Criminal: An Old School Adventure.

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Highly anticipating going to the dentist and writing about my mistreatment on this blog, I set my alarm really early the night before so when I wake up I try to get some stuff done before heading out there. After taking a shower and getting ready my mom informs me that my appointment is suppose to be tomorrow at 13:50 hours instead of today. She told me she rescheduled for today at 15:00 hours. I told her to change it back cause I remember Jordan wanting me to come with him to check out our highschool to watch a basketball game. I told him yesterday I couldn't go because of the dentist appointment. So now I'm going to the dentist tomorrow and I called up Jordan's cell to tell him that I'm all for checking out the basketball game, which supposingly is at 14:00 hours.

So I play around on the computer for a bit until Jordan calls me up from his cell phone on the train to tell me to get to his house now so that we can go to the school when he gets back, and it should be around the same time. I said ok and hung up, asked my mom what times the 2 King arrived at the bus stop. "It comes seven minutes after and 37 minutes after." She replied. I glance at my cell phone clock. 13:00. Oh FUCK I need to catch that bus! I get money and all my stuff and I run out the door. From my court to the bus stop is like a twenty minute walk. I ran so fast and hard that I was out of breath when I reached Labrador in two minutes. I walked a little bit to catch some energy. When I got to Mackenzie park I started to run again and didn't stop until I was at the intersection of Eastlawn and King, I can taste blood in my mouth at this point from running so hard. I'm heaving in the chest at this point. I wait for the light to turn in my favor and walk across and towards the bus stop. 13:07 my cell read. I made it. Then the 2 King rolled up and I walked on dropping a couple loonies in the coin box thingy.

I ride the bus, sitting near the back. All the while keeping a watchful eye for my bus stop. When my stop finally comes I frantically wave my hand in front of the door which has trouble seeing it. What a stupid door opening system. I figure I have some time to kill before going to Jordans so I head to the nearest Macs on King street and get some gatorade. The purple kind.

I arrive at Jordans and talk to his mom for a bit, and once Jordan got there we called for a cab and made our way to Pereyma highschool. "You're not going to put on your seatbelt man?" Jordan said. "Uh, no, these guys are professional drivers." I replied. We drive for a bit longer and Jordan is still looking at me like he usually does to get a rise out of me. "What are you looking at jackass?" I quipped.

So we pull up and the school is ghosted. No one in sight. It's nearing 14:00 hours, we walk into the office to try and get some visitor passes. Inside the office not too much has changed from when I remember. Mr. Crosby, my old multimedia teacher, was there at the desk writing a note. He remembered us surprisingly. So the secretary comes up to us with a confused look on her face. She never really was bright. Jordan explained that we are former students and we just wanted to check out the basketball game. She looked at us blankly. "I have to talk to the principal." She said, and proceeded to nervously walk to the door of the principal. I'm thinking ok Mr. Powers will come out, see me, talk a bit of football and give us the visitor passes. The secretary turns to us "What do you do?" she inquired. I'm not really sure how to take that question. Jordan explains that he goes to U of T. She looks at me. "Trent." I responded. That seemed suitable and the principal came out.

It wasn't Mr. Powers. It was a contrived looking female principal. You know the type, a woman business suit that was plaid with matching skirt, make-up over done and hooker looking. The smell of cheap perfume. "We don't normally give out vistor passes, so you're going to have to come back after school hours." She said right away. I'm thinking, come on! We're former graduates at this school! You can talk to pretty much any teacher in this fucking building to vouch for us. So Jordan said thanks and that we'll be back. Walking out we realized that we don't know when school is out. So we walk back in to inquire and were informed that it's out at 14:45. "What do you think man? Should we call a cab back?" I thought about it for a second and said we should stick around. I was thinking the reason is partially principle and we can catch a little bit of the game if it did start right away at 14:00 hours. Which it probably wouldn't cause of warm up and such.

So we walk around the neighbourhood to kill off 45 minutes.

It was even strange to walk around this neighbourhood cause I was remembering doing cross country with my English teacher Mr. Hass after school. We would run around the block several times. All the while giving us advice into life and talking about symbolisms and tribulations of this and that. We walked by a wood working shop at the industrial section of the hood, custom signs were produced there too, we joked that we should ask them for a sign that read "Fuck you man!" Parked in front of an adjacent building was an old volvo, flat tired and everything. Abandoned factories ran the strip too. The smell of burning wood was in the air. I got an eerie feeling from the whole place, rusted over and all, just seemed like the sort of situation where you see characters in a movie walking through a small town and everyone is inside the houses starring back at them. We walked around the park for a bit and talked a bit more about stuff going on in life. Still reminiscing about stuff we use to do in highschool. The area was sort of like a tundra - in hospitable to life; barren grass, lightly covered snow with netted ice on top of the grass, which has small patches protruding up. Stepping on it cause water to rise to the surface making it simulate walking through mud.

