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You remember Jackie's dad... the one who said he see I never teach again and threatened me physically? Yeah, that's the guy. That Sunday Jackie and I went home to tell him. He came flying across the room toward me... I stood my ground, and he restrained himself from striking me. I offered to pay the deductible for the insurance, but he wanted nothing to do with my money. He only wanted me to stay away from his daughter forever. It was an extremely cold night that evening, but instead of walking one mile south toward my apartment, I walked two miles north to visit the home of the principal from school. I let him know what was going on, sort of give him a heads-up before Jackie's dad starting making phone calls. For the one and only time that school year or the next, he was actually supportive of me. There was nothing the district could do... the girl was 19 and capable of making her own adult decisions as to who her friends would be. He then offered me a lift home. Over the next three months, Jackie and I continued to see one another perhaps every other week. She finally admitted what I'd known the year before... that her suicide attempt was because she'd had a crush on me and couldn't have me after the lie about her brother's accident. Finally the relationship fizzled... although we greatly enjoyed each other's company, the threats and hiding from her dad were just too weird to be comfortable. |