Ending one year; starting another
At the sound of the boom, the editors—all girls—rushed the portable classroom’s door to see what was happening outside. It was 7:00 pm and the high school campus was empty—except for us and a few custodians, who were probably nowhere nearby.
Alarmed, I said, “Don’t touch that door knob."
The Scrollies—an affectionate nickname for the high school’s journalism students—stood in a pack by the only door to the windowless, portable classroom. The future editor-in-chief, a slender Asian named Amanda had her hand on the knob.
“Why, Mr. Lofthouse?” she asked. “We want to see.”
“That wasn’t a car backfiring or an accident. It was a shotgun blast. I suggest you get under the desks until the police arrive, in case someone on the outside decides to use the classroom for target practice.”
That night, the student editors and I worked until after ten. The school newspaper had to be out on time—it was a source of pride for the students that the paper had never been late. For five consecutive years, Scroll won first-place International Awards for School News Media from the International Honorary Society for high school journalists. One year, the staff was nine points from the prestigious George H. Gallup Award—the Pulitzer for high school journalism.
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Thank you for taking time to read these scenes from Crazy is Normal, a classroom exposé. If you read the rest of the book, please consider telling your friends and/or posting a short review on Amazon. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.
“Crazy is Normal” goes on a promotional tour starting October 1st that ends in the middle of November, 2014. During the promotion, the e-book of the memoir will be on sale for 0.99ȼ. The price will return to $3.99 at the end of the promotional tour.
Scenes from "Crazy is Normal, a classroom expose" will appear here Saturdays in thirteen installments covering the first ten percent of the memoir or 12,455 words.
The paperback and eBook may be found through its Website: http://www.crazynormal.com/
The Introduction, which comes before the Prelude, may be found at:
