California is extremely interesting in the sense that anything goes in their school systems. I lived in Monterrey county, home of the mighty, endangered, incredibly adorable sea otter.
Saying that Foothill Elementary School was terrible, would be a major understatement. Our principal, Mr. Vanheukulem ruled our education center with an unauthoritative hand and let the kids do whatever they pleased. Needless to say, our learning institution grew to be a dangerous, child-filled jungle.
The playground was like a filthy watering hole located in a vast savanna. The animals crowded around the games and structures in attempt at getting a tiny taste of the precious water. When I first arrived at the play terrain, I was terrified. A plethora of small children were surrounding something, but I couldn't see past the mob of bodies. Slowly but surely, I managed to push my way up to the front of the crowd. What I saw horrified and excited me at the same time.
SLAP! DOUBLE PUNCH!One of the girls yelled in pain.
It was a hardcore tether ball tournament. My pace quickened and suddenly I could feel the adrenaline coursing thought my minuscule veins. Immediately, I wanted in on the cut-throat competition. I was naturally competitive, always fighting to be the best, and this would be no exception.
"Can I join?" I didn't say play, for it was far to mediocre for a match like this. I stepped into the "arena" meekly. The reigning champion was a girl named Lacy. She was big-boned with an ugly, freckle splattered pig face. In another life she might have been pretty, but her douchey attitude, clouded any beauty she contained.
"HAHA!" She bellowed and I took a step back. Lacy was a fifth grader, she was older, stronger and if she so pleased, she could squish me like a pesky mosquito. " Everyone! Looky here! A third grader wants to join in on the tether ball game!" She chuckles and I become more determined. I might have been a scrawny seven year old but I would definitely beat her at this game of combat.
"Yeah, I want to join. I don't see anyone else stepping up." I puffed my chest out a bit, and tipped my chin towards the sky. I had to be confident, and maybe, just maybe I could rattle her monstrous bones. (a/n: I swear guys I'm not even making this stuff up)
Lacy sized me up, taking in my less than four-foot stature, and raised her almost nonexistent eyebrows." Fine, come on over...you do know the rules, right?" My face paled. I never really considered the fact that I literally had absolutely no idea how to play tether ball.
"I-I-I" I was stumbling over my words. I then saw a flash of golden hair and sighed in relief. Sid was here to save the day, THANK GOD! A grin lit up my face.
"El, what do you think you're doing?!" Sid grabbed my arm, but I tore it from her grip.
"I'm gonna play some tetherball, what about you loser?" It was traditional for me and Sid to try to look as cool as we could in front of others. We were always the strange, military brats who moved around. So basically, everyone considered us to be aliens. "Just go." I lowered my voice to a volume so only my sister could hear my plead. "Please?"
Her gaze softened,"Fine, but don't come crying to me or Mom after school when your feelings get hurt." She left after that. I still don't actually know if Sid witnessed my first ever tether ball game, but if she did, I'm glad she never said anything.
"Wow, how precious. Buuuuttt we aren't here for sisterly love, I thought we were gonna play some theths." (A/N: yes....they actually called it teths) I smile at Lacy and try to put on my most menacing game face. Unfortunately, 60 pound of little girl can't really intimidate anybody, to be honest. She grabbed the cord that was attached to both the pole and ball." I get serve. No psychs, no A.Ms, no strings attached, no cheats.Got it?" It wasn't really a question, but I wanted to answer with: "what does any of that mean?!" I had no idea what any of the Tether ball terms were, and I struggled to even comprehend how to react once Lacy had served.
The ball came flying towards my face after Lacy smacked the ball as hard as she could. I didn't know what to do, so like any normal human would, I stepped sideways, successfully avoiding the impact of the giant piece of plastic and foam.
"What the hell was that?" I gasped, she had cussed. H-E-double hockey sticks was one of the worst things anyone could say at that age."You're supposed to hit the freaking ball you moron!" I cringed, no one had really yelled at me like that before. " God, you people are such amateurs!" Lacy shoved her way out of the tether ball court, leaving a trail of scared kids in her path.
"You know, you really shouldn't have even tried playing. Do you even know the rules?" A girl with black hair and brown eyes approached me. She was small, no, tiny. I used to think that I had been short, but there standing in front of me was a little Indian girl who stood at only three feet. " I'm Ira, do you want help learning how to play teths?" I grinned at the girl, she had been the only person on the entire playground who showed me a bit of kindness, not including my sister.
"That would be super cool." I tried to seem nonchalant but really I was super excited about having the ability to fit in and meeting a person who was SHORTER than me! Yasssssssss, I was making my first friend!
#lifegoals
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Throughout the next week or so Ira taught me many things about tether ball. She even gave me a vocabulary list so that I could learn important terms and abbreviations.
1)Psychs: When you step inside the other person's designated tether ball square space
2)A.M's: stands for ambulances, or people that can sub for you
3)No strings attached: when you're not allowed to touch the string attached to the ball
4)No cheats: NO OTHER CHEATS THAT AREN'T LISTED ABOVE
5)I serve: you start the game by hitting the ball first, the serve is the most powerful move
I studied those vocab words for ages, and practiced each and everyday on the little kid teths pole. (the smaller version of the main teths pole, designated to those who really suck at the game and need practice) the next time I met up with Lacy I was surely going to be ready, and I would win....
"Lacy! I want a rematch!" I pulled the straps on my gloves tighter. Oh yeah, I had convinced my parents that I was soooo committed to the game that I even needed gloves.
"Bring it on!" She gave me a menacing smile, but I just laughed....I was so ready.
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If you are reading this than I ask one thing of you; comment! I want to know if this book is a piece of crap or something worth writing and reading!
THANKS,
Ellen :-D
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The Misadventures of Ellen the Hyperbole
HumorIf you have clicked on this story then know, you're in for an adventure. Wait, you're in for a misadventure. My life has been a series of ups and downs, wrong turns and right turns, huge mountains that I had to climb and small speed bumps I only had...
