he gave me the feeling that he would help me later.

The walk from first block to second block was only slightly better as there were more students in the hallways which prevented Peter from more comments and images. There were a few comments and images of course but I was better able to handle those since my Language Arts class was not that far from my math class. When the bell rang the teacher a Mrs. Jensen took the podium in the front of the room and started in on her expectations for the coming year complete with three book reports on books she had in the room(her walls had book cases from floor to ceiling). Being that it was a Language Arts class she also reminded us that in addition to the projects there would be weekly spelling and grammar quizzes. When she asked for questions on her syllabus a couple of students asked questions which she answered then continued finally finishing with a couple more questions. Then she launched into an hour long review which although different from what I had learned the year before was very familiar to me. Being dismissed this time we were reminded that if we had any questions that her notes and class assignments would be accessible on the school's website.

My next class was something new to me. While we were still living in California the school district was complete with six classes then if the brains wanted extra classes then they could take either a morning or afternoon class. The sick ones could take both. For the rest of the normal kids' six classes each day was enough. Here we had eight classes that were split into two groups and we only saw half of the teachers each day. There was one exception to that rule and that was for a short class during the day that was called Tutorial/ Advisory. Our adviser for this class was a lady named Mrs. Ruger and she would be our adviser all year. Winding down her opening monologue she reminded the class that any down time would be used for homework, as if I did not have enough time already.

For my third class of the day I was back with the S.T.E.M. Classes only this time it was Physics with Mrs. Packwood. She was an older woman and from what I could tell once she got past her monologue that was sounding very familiar to the ones given in my other two classes that she actually knew what she was talking about and was passionate about what she knew and willing to pass on to her students. That was not to say that we escaped with a light work load due to long lectures because we did not but for Physics there were a lot of problems done for repetition if you needed the help but she made optional if you could show that you understood what you were being taught.

The last class I had for my A day was P.E. That suited me just fine as most of the school's athletes or at least those who thought they were planning on being on one of the various teams either had the class with me or they were scheduled for the class tomorrow. The reason this class was good for me was that there was an unwritten rule that for the serious athletes that so long as they were practicing and working on their sport for the betterment of the school they were left to work out as they saw fit. For the football players that meant either the weight room or outside for drills under the watchful eyes of their co-captains. For the volleyball team it was both of the upstairs courts and for everyone else the main floor or outside which a majority of students took to the track for jogging after the reading of the riot act about their promise to work out on their own.

Myself I was one of the few that did not volunteer a sport so I was assigned to the basketball court until I did. Being singled out that was no one expected anything from me and since I was living out on the ranch I got little time to practice. Now though I had several new challenges the first being vertically challenged which was not much for me since I had gone though the same initiation when I first started playing on the beach near our home. Now the challenge was to get on the court at all since a number of the previous team was on the floor and in the end that first day I was pushed off to the side with the other freshmen who were never chosen to play. So for my first day I got to shoot hoops with a couple of other freshmen who were not considered good enough to get out on the court with the real players.

For the first day that was fine by me since I knew that after my changes over the summer I knew that my shot would be off. What I did not know was how far that was to be and after I let my first shot go I knew I had some work in front of me since my shot literally bounced off the top of the backboard. Several of the other players that were put down here with me also bounced some really bad shots but since no one was paying any attention to us our poor shooting did not matter. By the time we were called in to go change my shots were starting to drop and my estimation of the skills of my court mates was going down. But that did not matter as I had several new acquaintances with names like Sam (guard), Steve (forward), and one other new kid to the district named Bert (center) who if he ever learned to uncross his feet could be a monstrous inside man. In the end before I could get little more than their names the bell rang and like a starter's pistol they were gone for the day.

That was where we differed because I had three more miles to run so that I could start my first real day on the job with Steve. Passing all the cars and buses waiting on their students I found myself amazed that that many parents would stay home to pick up their students since the line of cars around the parking lot went around from the exit to the entrance with all the parents parked waiting. For myself though that was not a problem since I just carried my books on my back and since I was already warmed up I just headed off campus for Steve's place.

The change in the studio was as stark as my transition to school with over twenty students ranging in age from four and five year olds to older kids that I assumed were from the middle school. When Steve spotted me as I entered he chased the few kids that were on the mat to the side and invited me to join him. Dropping my gear to the side, then Steve made the first move and attacked me which I already knew he was planning. I countered him and proceeded to demonstrate for the kids who were around the edge watching that someone closer to their own age could fight a bigger stronger opponent. Steve and I continued like that for several minutes before he finally made a mistake and I caught his back leg with a sweep and he ended up on his back with my fist cocked for a strike to his head. When he called a break there was a round of applause for me and an explanation from Master Kim as to why we were fighting which included a round of embarrassment for me as my role was explained that although I was their age I was to be considered a visiting instructor.

Stepping out of the locker room once I got dressed I realized that being an instructor was vastly different from being a student and asking to help out. I soon found myself working with the more experienced students working on their forms then after fifteen minutes of that we switched around to work with other students so that by the time the hour was up I had worked with everyone once. That was when I found out that after the drills at the end of class Master Kim allowed students to challenge the instructors. Since the students had already seen Master Kim and I spar they chose the other three instructors which for the younger students went about what anyone could expect until the brown and red belts got their turn and although they were still beaten it was a lot closer.

