This is the school I would have gone to from the start. It was a half-mile from my childhood home. I left my graduating class at the semester break two classes short of graduating. The rest of that year I worked a job and lived with a girl.

Towards the end of summer my older brother asked me to move into our childhood home that he had purchased from Grandma who took it over from my parents when they got divorced.

Anyway, I only needed two classes for one semester to graduate with a high school diploma. Many kids from our neighborhood never made it that far. They either got married, pregnant, or got a descent job, and would have to drop-out to be adults and start their lives. My brother was not an exception and I could still be the first of five kids to earn a diploma.

I just needed to pass two classes. The only catch was one of the classes was only available at another school at night, and the minimum number of classes you can take was three. I enrolled in four daytime classes with three easy ones just for fun, and one that would help me get an office job and I'd get credit for that as well. I also enrolled in the night-school class. Since I was living on my own and had a job, my parents had to sign a release so I could be emancipated and enroll in school as a minor.

That was an amazing time in life. I had a house and car as a senior in high school. In addition, I was emancipated and could sign myself in and out of class or excuse myself from anything for any reason. I started going at it full-steam but life got in the way and my enthusiasm dwindled. I did become elected as the president of the Cooperate Office Education club which consisted of myself, two other guys, and twenty-three cute girls. They helped me to get a job in the office of a Travel Agency where two of the other students worked. I did however neglect my duties as club president and they impeached me. I should have stuck it out better, I owed them all that. I specifically joined this club to learn how to type. I knew I wanted to work in the computer industry and it would give me an advantage knowing how to type. Although the machines are different, the keyboard layout has always been the same.

I was dating the administration office girl. She would write a pass requesting that I go to the office to see a counselor then come and get me. We would spend the period fooling around. I started getting notes on my car from a mystery girl who turned out to be a fun, long-legged, blonde beauty who became my girlfriend throughout that year.

My "new" car lasted through my senior year in high school then died.