LogFAQs > #954991694

PART TWO

It was the middle of November, 2003. I'm now eighteen and transitioning from football season to basketball season. Trint and I have some run-ins since school began, mostly of him yelling at me when he thought teachers weren't around. It never got physical though...until this day.

My best friend and I are walking out of the school office down the main hallway. I see Trint walking toward us, which I ignore and don't pay any attention to...until he runs his shoulder into me. He probably thinks he could shoulder-check me and keep on walking just because he got away with yelling at me a few times.

I turn around to shove him, but I stop just in time because of two reasons:

1) I'm eighteen now and don't want to risk legal trouble.

2) I see the Vice Principal is right in front of us -- with his back turned and unaware, but still nearby.

So I stop myself before I fully extend my arms, but Trint turns around and sees me frozen mid-motion...so he decides this is his chance to really make a scene with me. He gets in my face and calls me a bunch of names: motherfucker, bitch, bastard -- you know, the classics. The Vice Principal is still unaware, but the rest of the kids in the hall are circling now and are well aware of our history.

So, I ain't taking this abuse anymore. If Trint insists on bringing up this issue, let's settle it. He wants to call me all these names that don't mean anything to me? Okay. I got one name for him that's gonna mean everything. I step toward him.

"Oh yeah? Well you're a one-balled freak."

Trint continues insulting me until he realizes what I said.

"You wuss, you punk-ass, you son of a -- WAIT, WHAT?!"

And just like that, the rematch is on.
Trint immediately swings, once again hooking me in my left temple...should have learned that was his go-to by now. We scuffle it out from here -- wild swings, shirt-grabs, whatever -- until the Vice Principal finally realizes what's happening and breaks it up. He drags Trint to the Principal's office while I'm taken away to the Guidance Counseler's office.

It's important to be clear how close these offices are to each other. They are both in the middle of this hallway past the main office about four feet apart, and their doors face each other on opposite sides of this hall. My door has a window while his door does not, so I can always see anybody walking in and out of his room.

Trint is taken in front of me to that door on the left side of the hallway by the Vice Principal, then I'm guided to the door on the right side by the Guidance Counseler. I'm given an ice pack and am asked to explain what happened. While I tell my side of the story, I see the Principal and Student Resource Officer enter Trint's room from my door's window. It's decided that I'm not gonna be in trouble but I need to stay away from people awhile, so I'm asked to stay in her office the rest of this next class period. She locks the door and leaves as I lean back in her chair, looking out the window.

Some time passes. Eventually, the Principal's door opens. Trint walks out first in front of the three other adults, and we lock eyes through my door's window. I'm relaxed in this staff chair with my ice pack, and I know the door is locked. I also don't know what to do when making eye contact with somebody I just called a one-balled freak. So...some combination of those factors led me to the single movement I made here: one of those "'Sup?" nods.

This generally mild-mannered gesture is enough to make this boy break bad. He goes berserk and charges at my door. Since my door is locked though, I had the best seat in the house for this next moment; Trint busts his head on the door's window, falls down, gets back up, and then gets FULL-NELSON SLAMMED BACK DOWN ONTO TILE BY THE OFFICER. That officer puts him in handcuffs and drags him away to juvie. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen.

I find out later at home that Trint knew he was wrong to fight me on July 1st and he was wrong again to fight me this day too. Trint tells them the only reason he wanted to fight me in July was because he just didn't like me...that's it, just didn't like me. He said all this right before my little head-nod, and now he's been arrested over the issue. I'm not sure what emotion is strong enough for how he feels about me at this moment.

This problem has proven to get physical again now, so my family sets up a meeting for us to get a restraining order. I don't really know that this restraining order was 100% completed, but Dad did take me to the courthouse. I see Trint there and meet his dad. Things are more or less cordial here; I learn our dads used to have beers together once upon a time. I watch Trint talk briefly with the judge.

I don't see Trint again for another three or four months, but just because he's not gonna be around awhile doesn't mean drama can't still happen.

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O P E R A T I O N O U S T : Nominate SHEIK!
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