Jack walked into the cafeteria and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Kids were throwing food, napkins, and spit wads at each other. Jack had never seen a place in such commotion. All of his morning classes were very structured and the students were incredibly compliant with the teachers. This was a different story. Jack stood at the entrance of the cafeteria until he felt the presence of a large man walking up behind him. Jack turned around and was looking directly at the thigh of the biggest man he had ever seen. The man was dressed in dark blue cargo pants, combat boots, a light blue button up collared shirt that had patches and a badge attached to it, and the man had a gun holstered around his waist. When Jack finally caught the face of the man he was amazed by what he saw. The man was the favorite Jayhawk basketball player of Jack’s dad. His name was Manley Roderick and he looked and felt every bit as strong as his name.
“What you kids doing in here! If it don’t quiet down someone’s gonna pay!”
Jack was shocked by the booming voice he just heard. Maybe it was because Manley towered over Jack or maybe Jack just wasn’t used to hearing such a loud voice. Whatever the reason, Jack just stared in amazement at his father’s hero. The man finally looked down.
“Can I help you son?”
“Are you Manley Roderick?”
“My name is Mr. Roderick to you.”
“My name is Jack…my father thinks you’re the best player to ever wear a Jayhawk uniform.”
“Maybe I was maybe I’m not. Are you gonna go eat your lunch or do you need me to take you to the detention office?”
“I’m sorry I’ll go eat…Nice to meet you Mr. Roderick.”
Jack walked away and kept glancing back at his father’s hero. He found a seat at a fairly empty table. Jack sat down and pulled out the lunch his mom made for him before she left for work. The other two kids sitting at the table weren’t paying any attention to Jack, they were busy pushing their school burritos down their throats. Jack was a little disgusted by the kids and found himself pausing to watch them devour everything on their trays. When the kids finished with their trays they both pulled out a large lunch from their backpacks and started eating it with just as much ferocity.
“Are you guys gonna slow down to breathe?”
“Hmmm…wha you doing here?!”
“I’m sitting down to eat.”
The two kids finished chewing what was in their mouth and then looked at Jack with anger in their faces. The bigger of the two spoke up.
“This table is reserved for football players…boy!”
“The seats looked open to me.”
Jack took out his lunch and placed it on the table. Both of the boys at the table started scowling at Jack. One of them was about to stand up, but the larger boy put his hand on his shoulder to sit him back down.
“If Mr. Roderick weren’t here we’d teach ya a proper lesson in respect…boy!”
“I’m not your boy and Mr. Roderick is an old friend of mine.”
“Somehow I doubt that!”
“Go and ask him.”
“This table is still reserved for football players and athletes!”
“I’m an athlete. I shoot hoops.”
“You ain’t no athelete in this school…boy!”
“I scored a basket on Ox.”
“How you know about Ox? What you playing at boy?”
“I’m just saying that I’m an athlete, I’ll be trying out for the basketball team in a couple months.”
“Basketball season don’t start til November. Athletes have to be in all the sports and right now it’s football season. Now get up and leave our table!”
Jack looked around and could see that Mr. Roderick was thinking about leaving the cafeteria. He thought about how big the two boys across from him were and decided to stand up with his lunch in hand.
“That’s right boy…walk away and we’ll act like this never happened.”
“I’ll see you both on the court.”
Jack smiled at both boys who returned his smile with a glaring sneer. He didn’t care that he had possibly just made enemies with two of the larger boys in seventh grade. He knew he wouldn’t be given any shortcuts in a new school and in a school where he was one of the few white kids. Jack finally found an empty table and sat down and ate his lunch. After he ate half of his sandwich and all the chips and fruit his mom packed he was just about ready to get up and walk to his next class. Instead he felt a sting pass across both of his ears.
“Stay at your table boy if you know what’s good for you…your friend be gone!”
Jack did everything he could to keep himself sitting down. He gritted his teeth and somehow turned it into a smile.
“Thanks guys. I appreciate that.”
“Don’t you get up til yo babysitter come and get ya boy…got dat?!”
The boys tone and language was becoming more and more like it belonged on the streets or in some street gang movie. Jack just smiled and nodded his head. He knew he had just picked a fight that wouldn’t go away. This was not how he envisioned his first day.