Mister West and the Chalk-Holder Scandle

It was late, Senior year in HighSchool, we had this History teacher, Mister West...

Man I thought I was going to be the cause of that guy, either dieing of a heart Attack, or going to prison for killing, me.

He had this Chalk Holder thing...
You know the ones, a little aluminum thingy-tube, spring loaded, you pushed the back of it and inserted a piece of chalk, and it held the chalk...?
I saw it as a thing to stash a joint in... "Oh! No Cop would think of opening that to see if there was anything stashed behind the chalk, especially when it was in the possession of some long haired teen punk!!"...Well I thought it was a cool idea nonetheless...Well I took it, he would leave it on his podium...And one day I snatched it...

Well after I stole it, Mr. West lost his mind...
Seems this was the only time in his 30+ year career of teaching HighSchool, In Los Angeles, mind you, that some kid stole something that belonged to him!
And he was retiring that year... This was at the end of the School year too... And he couldn't believe this could have happened to him, at that particular time in his ....bla bla bla...

This guy took one whole hour preaching this shit to the whole class, wanted to know who took it, wanted someone to turn in the
guy that took it...Bla bla bla...

Well, no one dared turn in my ass! So I went scott-free...And then...

........ Mr. West buys' another chalk holder!...

He brings it in and shows it to all of us...
That day Mr. West went on and on about how he wasn't about to change his-way-of-life, in "HIS CLASSROOM", "after all these years", just because some teenager stole something that belonged to him... Going on about, How he "was not going to be forced to having to hide his own personal property!" ...bla bla bla...

Well, the dummy!

I took that one as well, that same day, right before the bell rang!

The next day...
When we entered the class room Mister West was standing, no more like hanging on to his podium, braced to Preach...
Man, this poor old teacher looked like he either hadn't slept all night, or was real hung-over...

When we all sat down he went into a RAGE!!!
Screaming! I don't really remember what he said, but I believe it was the same crap from his first speech... Except this time the volume was up full blast...
I remember, another teacher from an adjoining classroom came running in to see what the problem was... And, I remember Mr. West, snapping at that teacher that he was in control of things and asked that the other teacher leave!...

So this poor old Historian, Mr. West, told us that he wanted his chalk holder back... That he would leave the room, and expected it to be back in his podium when he returned, and that there'd' be no questions asked... And that would be the end of it...
......................Yea, RIGHT!!!

So he left the room... I remember kids looking at me, grinning, wondering if I would put it back or not... Most of them actually felt sorry for the guy.
I didn't!
This was a Teacher held favorites!
A teacher that found certain kids that he liked more than others, and didn't hide that fact...

I couldn't stand when teachers did that... I was against being a "Teachers pet" and was verbal when I witnessed a teacher doing that kind of thing in class, and
extra verbal when a kid accepted a teacher treating them with more interest than the other kids!...

.......... I remember, Stacy Robinson in the 9th grade... I made her cry...But that's' another story....

Well, as you could probably guess, I did NOT return the chalk holder!
Mr. West enters the room, goes to his podium, sees that the little hole underneath it was still minus one green aluminum chalk holder.

He looks out over the room filled with students, sighs, and says, very quietly... "I'm very disappointed in all of you, then went to his desk, sat down, and just stared off into space for a few minutes, then said, "You people can now read chapters"...bla bla bla...

That was a Friday... The weekend came and went...

Monday...

In the classroom with Mister West was Mister Herd, the Principle, I could see, they had a plan! And knew this was going to be a fun day in Mister West's History class!!

What the two of them drummed up was, they were going to take each and every kid there into Mr. West's small office, and Mister Herd, would interrogate each and everyone of us... Asking if we either knew who stole the chalk holder, or if we took it our self... Well that's how my interrogation went anyway...
and I remember that my interrogation went a lot quicker than the others...And for some reason I was asked to empty my pockets...!??!
And I did, but I didn't take the Chalk holder out...
Mister Herd, was the least respected Principle ever! As a matter of fact, he got fired a couple years later, the rumor was that he was caught, all bowed up and going at it, with a student, "Gary Farris" (yes that actually was the student's name!..Total queer!...)in the Band room, one evening...

Anyway... As I said earlier, no one dared turn my ass in... Or so I thought...
At the end of this History class, turned "Inquisition Monday" I was asked to not leave the room...HA!

It was no big deal, I was badgered for 15 minutes or so, on how they knew I had taken the Chalk holder(s), and how nothing would happen if I just gave it up...
I remember Mister Herd actually saying the words "Give it up Pat, it's time to turn your life around, don't throw your life away like this son"...
I laughed at that... And then I decided to put the blame on Victor Massarelli!!
I said "he was using them as a stash holder for his marijuana cigarettes!"... I kid you not!
That's exactly what I told them...
Victor Massarelli was Mister West's little Teacher's pet...

Victor Massarelli, one of the fattest kids in school, about 5 feet tall, 200 pounds, looked kind of like one of them characters from The Yellow Submarine, my nickname for him was "The Bluemeanie"...
his little fat fuck, couldn't run worth a damn in P.E.... Crappy at any sport the Coach made him try and play...