So we made our way back to the school and it was just about 14:45 and we told the secretary that we were checking out the game. It was a different secretary this time, but she still didn't know what was going on and told us the game is at 15:45. Whatever, we saw our old O.A.C. Geography teacher, Ms. McCrae and went to talk to her. She asked how we were doing what we were doing and stuff. As she taped up posters on the wall. I look off to my right and see our old guidance teacher Mr. Brennon. I see him in church all the time, and he was really helpful throughout the years at University. I remember telling him how my old dog Liqour died and he shared with me a story about losing his first dog.

At this point we don't care about visitor passes and such, just a bunch of rogue university students strutting in. I didn't ask the secretary if we can see Mr. Brennon, stupid bitch, we walk up and knock on his door. He is very surprised to see us and shakes our hands and invites us in for a chat. His office hasn't changed that much, still has candy by the chairs for people. I never ate his candy though to much his dismay. So he asks us about how our university careers are going and I ask him about teaching and he gives me some really good advice (got to remind myself to do a sit in to talk to my senior tutor). Jordan then asked:

"So how long have you been working here?"
"Oh let's see, well the school opened in 1988 and I've been working since then, so about 18 years now." He replied.
"Wow, so that must mean you started when you were only 18" I said jumping into the conversation.
His face went serious. "How would you ever know that?"
"Well... I mean I just judged by looking at you and deducted 18 years."
He begins to laugh now and said "That is such bullshit!" and slaps my knee and still inquires how I got that information.
"Seriously how else would I know? I just looked at you-"
He's in hysterics now "That is such fucking bullshit!"
And we are all laughing now and he thanked me anyways for making him feel young I guess.

Jordan at this point is interested in some of the plaques on the walls, we look for the people in our grade who are on them. Then we leave the main lobby and walk past room 112, our old english room, and stop dead in our tracks. It got really weird all of a sudden and it shook both of us at the same time. Jordan looks back at me "Woah, this is weird man." and chuckles. We continue walking and we see the new section of the school. Jordan hasn't seen it yet so we do a walk through to check it out. Down the hall, up the stairs, looking this way and that. Then at the end of the hall oblivious to what's going on we walk into an old section of the school. We stop dead in our tracks again.

"Woah I said." I looked around the hall way. There's the old art class room, the old physics room, the old chemistry room, the geography room at the end of the hall. "This is weird." Jordan said. "Yeah it's almost like we... I don't know, just went back in time for a second unknowingly." I responded. So many memories flood the brain, not only from looking at the hallway, but from standing in it. Art class especially sitting with Beth LeBlanc all the time talking, seeing Chris Boswerth dance with the skeleton in there. Painting the ceiling tile. Looking out the windows while we listening to music on the radio. I think White Town's Your Woman was the hit song back then. The old hallway had lockers down the row, probably never in use anymore, blotched ink stains covered them and black streaks caused by worned off rubber from the soles of kid's dress shoes kicking them. Giving them a dented in look. Garbage all over the floor, empty coke bottles, obscure papers, and candy wrappers.

Jordan and I satisfied of our venture made way for the gym, to our surprise, had the basketball teams warming up. Looks like both secretaries were wrong about the time the game would start. We were just in time. The game itself was pretty good, the lady ref made some interesting calls against our school. It was funny hearing that young kid comment about a lazy eye that the ref may or may not have.

After the game finished we decided to walk back to Jordans. We crossed over the bridge and I check out the horizon. Houses on top of a hill. Mine is up there somewhere. Running train tracks venturing into the unknown with chainlink fence guided along with them. Wouldn't it be cool to ride the train one day and just go where it goes? We get to the under bridge tunnel just after Bloor street, the one the homeless guy was beaten to death. I remember passing through here some mornings after seeing Kelly Grenier before school started. There use to be some ketchup smeared graffiti that read "Bow to the fecal lord." written on the tunnel wall. It was gone, and somehow I was disappointed. We went to McDonald's on ritson and enjoyed some food and talked about girls. Then walked back to his house were I caught the 2 King back home.

Ok well that's it for today. Hope you enjoyed the ridiculously long blog entry.

Peace.