Annie just lost a good friend as well as a boyfriend. I decided that it would be wrong to jump in and offer to be her new boyfriend. Besides this, I was so afraid to ask her. What if she laughed if I asked? Most likely she thought I was always getting in trouble and that I was too girly. I did not think that I was good enough for Annie. She was a perfect student and a perfect friend. Annie was always polite and despite she could be shy at times, she always treated others with friendship and respect. I was probably too wild for Annie. When I once spoke with Sarah about Annie, she laughed and said in a serious way that I would corrupt Annie. Even if this did not happen, it would stress Annie being with a boy who had “trouble” as his middle name. As much as I hate to admit it, Sarah was right. I did not have to be Annie's boyfriend. I could be her friend and that would be very special.
I already had one good friend at school. Sarah thought I was annoying and silly at times, but deep down I knew that she liked me. We were like soulmates. We supported each other when life was hard and we teased and annoyed each other at other times. Still, I could not ask for a better friend. Sarah was very honest and she cared about the school and everyone there. Once we talked about that we felt as if we were a brother and sister. This led to an agreement that we were most like siblings in spirit. This made me happy. It meant that I did consider Sarah as a sister and I knew that she would always be there for me.
Madam P was an old-fashioned and strict teacher. Despite this, I liked her a lot. She was a good teacher. I suppose she had to be a good teacher. She was so old that she must have been teaching for 1000 years. I noticed that Madam P thought that I was a lost cause. You could nearly hear her sigh under her breath every time she saw me. When she talked to me at inspection, she would warn me to cut my hair. She did not think that boys should have long hair. I would just smile as innocently as I could, but deep down I was terrified that she would cut it one day. It should be a human right to have long hair if you wanted to. This being said, I don’t think that even Amnesty International could persuade Madam P that long hair was part of my identity. This meant that I had to take things into my own hands. When no one was looking, I found all the scissors on Madam P’s desk and removed them. Despite doing this, I did not feel safe!
I was more relaxed around Annie since I no longer thought of her as my future wife. She was still sad about Mutt leaving. I spoke to her and tried being there for her. I loved the sound of her voice. I started to get to know what she was really like. Family, friends and school meant everything to her. Her one wish was that people would get along together and protect and take care of each other. Annie did not like drama or when people said mean things. I loved listening to Annie, especially when she talked about her family. She even wanted Billy and me to be friends and not fight like two roosters. Besides looking like an angel, Annie thought like an angel. I thought that she was ever so wise.
We were friends for a while and one day I met her outside her family's house. Annie and I got to speak about school, the choir and even Madam P. Then for some reason unknown to me, I stuttered and told Annie that I would love to be her boyfriend. There was some silence after this and I was kicking myself for asking. I was afraid that I now embarrassed Annie and wished the ground would swallow me up. After some silence, Annie smiled and told me that she would like that too. I was stunned and thought that I would now faint. This was a dream coming true.
I could not sleep that night. Now I had a girlfriend. I was afraid I would make a mess of things. I did have a habit of doing this. What did a boyfriend do? Did I have to say smoochy things and kiss and all that? There was no way I wanted to do all that. It was not that I was shy. It was that I did not think I was ready for that sort of thing. I could be a boyfriend and still love her. I could be gallant and treat her like a princess. You know, like opening doors for her and letting her walk on my coat if there was a puddle of water. I could remind her how much I liked her and tell her that she was pretty. I could be a gentleman and make her feel like she was very special. This was at least my plan. I thought that it was a good plan.
When I told my mom, she smiled and said that puppy love was cute. I had no clue what puppy love meant so I told mom that we were not puppies. This made mom laugh as she told me about the first time she fell in love. This confused me. After all, Mom was old and how could she remember so long ago? I did listen to mom’s advice about being nice to Annie and not getting her into trouble.
The others at school found out that we were now boyfriend and girlfriend. At first, they did not believe it. They could not understand why Annie would ever go out with a boy like me. In a way, I could understand them. We were opposites. That shouldn’t be a bad thing, should it? I mean I read somewhere that opposites attract. Maybe people did not like the idea that Annie was my girlfriend. I just thought that it should be up to us and not the public opinion. Once we were happy, that was all that mattered.
The school had a Halloween party. I was dressed as the Terminator. When I saw Annie, I felt my heart jump. She was dressed as Shirley Temple. Annie looked better than Shirley Temple. She looked as if she was a Hollywood celebrity. Annie and I danced together for the whole party. This was like our first date. We were not alone. This did not bother me. When we danced, it was as if we were alone on a pink cloud. It was as if there was no one else at the dance. I wished time would stop and this party would last forever. Towards the end of the party, I leaned over and kissed Annie on the cheek. It just happened. I did not plan it. After I kissed Annie, I was waiting for her to slap me in the face. This did not happen. Annie blushed and leaned forward and kissed my cheek. Now I was really on a pink cloud. Having a girlfriend like Annie was like being in heaven.
