Driven to Distraction

I first met John when we were six years old. We had the same kindergarten class together. I remember it was a Tuesday in the middle of October, and for the first time that year, Kelsi, who had been my best friend even then, was absent. She was the only person in the class who I talked to on a daily basis, and when I saw that the seat next to me was empty, I began to worry. I was an extreme worrywart and terribly shy as a child.

I remember staring at the door, hoping that at any moment Kelsi would come walking through the room, being tardy instead of absent. But as the time ticked by, my hope began to dwindle.

“What do you keep staring at? She’s not coming.”

I glanced at the boy who sat to the left of Kelsi. He had a typical bowl-cut hairstyle, and had deep green, hazel eyes. God, those eyes were hypnotizing, even back then. But as pretty as his eyes were, his words only confirmed my fear and I felt tears prick my eyes. When he noticed this, he began laughing.

“You’re such a big cry baby, Ketely Jewel Morrison!” he laughed, pointing his red Crayola at me.

I bit down on my bottom lip, trying with all my strength not to prove him right by crying in the middle of class. I bowed my head and went back to coloring the picture of a duck on my desk. However, tear drops began falling onto my paper, and I brought my small hands to my face, furiously trying to wipe them away before John could ridicule me again.

“Ketely, honey, are you alright?” Mrs. Adams, my teacher, asked as she kneeled beside me.

“Ke – Kelsi isn’t here,” I hiccupped.

“Oh, sweetie, she’s sick. She couldn’t come to school like that,” she cooed, brushing my brown locks out of my face.

“John – John called me a big cry baby, Mrs. Adams,” I tattled, as I saw him sticking his tongue out at me behind her head.

She turned, and he quickly went back to coloring, but that didn’t stop her from reprimanding him. “John O’Callaghan, you know we don’t use those sorts of words in this classroom. I want you to apologize to Ketely.”

He huffed and he took his sweet time turning towards me, but he did it. “I’m sorry for calling you a big cry baby, Ketely,” he said, a bored expression on his face.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Mrs. Adams gave me a big smile and patted my back. “I’m sure Kelsi will be back tomorrow, honey. Just play with some of the other kids today, and if you have any more problems, come to my desk, okay?” I nodded my head and she stood up and walked away.

As soon as she was back in her seat, John glared at me and his small fist wrapped tightly around his crayon. “You got me in trouble! She’s probably going to tell my mom when she comes to pick me up today! I hate you, Ketely!” he whispered in a harsh tone before abruptly turning around in seat.

I’d felt bad, but I had wanted to get back at him for calling me a cry baby. I knew he wasn’t going to listen to anything I had to say, so I went back to coloring my picture, pretending that everything was fine and that come tomorrow, Kelsi would be back and things would be normal again.

But, even when Kelsi did come back, which happened to be two days later, things never really did go back to normal. John had meant it when he said he hated me, and every day I suffered from his cruel words and, when he felt brave enough, his unkind actions. He’d managed to get gum in my hair, which ended in me having to cut my once long hair, up to my shoulders. He stole my crayons, my Goldfish snacks, and even once, my Barbie doll. He tricked me into eating glue, and laughed about it afterwards.

John O’Callaghan was my own personal hell, and there wasn’t a day that went by that he didn't let me know it.