September came in and everything was the same. The four of us were secluded. We pretty much had gotten used to it. Elizabeth was still hanging out with us and Thomas would talk to us on rare occasions. It wasn’t until February of the next year that things began to change.
In October Freddy went around the class spooking people out trying to scare people from talking to us. He kept an eye on Thomas. The one thing I never noticed is that he never bothered Elizabeth; I guess it was because she was a girl, or maybe he knew what I didn’t know about Elizabeth.
In November he started spreading rumors around the class about the four us. Each week it was something new. Thomas would come and tell us what he was hearing. One week; Mark was the son of an ex-con who was on the most wanted list. The next week I was rumored to be an orphan. The following week he would say something about Kathryn or Camille and it went on for a while.
December came in and it was not a good month. In December Freddy slowly and passively started threatening Elizabeth. He would give her the eye, and send her threatening notes and sign it with a fictitious name as if we didn’t know it was him. It wasn’t until January that he started saying things to her in class. She told us that he told her if she didn’t stop hanging out with the snobby, spoiled, rich brats he would torment her. We told her we didn’t mind if she stopped seeing us, but she insisted she wasn’t afraid of him.
Now to detour away from Freddy for a little bit, back at home things were the same. Mom and dad did the same Christmas stuff that they always did. Everything went as planned as usual for Christmas. I made my list as always and dropped it in the red box at the post office. Christmas Eve came and that’s when it happened. I went to bed early so that I could get up to see what Santa brought me. In the middle of the night the sound of a thump woke me up and I wasn’t sure what it was. My initial thought was I was dreaming, and then I thought it might be Santa. I then went back to sleep knowing I would have to be sleeping in order for Santa to leave me anything, but my curiosity got the best of me and I got out of bed and went downstairs and much to my surprise I saw my parents setting up everything. I asked them what was going on and my mother sat me down and explained everything to me. I was crushed; to think all this time I believed in a lie. I didn’t understand it. I had trusted my parents all this time and for what. I didn’t talk to them for about three days. Of course, I ran over to Mark’s house a couple of days later and he told me he already knew Santa wasn’t real. He said his parents never told him about Santa. He said once he heard about him in school, he went home to ask his parents and they told him the truth. I was devastated. It was at that time that I made the wish most children make, to have someone else’s parents. I wanted Mark’s. Not only did he have a cool father, but his parents didn’t lie to him. Slowly, but surely, I got over it and I forgave my parents. Once I started talking to them again, I asked them about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy and they both admitted it wasn’t true. I didn’t understand why adults thought it would be okay to tell those lies to children, but I vowed then and there that I would never tell my children about Santa or any other lie.
Well, December ended and 1989 arrived. I went back to school to Freddy’s annoying behavior. He kept terrorizing everyone as he normally did. It wasn’t until February that the craziest and funniest thing happened. We were in the lunch room and Freddy walked over to our table and told Elizabeth and Thomas to sit somewhere else. Thomas got up and Elizabeth told him to sit down. Freddy picked him up and Elizabeth stood up and told Freddy to walk away. Freddy let go of Thomas and looked Elizabeth in her eye and said, “You’re nothing but a bitch and nigger lover.” He walked away and that’s when it all happened. Elizabeth got up calmly; she then stood in the aisle and stared at Freddy as he walked away. She then ran, jumped, (it looked like a crazy leaped), and tackled Freddy to the floor. She then started punching and slapping him and it was outrageous. It was completely unexpected and everyone ran towards them and started screaming, “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT.” Of course, the lunch aids came over and stopped it. Freddy was bleeding all over. Both of them got sent to the principal’s office. Elizabeth got two weeks suspension. When she came back, she told us how upset and disappointed her parents were. Freddy got a week suspension for using the “n” word again. He was out for three weeks though healing from the wounds Liz gave him. It was quiet again without him in school and when he returned no one feared him thanks to Elizabeth. In fact, I think he was so ashamed and embarrassed that he kept to himself for the rest of the year. After that incident the four of us weren’t secluded amongst ourselves anymore, the students began to talk to us regularly. Some of them even had the manners to apologize to us.
