Getting to school early – around 5:30 am – to a cold, dark parking lot with two buses lined up, one behind the other. Everyone’s dressed up and tired. None of us are usually even awake at this time much less at school dressed in our best, most professional. We all file onto our predetermined bus and get comfortable in our seats for a drive to the big city. By the time everyone’s counted and the roster’s turned in to the office, the sun already peeks up over the pines and lights the once dim bus. Finally, we’re off.
More head counting and looking at who didn’t show. If they’re not here, fill their spot. We don’t need any empty spots! More panicked communicating between the two buses and all the spots are full. And we’re almost there. We’re all almost asleep.
Pulling into the parking lot of the convention center filled with other yellow buses, everyone slowly comes back to life… their once pretty hair they probably got up at 2 am to do is all messed up now. A quick word of instruction and encouragement goes to both buses before we’re let loose to join the sea of letterman jackets inside. Crowded and noisy – God it’s noisy! – I push my way to the men’s restroom to relieve my bladder and make sure everything’s in the right place. Then, I’m off. Oh wait, my partner! Where is she? She has to take this with me!
Joined up with her, we both walk into the huge test room to find our table. Accounting I… where the hell is it? Why can’t these be in order? Oh wait, they are in order! There it is!, she yells as her overly country voice seems to echo throughout the room.
We both get to our table and sit beside each other… just like we aren’t supposed to do. Hide your nametag, she says. We get the test. Phew! It worked! I breeze through it then sit for a little while as she looks on my answer sheet. I took the plunge first and got up – before she’s completely finished her test – to turn in my answer sheet. Can’t make it obvious by both of us getting up at the same time… they notice stuff like that here.
I walk out confident. I am going to state! That was too easy! A few minutes later my partner comes out and punches me for leaving before she had finished copying off my answer sheet. She even has the audacity to tell me she thinks I got one wrong! Thanks a lot for cheating off me and being so grateful I let you! I am your ticket to state, ya know!
We’re not through yet. Another test. In about 30 minutes. Accounting II. Me and little Miss Hillbilly again. We hang out and ask the others how they did on their tests as they emerge from the big test room. Some great, some not so good. We see some people from other schools we know and talk with them for a few minutes. I scope out a few hot, preppy guys from the big city schools. Just wasting time looking and chatting before our next test starts.
Time is up! The doors open for the next round of tests and people flood in to find their tables. And we’re right in the middle of the flood! Ah ha, our table’s close to the door this time! Hey let’s try sitting by each other again, she whispers as we approach the table. Hell no you ungrateful bitch, I think but just smile and nod my head in agreement instead. Doesn’t work! Our test administrator is a little more observant this time. So she moves diagonally across the table from me. No cheating this time babe… you’re on your own. We get the test… I don’t know any of this shit! What kind of depreciation? Diminishing what? Huh? We never covered this in that much detail! I speed through the test going with just my gut instinct for most of the answers and working backwards to figure out the math problems. There! I’m done! Whoa, she’s already left!
Right as I’m walking out of the test room, my advisor walks by me. She asks how it was and I tell her AI was super easy and I was sure I was going to state with it and AII was horrible, no chances there. Always kind, she congratulated me on AI and says I probably did better on AII than I think I did. Yeah right! There is no way!
So we hang around a while longer till everyone’s finished their tests then head off to the mall. I follow some of the girls (like usual) through all the clothing stores, down every tampon aisle in every store, and even a trip to Victoria's Secret. After they’ve finished shopping – and oh two guys from our school try on prom dresses – we leave to go back for the awards ceremony. See how great I did in AI and how bad I did in AII.
The ceremony starts. Blah blah… get on to the actual awards! To understand the awards, there are two categories in which you can place and only one overall winner for each event. The first category is like runner-up. The second category moves on to state. And the overall winner goes to state and gets to go up on stage to receive a nice plaque. Each participant is called out by their school’s name then – if there are two people in the event from that school – A or B. I was A in both of my events. For this, I’ll just say I was Hickville-A.
They get to Accounting I. The first category… neither of us. Second category… she’s called first then later it’s me. We’re both going to state!! She rode me right on to state, but I did better than she did on the test. Then, Accounting II. First category… she’s called out, no state for her in that event. Hmm… how could she have been better than me? Must have cheated off someone who actually knew the stuff! Second category… everyone’s attention (from my school) turns to me. They start the chanting – Number one! Number one! Number one!
Wow, I think, these people really want me to win this thing!
But my confidence in the AII test just wasn’t there and I shake my head. No way, I tell them. The list of names for the second category goes on.
Number one! Number one! Number one!
Still no Hickville-A, only B. Hmm… my heart starts racing as more start chanting… even some from other schools are chanting now! Maybe I didn’t do so bad on this after all… no, there’s no way… I didn’t know half of the stuff on it!
The second category ends. I was never called out.
And the overall winner for Accounting II who will be going on to represent this district at the state conference in Baton Rouge is…
My heart is beating out of my chest… could this be me? Could it? The chanting suddenly gets quieter as everyone listens to hear who it is.
HICKVILLE-A!!!!!!!
Everyone who was chanting busts out with cheers as I spring out of my chair and run – yes, literally run – up on stage! With a quivering hand from the adrenaline rush, I accept the plaque and shake the guy’s hand. Everyone from my school’s still yelling and screaming for me! I turn, waving the plaque in the air as the cheers get even louder and more spread out in the room, and instead of running back, I sort of jog back to my seat with the biggest, goofiest smile you’ve ever seen! Everyone crowds around to see the plaque and congratulate me.
Wow! I never thought this was possible! I never would have guessed I had done that good! I never would have imagined all of these people – both from my school and other schools – would be rooting for me to win! Yes, me… the kid who just three years earlier had almost no friends… no one cheering for him… no one except for family who seemed to care about him… who felt awkward and alone in the world… who wondered what a true friend really was… who wasn’t sure if he could even keep going. I never would have imagined then that one day it would be me who all these people were cheering so loudly for!
To this day, that plaque still hangs above the nightstand in my bedroom (and will go with me wherever I move) to remind me of the day when everybody was rootin’ for me. Every time I look at it, I smile as I think I about the time when the seemingly impossible happened and I realized just how many people had my back. A little bit of the adrenaline rush from that day comes back every time too.
On that note, I want to thank everyone for coming to this site and reading my blog! I especially want to thank all of you who have left such kind, supportive and sometimes funny comments and/or sent me an email or an IM! I really do appreciate it! It means so much to me… it gives me that everybody’s-rootin’-for-ya feeling all over again! Thanks so much!!
[Wasn’t I a little queen back then? Yeah, I was a little full of myself in high school. Just a little! I tried to write it in the way I thought back then and I think I hit it probably good. After all, it wasn’t all that long ago – about three years – and it was one of the more memorable events from high school.]
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