Mitchell Freeman: Unlikely Hero

Chapter 4 - Instant Celebrity

     Gill had been right in thinking that Kenny Gailin's parents would sue the school. In fact, they not only sued the school, but Gill himself, and Steve and Connie Freeman. They even tried to get criminal charges pressed against Mitch. Fortunately, Gill had also been right about any judge who looked over Gailin's disciplinary record at the school and his criminal record. All the lawsuits were thrown out of court, and the police refused to follow up on the criminal charges because of Gailin's police record.

     For Me, the aftermath of the 'Gailin incident' brought me celebrity at Andrew Kemp Middle School. I had become instantly cool for thrashing the bully. People who wouldn't give me the time of day before, now went out of their way to talk to me. If not for Emmy, the attention would have gone straight to my head.

     Before school the following day, Emmy was waiting at the corner of Stample Boulevard with a very concerned look on her face. She immediately started telling me how everyone in school was going to act toward me that day. She told me not to take it to heart because they still really didn't care for me; harsh. She also told me to be very leery of Barbara Janson, a very pretty cheerleader whom I'd had a crush on since the fourth grade.

     I knew I had to take all the compliments and backslapping with a grain of salt. What I did to Kenny Galin was not something I wanted celebrated. It actually repulsed me that I could do that much damage to another person. However, It was nice not being treated as an outcast as usual. Emmy's presence was enough to keep me from being seduced by all the attention.

     Upon entering the school, I was greeted with a round of applause from the students who were gathered in the main entrance hallway. The applause was accompanied by many calls of, "Hey, Freeman!" or, "Way to go, Freeman!" There were several friendly smiles and a few thumbs-ups. A dozen more pleasant greetings were given to me all the way to my locker. In spite of the disapproving frown from Emmy, I couldn't help grinning.

     Mrs. Carthage greeted my entrance to her math class with a glowing smile. She also gave me ten extra credit points on a quiz from the previous day. After class I asked her why she had given me the extra credit points. She said, smiling, "Oh, just because you did exceptional work."

     Mrs. Carthage was not the only teacher to give me preferential treatment. I received a few 'attaboys,' thinly disguised as praise for schoolwork, and twenty more extra credit points before lunch. What sweetened their dispositions toward me was the fact that almost every teacher at Andrew Kemp Middle School had had dealings with Kenny Gailin at some point or another.

     The attention did not stop at lunchtime. As Emmy and I made our way to our normal table, I was asked by at least a dozen people to sit with them. I declined because I knew what they all wanted. They wanted me to retell the tale of the beat-down of Kenny Gailin. Emmy continued her disapproving frown all the way to our seats. People were still trying to wave me over even after we had sat down.

     "You're loving this, aren't you?" Emmy snapped at me. "I can see you head inflating."

     "I'm not!" I answered, vehemently. "Do I like not being treated like an outsider? Yes. But the reason that people are treating me like this makes me sick. Because I put the school bullying the hospital, I'm now a hero. The whole thing makes me ill."

     "I'm sorry," repented Emmy. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It is pretty twisted that people are putting you on a pedestal for putting someone in the hospital. Our school is just a microcosm of our sick society..."

     Before Emmy could expound any more on the ills of society, her eyes narrowed, and her lips pressed thin. She looked like a cat that was ready to defend its territory. She was looking past me. What got her hackles up was the pretty red-haired girl headed in my direction.