Jimmy Third Grade Row Four
Jimmy was fascinated with Joyce’s long hair. His favorite was when she wore a long ponytail. Most of the other girls except Cindy had short, cropped-off hair. Jimmy’s mother complained to his dad about the dancers cutting their long hair off. It was not decent, his mother had said.
Oh, it would happen. Jimmy’s father would swear at his mom and hold his fist up to her, but he never actually saw him hit his mother yet. It was probably just a matter of time.
Jimmy’s little sister and brother were nagging him to take them riding in the wagon. The wagon had been the one collective toy they had gotten for Christmas earlier. Yes, Jimmy had heard the speech before mama gave them the present. Jimmy was the loser.
Who was going to pull him up and down the roads? A big fat no one that is who would do that. Jimmy hated being the oldest child. He would gladly have taken the hand-me-downs to be the first to receive the new toy.
Jimmy’s mom shook him out of his momentary delusions. Jimmy, how often do I tell you to help your brother tie his shoes. Why can’t he learn to connect his shoes himself? The smack he got across the jaw was swift. His mother had been practicing with her dad. One of these days, he would be the one doing the smacking. His mother would be first in line. When his dad raised his fist, Jimmy wished just once that he would follow through with the punch.
Jimmy did not much like school, except for spelling. Jimmy was a great speller, and Miss Sheridan had said that to him. But he hated being home even more. Miss Sheridan had short-cropped hair, but she was decent.
She would always give him a comforting hug at the end of every day, and you could tell she was soft and smelled like the honeysuckles that grew on the fence behind his house. Why couldn’t his mother be like Miss Sheridan? Jimmy would gladly make that trade. Jimmy was sure his dad would too. Jimmy wanted to pick some flowers for Miss Sheridan, but if his classmates saw him, they would laugh at him.
One day Jimmy would find the right opportunity to get even with Fat Bettie. One of these days, he was going to smack Bettie good. Bettie had openly made fun of Jimmy pointing to the string his mother had attached to one side of his overalls to keep the strap in place. Miss Sheridan had turned to Bettie and sharply said to her, Sit Down! In his defense, Miss Sheridan’s words to Bettie caused him to love her more.
When Miss Sheridan went to the door as she always did to hug each child goodbye at the end of the day, Jimmy constantly maneuvered to be last in line. As he approached with his shy smile, she leaned down and, handing Jimmy an envelope, said, I would like you to give this to your parents tonight. Please have them sign it and return it tomorrow. Jimmy got his hug, took the envelope, and hurried down the hall. Jimmy was apprehensive about what was in the envelope. He silently prayed that it would be nothing to make his mother want to smack Miss Sheridan. Jimmy knew if his mother ever did, he would never forgive her.
The note turned out to be a permission slip to enter Jimmy in the spelling contest at the end of the month. Jimmy saw his mother sign her name, and he smiled in earnest at his mother for the first time in his life. Miss Sheridan loved Jimmy, and she had chosen him.
Jimmy called his brother and sister, ” Come on, and I will give you a pull in the wagon; after super, Jimmy pulled out the long list of words Miss Sheridan had given him to practice. Jimmy had never asked his mother for anything, but he needed help practicing. Jimmy’s mother reacted differently than he thought when he cautiously asked for her help. His mother smiled a genuine toothy smile, and Jimmy had never seen his mom smile so vast. He felt remorse for past actions toward his mother deep in the pit of his stomach. He would tell her thank you before he left for school tomorrow.
Miss Sheridan would be proud of him. Jimmy knew he could win that spelling Bee for her. He went to sleep thinking about Miss Sheridan. Jimmy’s mother did not usually look in on Jimmy, but tonight she did, and her heart melted when she saw his sleeping smile. It was for her, for helping him. She was sure.
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