10 Life Lessons. Number 5.

My first teacher in the juniors was Mrs Burt.

Mrs Burt didn’t like me. But, to be honest, I can understand why. There wasn’t much she could teach me. I could read, write, do basic maths, add up, take away, and divide ( all thanks to Dad’s times table sessions). So I was bored. And what do bored kids do? They get into mischief!

Reggie had moved away, his Dad got a job in Richmond and they just up and left one day.

My new best friend was Graham Philmore. He lived a few streets away and was a real handful. He came from a big family, and if you looked at him carefully, you could see the words "TROUBLE" written all over his face. I sat next to him in class, and we giggled our way through every lesson. Looking back now, we must have been a real nuisance. Mrs Burt wasn’t impressed and, on more than one occasion, brought a ruler down hard on our knuckles.

It was time for the end-of-year exam. This was a number of questions on different subjects but mainly maths and English. For the exam, Mrs Burt split me and Graham up, just in case there was any cheating going on.  I got more right than anyone else in the class and I was ( as we called it back then) “Top Of The Class.” Graham came last.

Mum and Dad were delighted and the following week they were to attend the Parent's open evening where they would also pick up my school report.

I had nothing to worry about. I was Top Of The Class. I was the boy wonder.

But when Mum and Dad came home, their faces told another story.

My sister was told to go upstairs and I sat at the Kitchen table. Then Dad exploded!

“Do you know what words Mrs Burt used to describe you? Do you? Do you? Inattentive and Lazy! Lazy, a son of mine, LAZY! “

I started to cry.

Dad kept on.

“I work sixty hours a week for you and this family and YOU think you can go to school and do Fuck all! Just fuck around with your mate. What’s his name? Philmore? Well, that’s the end of you and Pilmore. Mrs Burt is splitting you up and if she ever sees you two playing together in the playground she’s going to tell me straightaway. Understand?”

Not only was I crying but now I was shaking. Mum told Dad to ease up. But he was having none of it. He crouched down so that his face was level with mine.

“Do you understand? You are never to play with, or talk to Philmore ever again. From now on I want you to listen to everything that Mrs Burt tells you. Is that clear!”

Through the tears and my trembling lips, I managed to say. “Yes, Dad.”

I wasn’t crying and shaking because I was scared of Dad. I was upset because I’d let him down. I’d disappointed him and that was something I never wanted to do.

He walked out of the kitchen and sat down in front of the TV.

That was it. It was over.

From then on Graham kept on one side of the playground and I kept to the other. We rarely spoke and were sat at opposite sides of the classroom.

The other thing that happened was, I became very busy. Suddenly I was the Milk Monitor. The kid who puts a crate of Milk outside every classroom at 10.00am. I helped set the tables up in the Hall, for the dinner ladies. And while other kids were banging away at the Triangle or shaking a tambourine, I was given the job of tidying up the school library and making sure that the books were in alphabetical order. I was even given the job of collecting each classrooms dinner money. I went from class to class and collected the dinner money from each kid. Then I went to the library and counted it all up and made sure that the total balanced with the number of kids who were paying. I took the money to the School Secretary with a sheet of paper showing how I’d reached the total.

Boredom had gone and once again I looked forward to going to school, Mrs Burt even gave me a “special” book to read. “Emil and The Detectives.”

I absolutely loved that book. I must have read it five times before I gave it back to her.

Note to self.    Boredom leads to mischief. Mischief leads to trouble. Trouble leads to pain. Pain makes you cry. Crying makes you sad.

LIFE LESSON NUMBER 5. Wanna be happy? Get busy.