I was about 10 feet from the group of boys when, in what I hoped was a convincing West Texas accent, I asked, "Which one of y'all's in charge?"
"I all is!" responded the boy I recognized as Tony, a black-haired smart aleck who had premature facial hair.
I switched to Brooklynese. "Yo, is I makin' funna de way youse talk?"
Tony seemed unhappy, so I said, "STOP! Don't come any closer!"
Three other boys smiled as they stopped. The fourth, ***, had a worried look. It was the look on the fifth boy, whose name I didn't know so I'll call him Scowl, that upset me. But I knew I had to hold my ground.
I said to Tony, "I am Miss Priscilla from El Paso, Texas. What's your name?"
"I'm Tony. What are you doing here, Pris?"
I firmly placed my hands on my corseted hips. "MISS PRISCILLA, if you please! All three syllables! And I request, but in your case I DEMAND, that you call me MISS as a sign of respect for my oncoming Texas womanhood."
"Are all the girls in Texas as tough as you?" Tony asked.
"I have to be! I've got three older brothers, and mom has passed away, so I have to make them walk the line. You New Yorkites are pushovers compared to them. But tell me why y'all want to make trouble here."
"That Ruskie teacher won't let us in to the recital just because we're boys. There's a girl named Kathleen who I wanna see dance, and other guys here have sisters."
I hid my displeasure at hearing this (deleted) dare to mention Kathleen's name, then calmly said, "These girls have worked hard for their recital, so you shouldn't disrupt them. I'll talk to the teacher & see if I can do anything to get her to let you into the next recital."
Tony grinned, then said, "OK, Pris--Miss Priscilla. Let's go, guys."
As I turned I heard that unknown boy say, "We oughta take that bitch under the railroad bridge and--"
Scowl's discourse was interrupted by what sounded like a punch in the nose. I turned and saw Tony standing over him.
"Knock it off, you fu...fu...FOOL! Don't you know a lady when you see one?'
Upon hearing that, what else could I do but bestow my most ladylike curtsey on Tony? He smiled, then he and the others helped Scowl to his feet, then they left.
By this time most of the people, including Miss Helen and her neighbors, were already inside the school. I immediately recognized one of the women on the steps as Miss Krammar, one of my favorite grammar school teachers. She looked nice in a pale blue suit and dark accessories.
"One moment, please, young lady", she said as she smiled. "You handled that very well. Your parents must be proud of you."
"My daddy and brothers are proud of me, Miss Kr-- ma'am. My mother was killed by a drunk driver a few weeks after I was born."
"I'm so sorry, dear." She paused and said," My name is Miss Krammar. And your name?"
"I'm Priscilla, ma'am".
"Nice to meet you, dear. Priscilla's a lovely name, a name that can't be spelled without the letters C, A, R, L."
"H-how did you know, Miss Krammar?"
"Your friend and mine Miss Helen told me. When you were my student a few years ago, I thought you might enjoy being one of her girls."
"Why didn't you say anything then?"
"I didn't have tenure yet", she laughed. "Let's go inside and watch the other girls."
"The OTHER girls? I like the sound of that."
"I like being able to say it!"
TO BE CONTINUED!
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