The Chalk Incident

Caitlin Frank

            Emotional scars can be more wounding than physical scars. It is difficult to remember the pain incorporated with a physical scar, but when we remember an emotional scar, the familiar feeling comes rushing back to us. The pain associated with emotional scars is very unforgettable because everything detail involved with emotional scars can easily be remembered and the most common feeling is regret.

            The summer that I moved to Westport our house was sold before our new house was ready to be moved into and we could have been considered nomads. I spent most of my time at my cousin’s house and at my grandparent’s house. My grandparent’s house was very crowded because my cousins were visiting from Nebraska and people were constantly stopping over to say hello. My grandparent’s house was the scene of the crime on the day of the “incident” as my cousin Kim and I refer to as one of the most memorable moments of my life.

            Kim and I were both 13 and going through a phase of “testing the limits.” We could challenge anyone and foolishly we meddled with the wrong woman on that hot summer day. Everyone was on my grandmother’s porch as Kim and I were enviously looking down at my grandmother’s neighbors who were swimming in the pool on the other side of the fence. Kim and I were enraged when we heard them splashing, laughing and having and all around good time. “It’s so unfair that they get to swim in the pool. They’re such bad people, I truly hate them,” Kim sighed. I could not have agreed more with Kim because I too recalled them treating Kim and I horribly when we were younger and they had just moved in. We welcomed them into the neighborhood with open arms and they rejected our family and we had not spoken to them in months.

            Boredom began to take its toll on us and we resorted to writing with chalk on the scorching pavement, a past time we had enjoyed as children. Gradually we inched to the front of our detestable neighbors drive way. I looked over and Kim had written “pool hogs.” I started laughing uncontrollably and then joined in writing childish phrases such as “you smell.” Kim and I walked away somewhat proud of our artwork. As I looked back feeling guilty for writing something so unnecessary and defacing someone’s property, I eased my guilt by reminding myself of what terrible people they were. Kim and I casually walked up to the porch and we peered over the fence deviously laughing at their unknowing faces.

            All of a sudden we heard the scratchy unforgettable voice of a 12-year-old-boy shout “It says pool hogs in our drive way!” Kim and I were struck with fear. We had not considered the consequences of our actions and we knew that we would eventually have to face them. Kim wanted to sneak away and go to her house without apologizing, but I knew that it would only make matters worse if the incident went unresolved.

I ran to warn my mother and defend our actions and provide some excuses in order to lessen our punishment. As we walked down the stairs of the porch, I stopped abruptly when I saw a woman approaching my parents and my aunt. I could not hear her, but her mannerisms were a definite sign that she was angry. After the woman walked away, I dragged my cousin over to my parents and our aunt and admitted to my parents what we had done.

            My parents were not that upset with me because they knew what horrible people the neighbors were and assumed that they were blowing the situation out of proportion as usual. My aunt told us to wash away the chalk and to apologize. My cousin was frantic but I tried to remain calm. I asked my aunt to come for moral support. I knocked on the door with her and began to make the most sincere apology I had ever made.

I remember the change in her frown lines as she became more infuriated. She yelled at me pointing a stern finger only inches in front of my face in order to intimidate me. I refused to let myself back down and I continued and explained to her that it was a misunderstanding and that it would never happen again. I was nervous because there was an entire audience inside her house watching me. My cousin sheepishly hid behind a bush so I had to face the woman alone. After I apologized assuring her that the chalk would be washed away, she slammed the door in my face. I walked away with my head down ashamed of what I had done. I did not bother to yell at my cousin for not standing up with me and we proceeded to wash the chalk away in silence.

            My cousin and I often reflect on what happened that day. It is easier for us to laugh about it now, but the emotional scar I obtained on that hot day in the summer is most memorable because I learned a valuable lesson. The lesson that I learned was do not deface other peoples property no matter how much you hate them, and to be prepared to accept the consequences of your actions. Since that day I am more cautious with what I say and do taking into consideration who will be negatively affected by it.