Epic Battles

What was worse, though, the unspeakable crime of it was that I didn't have many friends. I was too rough and boyish to be friends with most of the girls. I was just too female to be seen with the boys so that left me with Evan, Colton, Kaylee, and Gretchen. And none of these friends particularly liked one another.

For recess the kids at Gwinn Oaks would go down this large hill to a fairly large play area while the adults would stand at the top and watch...mostly. This was a comfortable thing for us kids because well, you can get away with just about anything as long as the teachers weren't watching too closely, which they rarely were.

I don't, even to this day, know what set it off. Maybe a kick-ball game gone awry, maybe just me wanting to join in a boys game. Whatever it was, Jeb took offense. Jeb was obviously a boy. Jeb was also popular. Jeb didn't like little old me.

What happened then, I always wonder how the teachers missed. Jeb and I were hurling insults, the boys were converging and I was in the middle of what would very soon be a fight. Me. Against the entire third grade populations of boys. I convinced Jeb it wasn't fair and amassed my pitiful group of friends. Kaylee stayed out because both of her boyfriends (a set of twins) were on Jeb's side.

My side was more pitiful than ever. Gretchen got two more girls to join the cause: they didn't stay long. More insults hurled, third grade ones about mothers and aptitude of kicking of a ball. Little things. I was tired, I was crying. The most vivid memory I have is sitting on the fence, a low wooden thing that was mostly for show, and just letting Jeb call em names.

Finally I had enough. I jumped down in front of him and gave him a shove shouting something at him. Words are lost in the sands of time. He was read for me though. Grabbed me by my shoulder and hip as if he'd done it a hundred times and threw my down into the gravel.

The recess bell rang again.

Epic battle over.

I still say I won.