When she transferred out of private to public school, you thought it best to let her go. She’d fallen below your class. It was time for you to find someone new.
You didn’t count on missing her.
You started showing up at her new school after the bell. She’d come into your Jeep and you’d talk and you’d tell her you might have been wrong.
The poor kids from her public school were always watching. Especially one kid. A guy. He couldn’t take his eyes off the two of you. You asked her about him, but she said he’s just a boy named Jack.
“Does he like you?” you asked.
She shrugged. She blushed a little.
One day when you arrived, a crowd of poor kids swarmed your Jeep. They told you to stop coming around.
“She belongs here now,” they said. “She belongs with Jack. And you’re in the way.”
You laughed at them. You admit it, you looked down on them. Public school kids. You told them you’ll come and see her until she says not to. You told them she’d be a fool to stay with the likes of them when a private school kid was giving her a second chance.
They said you were confusing things for her. She belongs at their public school, and she and Jack are in love. She just can’t let it happen until you’re out of the picture.
“Out of the picture?” you asked with a laugh. They didn’t laugh with you. Eventually, she got in the Jeep, confused by all the classmates surrounding it. When you pulled away you glanced up at one of the classroom windows and you saw him, Jack, staring down at you.
A few days later, a Friday, you were driving home from your private academy and you noticed a car following you. It made turn after turn with you, until you finally stopped on an empty street and the car sped up and rammed your rear bumper.
You got out. You went to look at the damage. You saw the driver, one of the public school kids, a girl, who crowded around your Jeep. You called her a bitch. She stepped on the gas and crushed your legs against your Jeep.
The girl got out of her car and stood over you, pinned between the two bumpers.
“She’s a public school girl now,” the girl said. “She belongs to Jack. Stay away from her if you don’t want to lose the top half too.”
Now you’re in a hospital room. You won’t ever be able to walk again. She hasn’t come to visit. You spend your nights alone, wishing to God you had never tried to get in between the love of a couple of public school kids.
Happy Public School Kids Day!
