SCHOOL AND ICE CREAM TROUBLES

My first grade came with many degrading moments. One that stands out in my mind was the day Mrs. Bush, the nasty teacher, would not let me go to the bathroom...I remember that day, I had to be excused. I held my hands up until I thought they would fall off...trying to keep my arms up to be recognized, holding my arm, the right, then the left. Up and up switching one from the other...making sounds of urgency. Try to get her to acknowledge my need. She did not, she would not. I held it and held it..until I could not hold it anymore and all of a sudden I wet all over my clothes and all down the floor..She was furious! She made me go to the nurses office. There I had to wash my panties out and hang them on the hot water register to dry. Then with a little short dress on, had to go to lunch with no underwear and sit on a long cold steel lunch table bench, trying not to expose any part of myself...It was something I will never forget. The next first grade disaster, I remember, was when I wanted to take home a cho cho cup. They were little chocolate ice creams in a white, paper cardboard container. The lid was the same and one had to take the tab off to expose the ice cream inside. I loved those little ice creams and wanted to take mine home to show my mom. Never thinking it would melt all over and drip out. That night I forgot it in my desk. It melted all over the floor, the next day lay my cho cho cup in liquid form on the floor under my desk. Mrs. Bush came and asked me what that was. Frightened, I said, I didn’t know!! She investigated and not to my surprise there was a soggy, warm cho cho cup. The contents melted to the floor. She then instructed me to go to the janitors closet and get a mop and clean it up. My older sister was in sixth grade at the time. She was up stairs in her class. So heading to get the mop. I wanted some comfort from her, so I walked up the steps and knocked on the door of her room. They were taking a test, I interrupted it and was told to go back to my room. I did. With that, I was instantly escorted to the front of the room and thronged over Mrs. Bush’s lap and paddled in front of the rest of the class, watching on. I tried not to cry, but I did. I guess I cleaned the mess up...that I don’t remember. But I did remember never to bring ice cream home with me again!!