Tattletale

When I was in the third grade, I didn't have too many problems with being picked on. Yeah, you had the usual kids who were always assholes, but everyone had to deal with them. Most of the kids who were bullies came from the wrong side of the tracks in our village. They had the fucked up families, the bad homes, and the inability to understand themselves much less anyone else. I'm pretty good at dealing with people who have problems now a days, but back then it was a little harder.

There was one kid that I had class with named Josh Jarvis. He and his brother Jason were pretty bad by the way of young dumb children, and generally always got into trouble for something. In fact, last time I checked they were still assholes, and unfortunately their little sister is the exact same as them. *Que the eyeroll*. Anyways, back to the story.

It was recess, so we were all running around outside and stuff. I went over to this piece of playground tomfoolery that we called "The New Equipment". It had slides on it, one side was shaped like a mountain that you could climb up, and it had monkey bars attached to the side. It was a fairly tall piece of playground equipment. I was walking along the bottom of the equipment trying to decide whether I should climb up or wait for the crowd to thin out a bit when I felt something wet hit the sleeve of my shirt. Looking down, there was a wet spot that was fairly large. Of course, I look up to see whether it may have started raining, and I see Josh Jarvis leaning over the top of the equipment with a shit-eating grin on his face.

I thought, "There is no way he would just spit on me for no reason..." Of course, he proved my doubts to be false when he began to hawk another loogey. Fearing for my health, I ran for the blacktop. The black top is where our teachers with recess duty would stand and make sure we didn't do anything stupid, so of course I approached one of them. I explained to her that he had spit on me, and since she wasn't a teacher from my grade level I made sure to explain what he looked like to her. I assumed that since spitting on people isn't socially acceptable, he would at the very least have to stand against the brick wall of the building for ten minutes.

"Lorelei, don't be a tattletale."

Wait, what?

No, seriously, what in the fuck?

First of all, I can understand why she might have said something along those lines if I had been lying, but she had no reason to think that I was lying. I had never lied to any of my teachers before, I was pretty much known for my good behavior and for being well-versed in unusual knowledge, but never for something like lying. However, she said tattletale, not liar. To be a tattletale, you have to be a snitch. That means you tell on someone for doing something bad. How is that wrong? Especially at a young age when disciplinary action can mold how a child will compose themselves in the future? So, if I were to be walking down the street and I see a man grab a young girl and throw her into a van, will the police tell me not to be a tattletale if I try to report a kidnapping?

You know, this is the perfect example of a teacher who has grown complacent. An authoritative figure who has become content to sit back and watch the societal collapse of new generations because they either don't want to or maybe even can't teach a child how to act like they've got some sense. In the end, I'm not upset about being spat on, I'm pissed off that I was called a tattletale for no fucking reason. The fact that something that insignificant has stuck with me through all these years annoys me as well. Of course, when I tried to tell her that I wasn't being a tattletale, she made me stand against the brick wall for ten minutes. In the end, I got punished just because I wanted justice.

Teachers are part of the reason why I hate the school system. Now, I know not all teachers are like that, but after years of dealing with ungrateful kids you turn bitter. Just... don't deny someone their right to justice, and don't be afraid to discipline someone so that they understand that there are some things you can't do in the real world.

Like spit on people.

I'll get you yet you little bastard... >.>