A Memorable Experience Essay, Research Paper

A Truly Memorable Experience

It was like any other Friday at my house that night. I ate my dinner in a rush, ran into the living room afterward to watch television, and quickly fell asleep. My mom was always sure to wake me up around 7:30 or 8:00 and send me up to my room for the night . Usually I would go upstairs to sleep, but not on Friday nights. Friday nights were the nights when every teenager went out on the streets. Myself, being eleven years old and practically a teenager, was in the mindset that I was just as deserving to go out as any other kid. My parents did not agree with my philosophy so I had to give myself permission to go out of the house.

I would use the window to get out then I would proceed to scale the roof to one side of the house and jump off on to the trampoline. I was always sure to dress in completely black and I always carried the needed essentials, like some food, a flashlight, and most importantly my knife. M

My knife was the nothing more than the same one my mom used to put peanut butter on bread with, but I sure felt powerful knowing it was in my backpack. My friends had weapons too like sticks and one even had a hand held BB gun. We need these weapons just in case some black boys came strolling into our neighborhood. Recently my home town had begun a new busing program and there were black kids in our school now. With all their talk about gangs and territorial defense we thought it only necessary to be able to defend our homeland if some gang members came to claim it.

After climbing down from the trampoline, I made my way to the tree row that was separating my house form my nosy neighbor?s. From there I would cut through three back yards, climbing fences all the way, and end up meeting my pal James in his backyard.

This particular night James was not there but he did leave a note on the door of the shed we always met in. The note had told me to meet him and Ryan, another friend, at O.K. Elementary School. O.K. Elementary was not the school in which we attended but it was nearby. We attended Black Elementary that was located a little closer. We had always thought the name to be a little ridiculous because up until the busing began there were no blacks that attended our school. O.K. Elementary school was located about eight blocks away, which is quite a distance if your legs were as short as mine were. I think O.K. Elementary was a magnet school, but I am unsure.

When I arrived at the playground that night at O.K. Elementary, my friends were not where they were supposed to be. We usually net at the jungle gym, but tonight they were not to be found. I climbed down the metal bars because I was in fear that I might be seen from the street on the north side of the playground. As I was climbing down, I noticed a flashlight going towards the school. This flashlight was no ordinary flashlight either. It was belonged to Ryan. Ryan had received a Ninja Turtle flashlight for his tenth birthday and it emitted a green light. The same light that was projecting from the flashlight I was seeing at that moment. I was sure it was Ryan and James so I ran as fast as my legs could go toward the school building and hid in a dark entrance to the school. There I waited momentarily expecting to jump out and scare my late coming friends. My feeling of cleverness soon diminished when I discovered that it was not Ryan and James who were approaching. I sat in disbelief as the three grown men approached my very spot. It was too late to run because they would have seen me for sure and perhaps caught me. Each step toward my location made me even more scared. I closed my eyes in hopes that they would turn or go back but they kept approaching. When they came close enough I began to here them talking to one another. Although I could not hear exactly what they were saying I knew it was bad news for me because of their low tone. When they were close enough for me to hear them clearly one said, “Step out into the light son.”

I froze that very instant. They had seen me. I started to cry softly because of the fear that I was having about all the things that were awaiting me after this moment. Getting arrested, going to jail, and worst of all, talking to my parents. All theses horrible thoughts were running through my head at the same time.

“Come here now son!” said the same man in a more stern voice this time.

I had apparently been thinking about my doom for too long a time because the man seemed quite impatient. I stepped out of my terrible hiding place wiping the tears of fear from my eyes.

“What are you doing here son?” asked one of the men as I walked toward the light that they were motioning me to approach.

Stepping into the light I got a good look at the people that held my fate in their hands. They were a group of people composed of two policeman and one guy that looked as if he had just got out of bed.

The two policemen looked like a pair out of a comedy TV show. The one standing on my left was tall and skinny. He was clean shaven besides the thick hair above his upper lip. His glasses were relatively large compared to his eyes and his pants barely covered his ankles. The guy located to my right, the partner of the other officer, was the exact opposite. He was short and very heavyset. He looked as if he was trying to grow a beard but had begun just two days ago. His uniform was very tight fitting. Neither individual was the type of cop to chase someone down and I was mad at myself for not running when I had the chance.

The two cops, and the guy which I could not place at the scene for any real reason, escorted me to the police car. I could tell from about fifteen feet away that there were people in the car. I could tell the people were young like me because they were very small. I knew immediately that it was my friends Ryan and James. Although I should have felt sorry for the kids and the situation they were in, I did not. In fact I was rather pleases to have company with me. The would take the plunge right along with me.

On the way to the police station the chunky cop turned around halfway to ask the question, “What were you kids doing in that school?”

Apparently my two friends had decided to enter the school without waiting till my arrival. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught. So in the back seat of the squad car were three kids in big trouble and one of which was innocent. I was very ashamed to share the back seat with my two friends at that time. What hacked me off even more was their inability to free me of the guilt of breaking into the school.

At the police station we were told to sit on a bench while they phoned our parents. I was rather mad at the policeman for not letting me call my own parents. I wanted an idea of what their reaction would be before they arrived.

They officers were nice enough to give us candy and pop from the machine which we consumed happily as we awaited our parents. We seemed to get over our fears about the whole police situation pretty quick. It was only about five minutes after entering before we started to laugh and joke around with one another. That is until my parents entered the station. My parents just had to be the first to arrive and boy did they look disappointed. It was easy to see that my mom had been crying. My father motioned me toward himself and I was reluctant to join his side. When I arrived next to him he placed his arm around me and leaned over to say “Don?t worry Buddy.”

I felt relief instantly despite the fact my mom was a little upset as she filled out the necessary papers.

On the way home my mother gave me a long lecture on responsibility and trust. I quickly lost interest. My dad did as well because he apparently fell asleep. My fathers lack of interest and calmness about the whole situation was very comforting. I knew that if my dad was not disappointed I had no serious worries.

The next morning I called my friend James to inquire about his parents reaction and other details about the night before. Apparently James and Ryan had entered the school trough and open door before meeting me. Inside they were caught by the same people that had caught me. They informed the police that I might be around so the cops came looking for me with Ryan?s flashlight. I felt as if I was lured to them like a fish to a worm. My mom had me get James? mom on the phone where she proceeded to get the details about the night before. James? mom informed my mom that I had no part in entering the school so I was free of that suspicion.

After that night I made it routine to eat dinner in a hurry, and run into the living room to watch TV. When I was awoke by my mother, after falling asleep on the couch, I was sure to go upstairs like normal. When I was sent upstairs to finish off the night, that is exactly what did. I slept.