Another memory that comes to mind was the birth of Jacob, Mark’s brother, in March. Mark was happy to get a brother. After Priscilla (Kathryn’s sister) was born, he was the only one between the four of us without a sibling. He would always say he couldn’t wait to have a sibling like we did. Jacob looked exactly like Mark, so much a like that they could have been twins. Then there was the homecoming of Edward. It was a blessed event as we were happy that Liver was able to go inside and stop barking. After Edward returned home nothing much else happened. It was about three months left to the school year and the four of us was just getting used to the new school. It was the old school, but with the students talking to us it felt like a new school. The school year ended and it was back to summer vacation.
The summer of 1989 was splendid. By that year six new houses were built and four more families moved in.
The first family that moved in was the Carsons. They consisted of Joseph and Heidi and their children, Jason, 16, Valerie, 13, and Kevin, 11.
The second family was the Chang Family, David and Laura and their twins Brian and Brianna, 10.
The third family, well he wasn’t a family. Gregory Kenilworth, a doctor, was a single man at the time.
Lastly, were Nathaniel and Brenda Hopskin and their son Jordan, 2. It was nice to have more people in the neighborhood and share our traditions with them. After making fast friends with Kevin, Brian, and Brianna; Mark introduced them to us. We told them about school and Elizabeth and Freddy. We told them about Christmas at Mama Jean’s, and that annoying Liver, and Zelda. We told them they couldn’t tell anyone about Zelda. We took them over to Papa Bill’s house and he welcomed them with his famous chocolates. We pretty much spent the rest of the summer with the new guys and we made sure that they were comfortable. We didn’t want them to have to feel secluded or left out like we did. I also new what it was like to be new in the neighborhood so I tried my best to make them feel at ease. I think it worked. The last thing we did for the summer was see Victoria in another play. She played Doreen in Doreen and the Ushers. Robert invited the whole neighborhood. My dad and I went, while my mom staid home with Sarah. Kathryn went with her dad and Camille’s mother came with her. The whole Chang family went and Kevin and Valerie came with their mom. It was a fun evening and I was so happy to see Vicky. Every time I saw her, she looked better. As crazy as it sounds, I had a little crush on her. I wasn’t aware of what it was at the time, but I had a little infatuation for her. Every time Robert told me we were going to see her I lit up. The crush ended around the time I was fifteen and I started getting interested in girls my own age.
1989-1990 Like the years before the summer had ended and I was back in school. Going back to school was different for me because I knew that there would be more “Crystal crew” students going. I guess it didn’t matter since Freddy wasn’t bullying anyone, but it was nice to have more children in my neighborhood in class with me. The fifth grade was pretty cool because I knew it was my last year at McCooper Elementary. Brianna and Mark were in my class that year. Kevin was a year ahead of us, while the rest of the crew was in another class together. My teacher was Mr. Knightly. He was my second male teacher. My fourth-grade teacher Mr. Larson was my first. Like most elementary schools’ male teachers were rare. It was nice to see a father figure in the classroom. Four things I remember the most about the school year were the holiday concert, the janitor incident, the gymnastic show, and graduation.
The first thing was the holiday concert. It was kind of a bitter sweet moment. In our music class we were rehearsing songs for the holiday concert. One day in class the music teacher, Mrs. Firenzo held singing auditions for solos. I was afraid to audition because I had a little stage freight, so I decided not to. Once the auditions were over I kind of regretted it. Once I went home that day I mentioned to my mother about the concert and she asked if I was getting a solo. I told her no and she was disappointed. I went to school the next day and asked Mrs. Firenzo if she would allow me a solo, but she said it was too late. I was a bit upset at myself. The night of the concert came and I got over the fact I didn’t have a solo, but I did think every now and then what would have happened if I would have just auditioned. The concert was fun and it is one of my favorite memories of fifth grade.