When the next class showed up I could see that there were a few high school students in their ranks. When I was introduced as an instructor to this class I watched as a few students gave me a second look. When class ended this time I was challenged by three students, the lowest being an orange belt. When Master Kim reminded them that it would be full contact with pads the orange belt dropped out but that left two red belts. Lining up on the usual spot against the first, Master Kim was smiling as he told me to be kind as he was a good student. Moments later when he hit the floor from my leg sweep as soon as Master Kim called start everyone found out that he had a sense of humor, saying as he looked up from the floor, "Master Kim, did you know that you need to replace several lights?"

When my second challenger took her spot I could see that she was not nearly as confident as she had been only a minute before. When Master Kim called for us to start her first move was to move away from me. That was where she stayed trying to get me to commit while she waited for me to attack. When I did she was ready and for a few seconds she blocked my attacks until I started a sustained barrage which I did not stop as I attempted to drive her out of bounds. When she stopped her move backwards I hit her with four different strikes to her middle and to her head. When she raised her hands to protect her head I went for her legs and caught her with a sweep that tripped her up. When Master Kim called a halt she thanked me for honoring the challenge and soon thereafter we were dismissed as a class.

Brodie was there of course watching and the first thing he asked when I came out was what was up with the fighting which I told him about how the students could challenge an instructor. When he asked if I fought more than the two times I just stated that the first class got to witness a demonstration between Master Kim and myself so no one wanted to challenge either of us after we were finished.

Arriving home my mom wanted to know everything that went on that first day of school to which I gave her a rundown of everything I had done. The one thing I had not anticipated was that my nickname had already made the rounds as my sisters thought it was cute that I was known as the Squirrel. Asked about that I relayed how I had been challenged to a race since I was lifting with the football team. Of course my mother objected to that since she had stated that she would not sign off on me playing football. Correcting her I stated that I was lifting with the team in the morning and that it was a challenge to be able to lift with them. When I finished with my tale she was at least mollified although she was still not happy. I guess she was worried that I might get hurt again. When dinner was over I retreated to my room for some help from Peter on my homework and some recharging from my socket.

Tuesday I found out that Peter was ignoring me again when I called for him. Thinking that was a good thing for now I got up and went about my chores. By five-thirty I was on the road heading to school when a blue van passed me for the second time, the only reason I recognized the van the second time was when I read the license plate 'BBall 88'. When the van did not show up for a third time I simply put it out of my mind as I was getting close to school and in the low light of morning I could see in the student parking lot a number of players heading to the same doors as yesterday.

This time though it was not just the football players there as the basketball team was also evident by some of the taller people there including several female players. When the rude comments started towards the girls having no place in the gym it was the same co-captains as yesterday that put a stop to it saying that anyone caught saying anything would be in front of their coach by the time classes started. After Brian's comments the comments became simple mumblings that some of the seniors I had met yesterday squashed simply by standing next to the mouthy freshmen.

That ended when the doors opened with another coach standing there. This one though was tall and lanky and as everyone passed him they called him Coach Burchard. Once everyone was inside he reminded everyone that was there yesterday that they needed to rotate though the machines today so that everyone had a chance on the lifting stations. Again the younger players began to say a few things which once again the co-captains and a few of the other seniors ended quickly. The rest of the morning went fast enough although I did notice on more than one occasion the coach was watching me. When Coach Burchard ended the session there was a challenge issued only this time it was from one of the basketball players that had been somewhat rude the day before with those of us who he thought did not measure up to his standards.

One thing I will give him is that he could sure talk a lot of trash especially when he was told of the nickname that football players gave me. At first I was simply going to ignore his stupidity and climb at an easy pace when his comments started in on me being a freak with one eye. After last night's conversation with Peter his comments just annoyed me. Thinking of this as more than a simple challenge I took my normal spot with an assist up. When the coach called go I had already found my focus so with little more than a thought I climbed quickly finding each hole as I went up. Once there I did the same heading down not bothering to pay him any attention as I passed him going the other way. When his feet hit the ground after his loss I was already walking away towards the locker room with the rest of the football team around me.

Of course my walking away annoyed him even more which continued in the locker room. Now though there was not a coach or teacher around so I went from being blind to being a cripple. That was when some of the other players came to my defense asking him, "What does that make you since you had just been beaten by a blind crippled freshman."

That generated a lot of laughter from everyone in the locker room but all I could see was the glare he shot me. What could I say I had one good day at school before things turned to shit. At least I was consistent in pissing people off. Stepping into the welding class changed that though since my tormenter George Headwell had that class along with Coach Burchard who was the welding teacher.

The class itself was rather ordinary with the day spent going over all the rules for the class with 'Safety' being first on the teacher's list. When he was finished with his safety lecture he moved on to what he expected of us as far as the different types of welding were concerned. Then it was on to the types of welds we would be working on accomplishing. What he said next was the first thing that surprised me as he started talking about using a 220V arch welder. What caught my attention was that it was a different current than what I had used in my apartment. Of course I had seen Brodie working with the arch welder but until Mr. Burchard mentioned the current I had not thought about what I might be able to do with it.