Age 10 1/2 (La'Niya POV)
"Everybody got their homework" Mrs. Coleman asked us .
The class responded with some proud student's yes and whoever didnt say yes simply sucked their teeth and continued what they were doing.
"La'Niya" Mrs. Coleman said snapping me out of me deep daydream. I was so busy thinking about what Steve was going to allow Jerome to do to me the previous week that i hadn't been paying any attention in class lately .. let alone doing any of the work.
"Watchu want now Mrs. Coleman ?" I replied .
Mrs. Coleman gave me a small look of disgust and walked off .. mumbling about how disrespectful I always was and how i'd learn my lesson one day . Typical. I could tell that from day one, Mrs. Coleman and I weren't going to get along. Probably being that one the second day of school she wrote me up for getting hit with a crayon , claiming I was the cause of it all.
After about 5 more minutes , Mrs. Coleman began teaching. She was teaching something new but I still wasn't paying attention. I was soon snapped out of my daze once again by Mrs. Coleman.
"I see somebody needs to sit by me today huh ?" She snarled. I started to say something back but I decided to shut up . Instead I simply stared at her and patiently waited for her to leave . Instead of her leaving she pulled my desk from under me and moved it closer to her desk.
"Get over here." She yelled.
I looked at her for a minute then slowly got up. I walked over to where the desk was located sat down. The rest of class Mrs. Coleman kept talking to me but I simply ignored her. At the end of class, she passed out candy. All hell broke loose when she got to my desk.
"Do you think you deserve candy , La'Niya ?"
"I honestly don't want nor need your candy. If you were to offer it to me, I wouldn't even take it. You been harassing me all damn day & I've been tryna keep my cool but you pushing me Coleman, you really are. Keep talking to me and imma beat your ass, please don't play with it. I mite only be a student and I'm way smaller than you but I will make you hurt in places you never knew you had."
The class erupted with laughter as I yelled at Mrs. Coleman. Mrs. Coleman starred at me with hatred written all over her face. She suddenly dug in her bag and pulled out a starburst. She ate the candy , balled up the wrapper , and told me to throw it in the trash. Before I completely thought about my actions , I got up and grabbed the yard stick. I held my hand as far back as possible and swung. I blacked out .
The next thing I remember is being carried out of the room by two police officers while other teachers and staff gathered in the classroom. I remember feeling extremely dizzy and light headed. The principal came to talk to me about the situation but I wasn't listening. The police later handcuffed me and drove me to a police station.
A couple weeks later I was in court and was sentenced to 6 1/2 months in a juvenile detention center. Mrs. Coleman also pressed charges and got a restraining order. I couldn't believe what was happening to me. Why me ? I tried so hard to be well behaved and bad things just kept happening. When the judge asked me if I had anything to say for myself I simply lowered my head and stared at the floor. I was speechless. As the police officer took me out of the court room I said a silent prayer. I prayed for my life , and asked the lord to help me get through everything I was going through. To help me find a better way , lead me down the right path. The entire time I say in that detention center I kept asking myself the same question . Why me ?