Another memory I have of fifth grade is the janitor incident. It was around March of 1990. I remember because everyone was making a fuss about the new decade coming in. Anyways, it was the year that one of the janitors of the school, Radford Flennings got caught molesting a student. It was all over the newspapers and television. They kept the identity of the student hidden, but word got out around school and we found out who it was. Believe it or not it was Freddy. In fact, it was said that Radford was doing this since Freddy was in the second grade. We also found out that it was the real reason why he beat up Thomas. According to Thomas, he walked in the bathroom and saw Freddy and the janitor. The janitor left and Freddy beat him up and the only way he stopped was Thomas had to promise never to tell what he saw. After a couple of months students started to talk and once Freddy found out everyone knew what happened he began to bully people again (only the ones who would talk about him). He got suspended twice during the months of March and April. After hearing story after story and even talking to Freddy, I couldn’t understand why he would let someone do something like that to him. As unbelievable as it sounds, yes, I actually talked to him. It was during a lunch break. He was sitting at a table by himself. Even after everything he had did to me, I felt bad for him. I walked over to him and asked him if he was okay. He told me to leave him alone, but I didn’t. I told him that I wasn’t over there to make fun of him, but instead I was sitting next to him to make him feel better. Sooner or later, we started to talk and he began to tell me some of the things that happened. I’d asked him why he allowed it, but he couldn’t give a straight answer. He later got upset with me and told me to leave or he would hurt me. I don’t think I was afraid of him, but I did respect his wishes. By the time May rolled in his parents moved out of town and Freddy was no longer a threat to anyone at the school. During the time period of Freddy being abused became public; police officers, social workers, and psychologists came into our classrooms and talked to us about what happened. They pretty much had a talk about sexual abuse and how if it should happen to us that we should tell someone. Those times in fifth grade are a time I won’t forget, I hated that time though, because I always felt uncomfortable. I was glad not only when it ended, but when Freddy left. It was like a new beginning for me and the rest of the class.
Another fond memory was the gymnastic show. I didn’t do much in it this year, but there was one thing I did that I enjoyed. It is called tinikling, which is a Filipino folk dance. It is very energetic and I was glad to take part in it.
Then, of course the other moment I remember was my graduation. It was not like most graduations. We had a Hawaiian themed party and at the end of the night we graduated. They called our name in alphabetical order and that was that. Family and friends were invited at the end of the night. It was fun, exciting, and a little nerve- racking because it meant the end of elementary. I remember the fifth-grade teachers telling us middle school is more difficult and you have to take it more seriously. I was afraid because I didn’t think I could survive it. However, I knew I had to go.
1990: The summer came in and the first thing I did was go camping. Christopher took Mark, Brian, Camille, and I camping a week after school ended. None of the other children in the neighborhood wanted to go. We had a lot of fun and Christopher took us horseback riding before we left the campsite.
During the month of July, I got to spend more time with the new children in the neighborhood. Mark and I took them around the neighborhood to show them where everything was, we spent a lot of time at Bisco’s Family Drug Store. We also spent some time at Papa Bill’s house. That was the summer where I learned a lot about Papa Bill. He showed us his pictures and plaques from the wars he fought in. He told us he was in both World Wars and how afraid he was of dying and also killing other people. He also mentioned how he witnessed the Korean, and the Vietnam War. He was strongly against it, and even shared his disgust about the Iran-Iraq War. He said he never understood the concept of war; he mentioned no matter how many wars he was in or saw they never solved any problems. He would always say if war was the answer there would be no more wars. He also told us about the after effects of war and the veterans that were physically and mentally injured. I remember sitting and listening to his stories, fascinated by this man. It felt like he had witnessed everything, as if he knew everything about everything. He would show us photo albums and old coins and newspapers from the late 1800's and early 1900's. He collected many things from the time he was a boy up until now. He also told us stories about his late wife, whom died of lung cancer. I learned so much about Papa Bill in the summer of 1990. It was kind of ironic or maybe coincidence, I’m not sure, but after spending time with Papa Bill and learning about war and how he felt about the war, it was two months later that Desert Storm began. I remember that time pretty well. Of course, it was all over the news and the teachers were asking us questions in class. I think the thing I remember the most about Desert Storm was the song From a Distance sung by Bette Midler. It said everything Papa Bill said to us, it was like it was inspired by him. I wasn’t sure when or how the war would end, but I prayed that war would never return.
This summer also brought back Kenneth and Barbara Standards. They returned in the month of July from Paris, France. They were supposed to leave for Israel in August, but they postponed their trip due to the war. Before the summer ended two more homes were sold and two more houses were completed.
Phylicia Page and her daughter Destiny, 16, moved in and Ronald and Winifred Bridges as well. This summer ended pretty quickly. I was supposed to go to Funtastic Kingdom this summer, but of course my dad’s job got in the way again. He promised me each month we would go, but we never did. Besides the broken promises the summer was nice.