High School for the Performing and Visual Arts - Images Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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Stevie and the Gang by Gerald Gilmore, II We were all pretty dirty, I guess. I had mud on my shirt and tennis, and my mom told me that when I got dirt on my tennis then I was a dirty boy and I shouldn't come in the house. So now I had mud on my shirt too, so did all the other guys. We were all dirty. The bell had lust ranged for us to come back to class from recess, but we didn't want to go back in there with Miss Harp 'cause we knew she was gonna make us sit down and couldn't say nothing. Stevie Schulcowski was the toughest guy in class, and he met all the guys at the door into the school and gathered us all together in a football huddle and told us that he wasn't gonna go back in to Miss Harp's and how many of us was with him. Then everybody looked around at everybody else so Bobby Goldstein, the second toughest, said that he wasn't going either, then he asked us who was with him. A few others of the guys said that they were with him and then I did and finally we all decided that we wasn't going back. Then we all raised our heads - I was glad too 'cause I was get- ting a crook in my neck from looking at Stevie. s We all started to run to the playground but Stevie yelled out that we had to tell Miss Harp face-to- face that we wasn't coming back or else we wouldn't be his friends. Everybody stipped running and we all looked back at Stevie standing there. Then I yelled back if we really had to do that and how come we couldn't iust play. He said that we had to do it, but he would lead us. I felt like I could ask him that 'cause sometimes he called me his right-hand man with his hand on my shoulder. Some- times he called me his co-pilot - I was glad I could talk to him. We all walked back to him and huddled again. Stevie was next to me in the huddle and put his arm across my back and across the back of the guy on the other side. He spoke in a husky voice that he always used when he was being tough. Stevie told us that none of had to say nothing, and he would do all the talking. We were iust

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supposed to back him up. We agreed and everybody turned out of the huddle and walked through the door and down the hall to Miss Harp's room. I was getting really scared. Stevie led us into the room, and there Miss Harp was sitting there. I always liked looking at her hair - gold and all puffed up over her head. She smiled real big at us and told us to take our seats - but for the first time we did not do what she said - we lust stood there. Stevie stood in front of us all ganged up behind him. He folded his arms over his chest and stood looking real tough. Miss Harp told us to sit down again but this time Stevie said he wasn't gonna and we wanted to go out and play again. He asked us if we agreed - nobody said nothing. I was standing next to him and he elbowed me - I swallowed hard, but we all stayed quiet. Miss Harp looked us all over, and Stevie asked for us to agree with him again, but a few of the guys iust cleared their throats or coughed. Finally Miss Harp asked Bobby to sit down and he turned white as a sheet looking at Stevie - then at Miss Harp and they were looking back at him. I could see him start to sweat on his forehead, but after a long time, he walked to his seat and sat down. Then Miss Harp asked me to sit. My knees started to shake in my pants - Stevie was my friend - could I let him down? But then Miss Harp said she would tell my parents and her face turned real hard. My knees shook all the way to my chair. Slowly, all the guys started going for their chairs and then Stevie was the last one left - watching us all go and still standing there like Wyatt Earp. Miss Harp walked to Stevie and whispered something in his ear. I saw tears well up in his eyes, and she stood straight again, but Stevie shook his had no. Miss Harp whispered something else to Stevie and this time he stood there for a while but I could see him starting to cry and he slowly walked to his chair and sat. Miss Harp walked back to her desk and picked up the spelling book and told us to open our books and begin to read. We all did what she said in a hurry. But while my eyes were staying in that book, I could hear Stevie crying real soft so nobody would hear. We all started our spelling drills. I felt rotten.