Apple Asia

Yesterday was the first day of skkkool. We have this new kid name of Chester and he wear a funny hat just like Dan'l Boone. All the kids laugh when teacher tell him that tomorrow better wear some shoes or she gonna send him back home.

Chester come and sit down next to me at the back of the class. He look over at me all serial.

=We don't wear shoes to skkkool where I come from.

=Where you come from?

=Apple Asia.

=Where's "Apple Asia?"

Chester point up to where the wall meet the ceiling.

=Its way up there and it gots lotsa trees and snakes and bears! And the sky is blue!

=How come you here, then?

Teacher say "shush" so we stop. She wheel out this machine in front of the class. She call it a tape laccorder.

=When I call your name I want each of you to come up here. I'm going to hand you this microphone and when I say "ready" I want you to say your name, yur age and what you want to be when you grow up. Everyone else please remain quiet. We're going to seal the finished tape in a time capsule and bury it under the new tree in the playground with instructions 'do not open until the first day of school 2001'. Someday, when the little tree grows up to cover the playground in shade all the children in the 21st century will get to hear your voices. Maybe some of them will be your grandchildren!

Chester lean over to me and whisper.

=What you gonna be when you grow up?

=A baseball player.

=Me, too!

There's lotsa doctors and nurses, mommies and daddies, some scientists and Presidents of the United States. There's some baseball players and football players, too. Moody stars.

When it come Chester's turn he stand there in front of the whole class, take off his coonskin cap and scratch his head. He look at me. I shake my head because teacher tell us not to talk.

=My name is Chester Morton and I wanta be a...a...I wanta be a... bear. I'm gonna be a bear when I grow up!

All the kids laugh at Chester. Teacher turn off the tape laccorder and stare at us with her hands on her hips until we stop.

Chester's the funniest kid in the whole wide world!

Today I walk to skkkool and I see Chester there on the curb pull off his new shoes.

=Hey! Teacher said you have to wear shoes!

=Make my feets hurt.

=New shoes make everbody's feets hurt. Thats the way it is, Chester. My mom put a bandaid on my feets.

Chester takes off his other shoe and throws em in the bushes.

=I don't care. Don't feel right.

I look at Chester wiggle his toes.

My feets hurt where the top of the shoes bend.

=Yur right. They don't feel right.

So I take my shoes off and throw em in the bushes!

***********

Dad's face turn all red. He leave work and come pick me up at the principle's office. He drive slow along the curb.

We look at each house go by on Edgerow Street.

=There!

I point over to the honeysuckle growing over Mr. Saenz's fence.

=There! Thats where I left 'em!