Granted Clemency (pt. 1)

Wow, time has passed by so fast. I wasn’t going to write a blog post about this particular topic. I wanted to bottle up my excitement and be selfish. However, I had already shared and poured out my soul and emotions about this topic in other blog posts. It wouldn’t make much sense to keep the good part to myself. I mean, I’m not even sure how many people even read this blog. I’ve gotten random hits on Facebook about people hitting up the Pink Brass Knuckles Facebook fan page, but meh. Anyway, I’m rambling.

On March 30^th, 2016, while teaching (yes, I’m officially a full-time teacher now), my phone was BLOWING the FUCK UP! I had two missed unknown calls, two voicemails from the unknown caller, five text messages from my stepmom, and two from my paternal grandmother. WTF, right?! My students were testing and my phone was on vibrate. I looked at the text messages… vague ass messages.

“Call me”

 “Guess what”

“GUESS WHAT!!!”

“Hey, I’ve got some news”

“Are you at work??”

“What’s your email?”

“Have you spoken to your dad?”

“When do you get off?”

Hmmm… These might be important. My heart is beating super fast. Did something happen to my dad?? Did he escape? Who called me?

I wave a teacher into my class. “Can you take over my class really quick? I think I have an emergency.” She agrees, probably hating me since prep time is sacred time.

I rush into the bathroom to call my stepmom. Damn the voicemails; what the hell happened? She screams, “Did you talk to your dad’s lawyer?” Before I could answer, she yells, “Your dad got clemency!!!!!!” I yell a blood-curling scream from the depths of the staff women’s restroom. A few seconds later, a male teacher knocks on the door. “Who’s in there????” I cover my mouth, but I was speechless anyway. Tears are streaming down my face. I poke my head out of the door—eyes red and all—and squeak an inaudible, “I’m okay.” It’s my assistant principal. I tell my stepmom hold on and run out of the hallway and barely make it out of the front office before I collapse on the ground and bawl my eyes out. My stepmom is crying on the phone, I’m crying… it’s a mess. I’m crying so hard that I can’t breathe. I think I might be hyperventilating by this time. One of the students walks by and informs the office that something has happened to Ms. B. My assistant principal comes out and ushers me into the staff lounge. Thankfully, it’s empty. Somehow, I get off the phone with my stepmom and put my head on the conference table. I close my eyes and try to gather myself. When I lift my head, the AP, principal, counselor, and office clerk is gathered around me.

“Are you okay?”

I nod. My AP is the first to speak, “Is everything okay? *whispers* Did someone die?” I shake my head. I try to speak and just say, “Happy tears.” They stand there for what feels like forever, just staring at me. The counselor—one of my friends—finally says, “Take your time. Mr. A has your class covered.” The office clerk hands me a Kleenex and my principal puts her arm around me. She says, “Do you need to take the rest of the day off?” I shake my head and say that I’ll be back in my class in a few minutes. They all shuffle out, unsure of what else to say or do.

I get on the phone and call my mom. She’s a nervous wreck before I even say a word. She’s naturally paranoid. I called her, thinking I would be able to speak. I was wrong. When she answers, I’m silent. After her first “hello,” she gasps, “What’s wrong????” I shush her. After a few more seconds, I tell her that my dad was granted clemency. She yells, “Oh, my God!” Now, her ass is in tears. (When you’re as close as my mom and I are, one of us crying makes the other cry.) So I start crying again. She’s going on a Hallelujah-a-thon and I tell her that I have to get back to my class. She lets me off the phone after congratulating me a billion times. I text my boyfriend and the rest of my family. They are all excited. I go back to my class and don’t focus the rest of the class period. At my school, classes are two hours so I had a lot of time to have a silent party in my head.