You think that my life would be perfect now. This was not the case. Madam P was mad at me all the time. One day, she told me to sit on a chair. Everyone watched as I sat on the chair. Madam P told me that she warned me about my long hair. Then she took scissors and started cutting my hair. As she had done this, I pleaded and begged her to stop cutting my hair. I was crying as each strand of hair fell to the ground. I felt like Sampson in the Bible, that lost more and more strength as my hair was being cut. After the ordeal happened, I found a hiding place to sit and cry. The others were in class. Annie found me and gave me her handkerchief. She did not say much except that it was unfair and that my hair would grow back. I felt so lucky that Annie could understand how I felt and did her best to support me and cheer me up.
I tried to keep a low profile after that. I was mad at the school and its stupid rules. I knew that I would get my revenge one day. I just had to think of how to do this. Until then, I would be like a saint and the best pupil that anyone ever has seen. This was important, as when I did think of good revenge, no one would suspect me.
This was my plan and it did not work. It was nearly Christmas and I was visiting Sarah. I was surprised. Sarah had a Christmas tree in her bedroom. It had these blinking lights on it and loads of decorations. Sarah was boasting about the decorations in her room while asking me how I decorated my room. I did not want to tell her I had a Christmas cactus and mistletoe hanging from Annie's picture. I do not think that Sarah even had time to listen to an answer, as she was telling me that the Christmas lights were fireproof. This sounded like a challenge. So while Sarah was petting her cat, I found a lighter and tested it to see if the lights were fireproof. Sarah was right. They were fireproof. The problem was that the tree was not. Before I knew it, there was a huge fire in the bedroom. I never heard Sarah scream so much as she grabbed her cat and ran out of the bedroom.
Luckily, Sarah's dad came and put out the fire. Sarah was in a bad mood and told everyone that I wanted to kill her and her cat. A policeman came and asked me a lot of questions. It seems like I was going to be put in juvie. I could not understand why no one could see it was a mistake. If Sarah did not boast it was fireproof, I would never have been so curious and tested it out. As everyone was discussing my fate, I was thinking about what life would be like in juvie. They would most likely even cut my hair shorter. I would not be able to see Annie. This would be her second boyfriend that had to leave school. I felt bad that I would let her down this way. I was lucky though. Sarah's mother said she would not be pressing any charges against me. I could do some chores on her farm as a punishment. She also told me that I was not allowed to visit Sarah anymore. This should have hurt my feelings, but I could understand it.
Annie got some good news. She was promoted to prefect which was the highest honour a student could get. Billy was also promoted to prefect. This showed that the system was not perfect. I could understand that I could not be a prefect. I was always in trouble and I was not a good example to the other students. I was very proud of Annie. Her school spirit and dedication as well as her personality meant she was the perfect person for the job. Annie did tell me that she would take this job very seriously. This meant that it was her duty to report me when I have done something wrong. I told her that I understood this, and it would never change the way I felt about her. I also told Annie that I was so proud of her. Everyone was proud of Annie.
I did not tell Annie that I have set the wheels in motion to get revenge on the school for cutting my hair. It took a while, but I persuaded my brother Cameron to steal the rule book. It surprised me that he finally agreed to do this. Cameron was a living saint. I suppose even saints can be corrupted. When Sarah and the teachers found out that the rule book was stolen, there was a panic. Everyone was guessing who could have done such a thing. My name was mentioned a few times, however, I had a good alibi. The teachers were powerless as it was hard for them to give ticks when there was no rule book. Revenge can be so sweet but it can also backfire. Cameron hid the book under his bed and it was found. Then the school decided to have a school court case where Cameron had to answer for his sins. I thought that he would be crucified. However, Cameron blamed the school ghost for stealing the rule book. For some reason, everyone believed this except Sarah. Cameron was found innocent and everyone now believed that there was a school ghost.
It was at this time that I joined a boy's choir that was not associated with the school. The choir's name was Angelicus and the boys in it were called angels. I could now boast that I was an angel! We also looked like angels as we wore cute robes. I thought this choir was fun. We performed a lot and often our concerts were sold out. We were in a way more popular than Madonna! I was promoted to the head boy in the choir. This meant that I could help decide what songs we sang. Sarah did not like Angelicus as she considered it a competition. As it was not associated with the school, she thought that I was letting the school choir down. This meant that she never came to one of our concerts. Billy thought it was bad that I joined the choir as well as he thought that it meant that I was not loyal to the school. Neither Billy nor Sarah wanted to come to the concerts. Annie did come to some concerts to support me. She thought that one could be loyal to the school and have other interests. I loved when Annie came to the concerts. If I had a solo, I would look at her while I sang as I dedicated the song to her.
I wanted the others at school to think I was loyal to the school. I wanted Billy to like me as well. He was after all Annie’s big brother. It would be hard for Annie to see Billy and me always fighting with each other. I had to do something that would change my image at school and show everyone that I also had school spirit. After a lot of thinking, I knew how I would do this.
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