This is all about a memory I have of my high school years. The times I had in high school are precious to me, although I don't talk to many of my classmates and high school friends anymore, I remember them well and hope that some day when I have alzhimers and can't remember what I had for breakfast or what I did 10 seconds ago that I will be able to still have this space on the internet that is full of my memories.
The pond story is one that has gone down in DCHS history, I'm sure. It all happened in Science class in Grade 9.
Mr. White, our teacher, told us that we would be making a trip to the pond to collect specimens to be analyzed in our class.
Everyone was told to bring in some jars and other things to keep the specimens in until we could analyze them. Two guys in my class, Derrick and Jamie, showed up with waders. (Derrick and Jamie were the "bad boys" of the class.) Mr. White looked half scared and half proud that the boys had taken a keen interest in this experiment. The boys reassured Mr. White that the only reason why they had brought the waders was so that they could get samples from the middle of the pond. The look of pride was very apparent on Mr. White's face.
We could walk to the pond from our school. It was on the other side of the road from the school, and towards the bridge just a little bit. It was probably no more then a 1o min walk. Everyone was excited to get out of the classroom for a little while.
When we first arrived at the pond we took samples from close to the sure, capturing everything that was in the way of the jars, little fish, mud, scummy water, and any other insects that happened to be there. Then Derrick and Jamie put on their waders and started out in the pond, at first they were very well behaved, just walking out collecting samples and tossing them to the people on the shore.
I turned around for just a brief moment and then all the sudden I heard Mr. White yell at the boys, I turned just in time to see Jamie push Derrick into the swampy water. When Derrick finally got his footing back he very quickly returned a shove to Jamie who also fell into the water. Then the splashing began, pretty soon even those of us up on the shore were sprayed with water.
Mr. White was at a loss, there was nothing he could do to get the boys to stop. He couldn't go in after them as the bottom of the pond was muck and he would have sank and probably have lost a shoe. Derrick and Jamie continued their little water fight, which now involved several of my other classmates, who didn't want to miss out on the fun. I remember looking at Mr. White, whose face was as red as an apple. He always got red when he was angry, but I had never seen him this red, it seriously looked like his head was going to explode!
I have to give the boys some credit here, because they knew that as long as they stood in the pond far enough away that Mr. White could not reach them, there was nothing that he could do. However, they did not think of what would happen once they got out of the pond!
When the water fight finally came to an end, we were marched back to the school and lectured first by Mr. White and thena gain by the Principal of the school. Telling us that we were old enough to know better then to be have like that, and that we would not be allowed to go on anymore school trips as a class. I know that the boys must have been punished, but I don't remember the punishment.
The principal held her word, the next trip we went on together as a class was Safe Grad. And I have to say for the most part we were very well behaved. I'm not sure that any other class got to go to The Pond, we might have ruined that trip for everyone else.
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