My name is Helen Ross. You may have read about my adventure with the peeping Tom in the outhouse. If so, you know about my friend Sarah, her cousin Peg, my Aunt Rose, and a couple of other of my friends and family.
My boyfriend, Mike Harter, likes to give me pretty clothes. Not long after my adventure in the outhouse, Mike gave me a long, tight skirt with a slit up the back. A couple of days later I wore it to school, which is where all this mess began.
During seventh-period freshman social studies, where I was a T.A., Mr. Hambert sent me to the office to get something out of his mailbox. I had put the skirt back on after p.e., though I had changed from my high heels and nylons to athletic shoes and ankle socks. Social studies was in the older part of the school, and I had to go down a long stairway to get from Mr. Hambert’s class to the office, which was in the new wing, along with the gym and music rooms. I knew as I reached the top of the stairs that I would have to walk carefully, and I reached out with my left hand to hold onto the railing. As I took the first step, I felt a hand push my back, and suddenly I was bouncing down the steps, out of control. I must have blacked out for a few seconds, because the next thing I knew, I was halfway down the stairs looking up at Dick Winston’s laughing face. I gave him the finger before the pain got to me and I passed out.
A few minutes later, Mr. Hambert and his freshman class were all around me. My left shoulder and elbow hurt, but the pain was subsiding—or I was getting used to it—but my left hip hurt bad and my left ankle was numb. Mr. Lambert and Tug Nelson comforted me while someone else went to get a first-aid kit. Tug was the quarterback of the football team and one of Mike’s best friends, and I used to help him and his girlfriend, Carol Keith, with their algebra. I guess Tug went and got Mike, who called Mom at work. All I remember was Mike kissing me as I was getting put into an ambulance.
Aside from a broken ankle, I had only a few bruises. Mom had come to the hospital scared half to death, but she and Mike took me home at the end of the day. I told them about seeing Dick Winston, and why I believed he had pushed me down. Dick was a jerk who caused trouble but never seemed to get into any trouble. He had only a couple of friends—Nick Stone (who everyone called “Stoner”) and Billy “Bad Ass” Abbot. They were a lot like Dick, but also got into very little trouble. Mike thought they knew some dirt on our principal, Mr. Walters, so they could blackmail him. “Blackmail or no blackmail, Mr. Walters must talk to Dick about his behavior,” said Mom. The next day, the stuff hit the fan.