Be an Above Average Whiteboy

 

Be an above Average Whiteboy

            I was in my sophomore year of high school and on my way to screen printing class when a black student put his fist up to the sun and shouted, “It’s your world Whitey!”

            I instantly thought, “My world? I don’t want it! You take it!”

            The student was also in my screen-printing class, and later in the year, we actually became friends, such good friends that one day he asked me what my nationality was. I thought he was asking about my speech impediment-it did give a slight accent.

            He told me that he knew about my speech impediment, and he didn’t care about that. He added that he never got along this well with a white person. I could relate to his statement because I had never gotten along this well with a black person.

            We did get along. He and I had some of the best discussions in that class. We talked about the internet, and he was surprised to find out that I was not hooked up to the internet. I guess he thought all white people had computers hooked up to the internet. We also talked about Al Pacino and Robert De Niro movies which I especially enjoyed since I seldom talked about those movies with my other friends. We even planned our own robberies. He made my screen-printing class much more interesting.

            He made the teacher call him Charles but I called him Chuck.

            There was another black student in the class. We shared the same name. One day I asked Chuck where I could buy some weed. Chuck pointed to the black student. I had never bought drugs before.

            I went up to the student nervous. I even had my twenty in my hand. He saw the twenty, I asked.

            He told me he didn’t have anything on him. I gave him the twenty and asked if he could get some. He nodded.

            The next time I saw the student in the halls. I went up to him and asked if he had anything on him. He was with his friends and he just walked away.

            I tried talking to him some more times after that, but I never got anything.

            In screen printing the teacher let go around campus with a camera. We would take pictures then develop them in the dark room in the back. The only thing was that we had to go in pairs.

            I was discussing things with Chuck. I told him how I gave the student my money, but he never gave me anything in return.

            Chuck scratched his chin.

            “See what you need to be now is an above average white boy you should get your money back.”

            “You mean I have to fight him?” I asked.

            “I’m not saying anything.”

            I asked the student if he wanted to go take some pictures.

            He nodded.

            Then I asked the teacher. She said yes.

            We grabbed two cameras and then we left.

            I didn’t take very many pictures. I was trying to sike myself up to jump him. We walked all over the campus.

            My high school at the time was made up of about four different buildings. When we got to last one, I started walking slower so there would be some distance between us. He was several steps in front of me, when I decided to run and tackle him.

            I quickened my steps then started to go into a sprint. When I got to him, I stopped. I couldn’t fight anybody. He looked a little scared, and then he started laughing.

            Finally, we went back to screen printing. Chuck shook his head and didn’t talk to me for the rest of the class. I was no above average whiteboy.

            Chuck later graduated from high school, and I never saw him again.