when i was four, i got to be line leader
for my preschool class;
i was so excited that
i went straight outside without
my teacher telling me to, leaving my whole class
behind. my teacher got mad, and i
think that was the first time i cried out of sadness.

in kindergarten, i stole a rock from my teacher.
i didn't know it was stealing, i just
thought it was a pretty rock and i wanted to have it.
i later gave it to my best friend
because she was mad at me and i thought
that rock would appease her.
it didn't.

another time during first grade,
i called my teacher mom. she made fun of me.
***** you, mrs. brandon.

second grade was uneventful.

in third grade, i got scared by my teacher
during open house. i walked
into her classroom but didn't see her
until she popped up 2 inches from my face,
"Hi!" her voice boomed.
she was nice though. she taught us how
to swallow pills because we were curious of how
she took her migraine meds each morning.

i also argued with my third grade math teacher
over the spelling of marshmallow.
she spelled it marshmellow, and i hated her,
so i pointed it out
just to make her mad.

in fourth grade, i moved to another house
and saw my dad punch my brother in the hallway
of our new home.
in fifth grade, i said '****' for the first time.
in sixth grade, i cursed like a sailor
and tried to eat less.
in seventh grade, i wore makeup
and became sick in the head.

eighth grade was boring.
not that i can
remember any of it, of course.