Student learns valuable lesson after cleaning putrid mess out of locker

Darcy Marchant, Charger Staff

After four years of trying to beat the system, it finally caught up with me. Throughout my entire high school career, I have always ignored the rule about using the locker assigned to me. I had my reasons, of course: I didn’t like stooping down to reach my bottom locker, I wasn’t near my friends, etc.

Walking to Mr. Gentry’s office after being called out of my economics class, I did not yet realize that my stubbornness had come back to slap me in the face. Down the hall and into his office I went, and as I plopped into the chair facing the man who was about to make my day, I managed to maintain a confident smile while wondering why Mr. Gentry would want to take time out of his schedule to deal with such a troublemaker as I.

“What locker was assigned to you, Darcy? Locker 225?”

“I...I think so, but I’m using a different one, but that’s okay because I know the girl whose locker I’m taking, and she said it’s...”

“So you know that locker 225 was assigned to you.”

“Yes, sir.” I cowered.

“Therefore, since it was assigned to you, it is your responsibility, correct?”

“Yes, sir,” I responded, as I wondered when he would reveal his point.

“So Darcy, this means that you are responsible for the contents of this locker.”

By now, I am panicking, thinking that the drug dogs found something in it that really wasn’t mine.
I was temporarily relieved when I was told to go and clean the garbage out of the locker. Making my way out of the office, my heart sank into my stomach as I was handed a pair of rubber gloves and some Clorox wipes. I jokingly asked just how bad it could possibly be. My terror increased as I neared locker 225.

I spent the next twenty minutes ever-so-carefully picking garbage out of the locker piece by piece, trying to keep my nose turned away from the stench which pervaded my nostrils like a thick fog of body odor on a redneck’s sweaty, greasy body. I pulled out lunchtray after lunchtray, month-old pizza, cartons of chunky milk, and bowls which were once white but now had a thick, hairy film of green. Not only was I covered in the rotten morsels which had fallen from other people’s mouths, I felt as though I was also blanketed in embarrassment and shame. I even had some passer-by janitors pity me enough to stop and ask if I was okay and if I needed help.
As I pulled the last bits of crap (which I can almost say literally) out of my locker, I stood up and thanked the Lord above for my strong stomach. I decided that even though I was thoroughly grossed out, I was glad that I had to do the dirty work instead of somebody else.

All in all, Mr. Gentry deemed me a “real trooper,” and was very impressed with my attitude. I had quite a story to tell when I got back to class, and for the rest of the day, I had a terrible lingering stench in my nostrils.
So now you have some new, inspiring words of wisdom for the day: Always wear a smile and have a fresh attitude in all that you do.

Copyright 2003 Cookeville High School