Teen girl walks in the front door of high school then out back door to her boyfriend’s car waiting in the parking lot
Never have I ever skipped school without a valid excuse. Unless I was sick or had a doctor’s appointment, I was present and on time before the homeroom bell rang in the morning.
My best friend, on the other hand, skipped school whenever she wanted, without repercussions. One of her tricks was having her mother drop her off at the front door of the school, walking down the hallway while stripping off her Catholic school uniform to reveal her t-shirt and denim skirt underneath, and marching directly out the back door to the parking lot where her boyfriend was waiting.
She never got caught.
In the afternoon, her boyfriend dropped her off at the front door, and she’d scurry through the building out the back door to meet her mother in the parking lot. It was brilliant.
Despite all her unexcused absences, she passed all her classes and graduated with the rest of her class.
It’s been many years since I graduated from high school, and I still have nightmares that I’ve forgotten to go to class and won’t graduate on time. I wake up thinking I have to repeat my senior year of high school at my current age. It’s terrifying.
I could never have skipped school as a teen. My anxiety wouldn’t have allowed me to try it.
But I’ve always admired my friend’s guts and her ability to get away with it. Her audacity was something to be admired, even if I would never have been brave enough to do what she did. Although I can’t condone skipping school, her story has become a fond memory from our teenage years.
I’m grateful for the unforgettable memories of our wild high school days, even if they were spent on opposite ends of the spectrum. Although we’ve fallen out of touch, I bet her fearlessness has served her much better than my anxiety has.
We can learn a lot from the fearless people we know and love, even if their decisions are questionable sometimes.
I never had children, and I never will. So having my child skip school isn’t something I’ll have to worry about. Perhaps I’d remember my friend’s shenanigans less fondly today if I had children of my own.
How many times have I wished to skip a day at work and spend my time doing something more enjoyable than answering phones or ringing up groceries or cleaning hotel rooms? Maybe we all want to play hooky now and then. I know I do. Is that so wrong?
What do you think? Did you ever skip school… or work? Comments are welcome.