But when the Lunch bell rang! This mutherfucker, could out-sprint any of them jock-offs on his dash to the lunch line!!!
I remember when ever we saw anyone running to the lunch line, we called it "Doing a Massarelli"...
"Hey, John! or Jim!, or Jack!", "Nice Massarelli you did just then" could be heard being yelled from groups of kids on the lunch ground towards various kids standing in the food lines...

...............Ok now...
I think it was Wednesday...

Mister West....
He showed us, yet another Chalk holder, one he bought the night before, "OUT of his own pocket"...
Then, started some speech on how, "This time" he was "ashamed", that, "HE NOW" had to resort to keeping his Chalk holder in his desk drawer..
How, "He couldn't believe, that after all his years as a Teacher", that he would have to result to having to "now" have such a lack of trust in his heart for his students'...bla bla bla...

........................What I wondered was, this guy was fuckin' retiring!! After this year was up!!
There was less than three weeks of school left... Did he not know this?

Did Mister West not realize that in less than a month, he would probably never need the use of CHALK again!
Let alone a have the need for a fuckin' CHALK HOLDER!?

Did all his years of teaching, lunatic, dope ridden, air headed kids, in Los Angeles (And now, during the fucken 70's!) break this man down to, what was now very obvious... An old dieing idiot teacher, that was succumbed to obsessing over, winning the game, who hid the Chalk holder?...

Ok...!
The third chalk holder was White....!
Now, the first one I took was Orange, the second, Green.

And, I needed to add a White one to my collection!!!!!
Those are the colors of the Irish Flag!
And me, being half Irish, I knew I had to complete the set, if only for that reason!!! I was going to get that Chalk holder!!
It was going to be mine!!

_____________________________________

With less than two weeks left on school, I plotted and planed, how would I get into Mister West's desk drawer...
There way no way... Everyone would see, and I'd get caught for sure! I just couldn't figure out how...

A week went by... I actually thought of breaking into his classroom after dark, but what if he takes it with him? I was
sure this anal retentive nerd never left with out his Chalk holder....

Then one day Mister West blew it...
After standing at his podium, causing most of to fall asleep from one of his rambling speeches, I think it was something about some guy, and I believe the guy was a "negro", who invented some kind of machine they used to process cotton with, in 1778... He left the chalk holder the little hole under the podium!!! And I saw it!!

That particular day was "Finals day" or something to that effect, I remember we had to turn in some type of paperwork...
And he called us up one at a time... And we brought up our papers and left them on his desk, and he'd mark us off or some shit...
This was a Friday...
Well he called my name, I watched him looking down at his desk, and as I passed by his podium, as fast as a snake that little white chalk holder was in my pocket, and, in three steps, my papers were laid on his desk....Then the bell rang!

Monday...One week left of school...

Mister West classroom door was open...
Mister West was sitting on the edge of his desk... Smiling...

"Hello everyone" "Hope you all had a great weekend!!" "Hope you all enjoyed your selves!" All the while staring intently at My ASS!!!

"And I hope who ever took my Chalk holder this time"...............Right then!! At that very moment, I wish you could have been in that classroom!!
I bet all the of oxygen in that room was removed in one single, massive, collective GASP!.....Hahah!!

Mister West continued...."And I hope who ever took my Chalk holder this time"... "Had a Great weekend!"....
....."Sit children, sit, sit down"...
He went on...
"And, I know I have told you all your final grades for this year"...And I know I said that I couldn't believe how most of this class ended up with D's and D- minuses..."...."Most all of you are just one grade of failing, meaning you would either have to take this class over again, or attend summer school"...That would be a shame!, seeing though this would depend on your being able to attend Graduation next week"....Then he paused....This whole time, he never left his glare from me...

Slowly around the room, one at a time, boys and girls, heads begin to turn toward my direction, some eyes actually meeting mine, others dropping to the floor at my feet...But I kid you not, out of 50+ kids, everyone during this time looked my way...
There was no doubt what Mister West had in mind...

And, I started to smile... I put on a grin, bigger than any retard looking into a candy store window...
I sat straight in my seat, and glared right back at Mister West and said...
"What's your point Mister West?..."

Mister West was about 75 years old... A small man, frail... I bet he weighed in at 120... He walked in little short steps, all he needed was a monocle and a Top hat and Tails and he'd be the Monopoly guy...Get it...
Well, right after I said that... Frail old Mister West jumped from his Desk-perch and in half a second was 3 inches from my face!! Nose to fuckin' nose!

And holding the edge of my desk, with violence in his eyes, he said in a low growl...

"My Point, Pat, is, THIS!... "
........"If I don't get my Chalk holder back, by the day's end, I'm going to change, the grade, of every single student in this classroom, to one grade lower!"
then he stood pointed to me, as to accuse, and shouted ..."THAT!!! Mister Doherty!!, IS MY POINT!!!....

The whole fuckin' classroom joined in a chorus of, "OH GOD KNOW!!!
COME ON PAT!!!
COME ON MAN!!
GIVE HIM THE DAMN CHALK HOLDERS!!
THIS AIN'T FUNNY ANY MORE!!!! COME ON PAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...bla bla bla...

true story...