I used to be the nerdy kid in elementary school.
That was the kid whose genuine attachment to the learning process was overshadowed by those who had a genuine place in the cool group.
The “cool group” used to fascinate me. I always wondered what it took to be a Sunset Elementary “cool” member. Did they have an application process? I never thought so, because I never saw forms floating around. Or maybe, just maybe, I missed the recruitment meeting. That could have been it. Every year, the cool group did expand, so I figured the higher-ups were always targeting new prospects and bringing them on board. Even some of MY friends were selected, so I figured there must be a way in.?
Now don’t get the impression I wasn’t happy with my quasi-uncool status in the primary school community. I enjoyed my early years. But, every now and again, I wondered what it would be like to associate with the real movers and shakers of recess. Because for all the influence us nerds?or, as I liked to call us, the scholastically oriented?did wield inside the classroom, I gradually realized that, once outside, our ability to command large followings of people quickly diminished.
Maybe I could become one of the cool kids. I had friends on the inside, and they remained my friends even after scaling the playground hierarchy, so I figured?at the very least?I wasn’t blacklisted from potential membership. I just needed a way in. Fortunately, I had a vague familiarity with the process, so I knew the place?the place where movers and shakers hung out, the place for quick advancement.
The playground.?????
This is where things happened. Every recess, every lunch period, the concrete playground outside Sunset Elementary was home to the daily touch football game. Playing in the game was easy. Actually making my mark was a far more difficult endeavor. For some time, I had involved myself in these daily games, but without much success or recognition. Usually, I blocked for the quarterback, not the most rewarding position, mainly because blockers never scored touchdowns. Cool kids scored touchdowns. They were the wide receivers and running backs and, of course, the quarterback. The quarterback usually doubled as team captain, which gave him God-like status on the premises. I once thought that, being the blocker?in a way, the quarterback’s trusty sidekick and loyal subject?would eventually result in my promotion. But this wasn’t to be. Blockers didn’t score touchdowns. To be cool, I needed to score.
Scoring a touchdown on offense wasn’t an option at this point in my football-playing career. As blocker, I hadn’t yet demonstrated the necessary athletic prowess necessary for higher callings. So I turned my attention to defense?specifically, intercepting the opposing “cool kid’s” pass and running it back for a touchdown. This wouldn’t be easy. Each un-cool kid who had for some time tried out their hand in playground football was, of course, after the exact same thing: instant glory and quick promotion, possibly to wide receiver, or maybe, just maybe, permanent membership in the group.
So I waited and waited, patiently, for my chance. One day, it came. Our defense was bearing down on the opposing quarterback, so much so that he forced a pass to the left-side of the field. His wide-receiver wasn’t in the right position, which allowed me to swoop in, pick the ball off and run it back the last 10 yards for the touchdown.
I made my mark. But surprisingly, invitations for “cool” membership were not quickly forthcoming. Maybe the higher-ups weren’t watching as closely as they should have. Maybe they hadn’t fully understood how well I read the last play?how forced pressure usually results in a sloppy throw. Whatever it was, things continued pretty much as usual.
Which, in the end, was fine by me. Maybe I did miss out in certan up-scale lunchroom gatherings but, for the most part, my remaining days at Sunset Elementary were happy and rewarding. I retained both my cool friends as well as those with a more scholastic orientation. I continued playing touch football during recess.
I could always be cool inside the Sunset classroom.
