Marcus

Yes I used a pic of Kid Cudi

In elementary school I would sometimes walk to and from school. My brothers and I would also take a cab, not because we had money but one of my brothers had gotten robbed on the way to school and my Granny was afraid to have us walk. Back in those days it only cost us about $3.50 in a cab to get to school since it was only about a mile and half away.  My older brother would often ditch school and walk an opposite way and I would be forced to walk alone.  Marcus was a young boy at school. He was much larger than all the other kids.  Marcus was not like the rest of the kids from school. He had special classes and would often cross personal boundaries. He had no control over the things he said and slurred his words. People would make fun of Marcus, called him awful and hurtful names like, retard, dumb, crazy, perverted, and faggot.  Marcus would yell and cry and sometimes ignore the bullies. I silently protested against their treatment of Marcus but never had the courage to say anything. One day I found myself walking home with Marcus. We were on opposite sides of the street at first and eventually on the same side. This became somewhat of a regular occurrence. He would ask random questions as if I had all the answers. We talked about our favorite colors, food, teachers, and cartoons.  Marcus also had a great imagination and his mind would wonder about all sorts of things and he would often talk about the sky and what kind of things filled it. He also talked about what he wanted to grow up to be and asked about my aspirations. At school Marcus would wave hello and say, "Hi Francis", and I would ignore him. The friends I had at school didn't really care whether I was friends with Marcus but in my own head I thought the world was staring at me and couldn't be seen saying hi to the resident pariah at school. When we walked together after school he wouldn't say anything and immediately forgave me for being such a bad friend that only was his friend on days we walked home from school. Marcus and I eventually stopped walking home together and went to separate schools. After many years of not seeing him and becoming an adult I saw Marcus. I was to embarrass to say hello, embarrass for not standing up to those bullies and not publicly proclaiming my friendship with Marcus, and I also thought he wouldn't remember me. Marcus stepped right in front of me and said, "Hi Francis", not missing a beat carried on walking like we were back on the play ground at Stege Elementary School. I was pretty astonished he remembered me, It was a pretty amazing moment and I responded, "Hello Marcus", the first time publicly acknowledging I knew him and shared a friendship. Marcus had nothing to be ashamed of as he was always my friend and reminded me of my own faults I so desperately wish I could go back and change. I have not seen him since but if I do I hope to say hello.