This is from the My Life in Vignettes series No.

21 C

Its High School, Really? Harvey, Illinois 1959

Well what do you know? Im going to high school. Thornton Township High School, to be exact. And from here on out everything is going to be exact. Im a new man. I can do this. Caroline Campbell, lives right next door to us, she is in love with me. Shes a year younger than me, and I guess Im in love with her too. We spend hours in the basement sitting on an old sofa, kissing during the summer. So many hours youre tongue gets tired. I buy root beers for us at the A&W. We sit on the front porch at night and listen to Herb Kent, the cool gent. On AM, Chicago radio. Im ready to settle down. Get a job. Raise a family. Get out of here before I die. This high school thing changes my plans. Only temporarily, at least. I cant believe it. Here is an actual list Im holding in my hands that says: I can study any of the things I want. A list. Of course its not exactly like that, but I like thinking it is. I can plan my destiny. I want to take art, art, art, and art. With study halls, lunch and PE. This is a big school. Five thousand kids. By my estimate at first glance, all the girls are beautiful. Theres a tunnel under the street. Three floors. A movie theatre. More girls. Science rooms with pickled piglets in jars. This is a real institution for higher learning. Im not on the farm. Art class with Miss DuBois. She is so beautiful. Long straight hair. Legs a mile long. She looks like Bridget Bardot. High heels every day. Were her first students out. John, I like the way you put colors together. Youre doing well. Oh! Man. Theres a giant cafeteria that smells really good. For a dollar I can have fish sticks, chocolate milk and root beer barrels. I hardly know my old classmates anymore. I make new close friends fast. Cool kids who can dance. They think Im cool because I came from Chicago. Theres Tonys, a coffee shop hangout a block from school. Im convinced this is where the must have filmed West Side Story. Everyone is smoking in booths. Half of the kids dont even go to school. Theres Country and Western music in the jukebox. But theres Elvis and the Everly Brothers also. Im all about the Rhythm and Blues. I love Jackie Wilson, Lonely Teardrops.

I dont want to go home. Algebra: If there ever was something I could never get my head around it was algebra. Why did I choose algebra? Because I had no clue what it was and I liked the name. It sounded like a foreign country. As it turned out I was right. To me it was foreign country. The teacher, Mrs. Murdoch, would give us long talks about when she was held captive by the Japanese during World War II. The Japs thought they could break our spirit. It only made me want to teach algebra even more! You kids a very lucky to be sitting here today instead of eating bugs in the jungle! Id dream about what her husband must be like. I picture him setting up targets with Japs faces on them in the back yard, and her taking out frustration on them with a Jap rifle she brought home as a war souvenir. I still never could understand who would need algebra. And for what purpose? Lots of rumors: The girls all swim in the nude. I was going by the pool, lost. I opened this door man and my eyes popped right out of my head man. Twenty, totally nude wet chicks! I never could find that door. Everyone tried. Ill sell you a map that leads to the pool door for five bucks. Study hall: I never could figure out why they called it study hall. It was sleep hall is what it was. The bell was youre alarm clock. Movie theatre: I could not believe a movie theatre in a school. And free it is. I brag to my beloved cousin Tom about it. He goes to Mendel Catholic High School in Chicago. Hes brilliant. Of course we watch Abbott and Costello, but theyre still movies. Man, John you are so lucky. Oh, yeah, I met these girls, Sue Anderson and her girlfriend Mary Griffin in the theatre. I think I like them both. Sue is not her real name its Lucille. But she hates Lucille. She invited me to her house after school. John, please stop by after school. We can play records and dance. The basement is like a night club. Theres a bar. Nice tiled floor. Sofas and mood lighting. Im fourteen going on thirty at a high rate of speed. What is the first record she plays? The killer slow dance record of all time, Sleep Walk. Now we shuffle around slowly in circles. Cheek to cheek. By this time in my life I have a jukebox in my head that plays any song, anytime. I have the equivalent of 10,000 songs in my head by the time Im an adult. But I cant figure out an algebra problem.

Sue and I go steady. I buy a ring and she ties some angora around it and it looks like she has a caterpillar on her finger. She tells me stories about her family. And one in particular about her grandfather. I, of course, introduce my fantasy family to her. My real dad was killed in the war. He was a hero. He would take me everywhere. He really knew how to fish. I dream about him a lot and miss him all the time. John Brandt Copyright 2011 John Brandt