the forking class of 2007

This morning, I went into the attic to look for something in my box of high school memories. I knew I had a picture frame with a mat that my Dad had written on, and I thought he had written "Stay on the straight and narrow." Something I've lately been thinking about getting a tattoo of. So, imagine my disappointment when I saw he had written 'MAKE WISE DECISIONS.' I was super confused at first, then remembered why he wrote that. Let me tell you about my senior prank. 

One night, my best friend Meagan decided to have a party at her house with all of our friends and our classmates. After the party was over, a few of us had lingered behind and we started talking about how the next day, we would go to the school and have our last day as Seniors and how we should have done a senior prank. Ideas started flowing, and at the caution of one of the Mothers to "not get arrested," we headed to the Piggly Wiggly and WalMart to buy all of the plastic forks/spoons/cutlery we could find and we were going to FORK THE SCHOOL. This literally just means sticking the plastic in the ground. We got to the campus and drove up to the common area, which is where everyone would be before school started and we knew the most people would see the artwork we were about to create. We got out of the car (well, except for two scaredy cats that wouldn't get out and hid in the back), and got busy sticking thousands of forks into the ground and writing on the sidewalk with chalk. We got done, very proud of our work and headed home. 

The next day, we all arrive to school, and ALL of the forks are gone and all of the chalk has been

washed off--- as a note, we were all good kids, and planned on actually picking it all up after our last Senior meeting that day. So, a bit disappointed, we headed into the gym to meet with the principal and staff to go over graduation stuff. As soon as our meeting was over, the principal got on the mic and said "Last night, a few of you got it into your minds to come to campus and vandalize our school grounds. Our custodians had to spend all morning cleaning up your mess, with one of them even crying 'Why would someone do this to our school?' We know who you are, you're on video. We know Meagan had a party last night, so Meagan, come down here." Meagan, who is literally the club president of everything, walks down the stairs and we all know we're in for it now. Slowly, the rest of us join her at the bottom of the bleachers, because they have us on video (apparently). This is the moment my mom decides to walk into the gym, as the principal is yelling at us for vandalizing the school and how she's going to press charges against us. 

She lets us go, while our whole graduating class is looking at us like we've grown three heads. I bolt out of there-- I have a job to get to. I get to work, and my phone rings and my friend leaves a voicemail. Apparently, the principal had gathered everyone up after the meeting and brought them into her office, where she had two officers with her. She told them all to write a statement of what happened, and that 

she wouldn't press charges for trespassing if we agreed to come the next week (the week we were off as Seniors) and do 10 hours of community service. On Monday, we all show up, in our purple polos and khaki pants (uniforms). She breaks us up into groups and we perform clean up projects of the campus all week. My group got to help plant some trees, clean the boys locker room in the fieldhouse, wipe down all of the freezers in the cafeteria, and other things I can't remember. On Friday, the morning of graduation practice, we got to help the teachers set up the chairs and decor on the football field. We messed the chairs up, and during our graduation, we had to awkwardly pause and find more chairs for the classmates who didn't have one. 

[Y'all, I'm literally laughing at the absurdity of this as I'm typing it. The graduating class after us broke into the library and put desks and chairs on top of the library roof. So, in hindsight, our prank wasn't that big of a deal.] 

Anyway, to say my parents were shocked is an understatement-- I literally graduated in the top 10% of my class and at Senior Award Night, gave a speech about our class moto. That was a quote by someone talking about leading by example because others will follow your tracks in the snow. How fitting. I made a reference to our prank. The night before, we all stayed the night at a friends house and had these shirts made for our last day of community service. We were known as the Forking Class of 2007. Such a proud moment. 

That's why my Dad wrote 'MAKE WISE DECISIONS' on that graduation frame. Should I get that tattooed somewhere, just to get a chuckle?

Red Beans and Ricely Yours, 

Brooke