Marshmallow had actually slapped me and I was doing everything I could not to laugh at him. See, Marshmallow was the scary kid. He was bigger than every other kid, dumber than every other boy, and he was piss ugly to boot. No girl would talk to him. None of them were impressed. He had… Continue reading Rise of the Storyteller 14: The Darkness of Slinger Middle School Part 1
Tag: 20th Street School
Rise of the Storyteller 11: Malice
When you see evil as a victim, it becomes less of what it was. Char was a monster to me, but I know his father. I know the kind of life he led and I know about his own abuse. It does not change my hate of him, but it does kinda. It is hard… Continue reading Rise of the Storyteller 11: Malice
Rise of the Storyteller 10: Liechen’s War Part 2
I went back to 20th Street School years later. After my fear of the place had drifted off and I came to terms with my years there. I looked up from the sidewalk and noticed it looked more like a prison than I had ever seen. The building had a new name printed on it.… Continue reading Rise of the Storyteller 10: Liechen’s War Part 2
Rise of the Storyteller 9: Liechen’s War Part 1
I studied with some of the greatest minds in the gifted program at Washington High School in the summer of 1986. They chose the brightest and the most innovative minds to come out of the Milwaukee Public Schools. Mr. Olsen had recommended me for the gifted program and, knowing my parents would not have filled… Continue reading Rise of the Storyteller 9: Liechen’s War Part 1
Rise of the Storyteller 8: Savior
Pride had them. I could see by the clock in the gym there was only two more minutes before the first bell that would call all of us to class. And Pride had planted his feet. Pride and I had gotten into a blistering fight one hot spring day when we were both in first… Continue reading Rise of the Storyteller 8: Savior
Rise of the Storyteller 6: Cloaked in a Mushroom Suit
I was obsessed with black girls. I could stare at them all day, and often did. There was, in my eyes nothing so beautiful, nothing so exotic, and nothing so powerful as a black girl. I told one once that I thought she was pretty. Very sweetly, she thanked me then walked over to a… Continue reading Rise of the Storyteller 6: Cloaked in a Mushroom Suit
Rise of the Storyteller 4: Matching Blades
I don’t think my second grade teacher, Mrs. Herring, hated children when she started teaching at 20th Street School, but by the time she got to me, I think it was starting to happen. Teaching is a punishing job. You see one kid after the next that you can’t save. Can’t save from bullying, can’t… Continue reading Rise of the Storyteller 4: Matching Blades
Rise of the Storyteller 3: Brotherhood
I had been hit for no reason. I never saw by who. I was in a crowd, then I felt a swift and sudden punch to the back. Everyone was moving around me. When I turned, I saw so many snarling faces all I could do was keep walking. When we got to the lunch… Continue reading Rise of the Storyteller 3: Brotherhood
Rise of the Storyteller 2: 20th Street School
Racism is a feature of the human condition that can be studied in many ways. You can see it through the eyes of incarceration. You can see it in the machine of poverty. You can look at racism through the eyes of history, looking at heroes and victims. You can see it in the workplace… Continue reading Rise of the Storyteller 2: 20th Street School
Jesse Teller 