ACCIDENTALLY PLAYED HOOKY

 Accidentally Played Hooky

Orange groves were the highest population of fruit grown in Florida.

One could say it was a staple in abundance at the time we lived in Winter Haven.

My mother's boyfriend was still living with us by the time I was 8 years old.  He had connections with people who needed help in the orange groves. Sometimes , he was asked to help pick oranges in the nearby towns when the harvesting season came and help was scarce.

We were a large family so "daddy" need us to help pick the oranges in Lakeland.

It was a school day and early in the morning.   Mommy gave us a choice between going to school and picking oranges.  

My brother, David, and I chose to stay home an go to school on our own.  I felt something was going to happen if we did not hurry up and start walking to school as soon as the others left for their trip to the orange grove. 

I said to David, " If we don't leave now, we will be late." I did not want to be late or get into trouble if Mommy found out that we were late.

He tried to assure me that we could make it if we walked very fast.  I didn't know how to get to school without him.  He knew the way there. 

I noticed the time and we were already late, it was almost 9 o'clock in the morning as we headed down the road towards the college.  At that time it was the Winter Haven Jr College.  

The name had been changed to Polk Community College since we moved away from there in 1973.

I hoped David would keep walking and get us to school even though we were already late.

He was tired and said we should go home and forget it.  I said, "You know that Mommy will come home to catch us there; she always does.  You know she is very sneaky and finds out everything we do."  

Mommy didn't drive and David thought she would not find out because "daddy" was driving and he was in charge of when they came home.  

I  was sure she would come walking in the front door any time now and it was going on eleven o'clock.

David wanted to eat something so he headed to the kitchen.  We both got out the bread , jelly and peanut butter and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I happened to be a clean person since it had been thrown my way since I was able to walk.

I warned David that we should hurry up and clean up everything and put it all away because I was sure Mommy would walk in the door any time and catch us home and eating the sandwiches.

I should have put everything away by myself , but I didn't bother to either.   

"She's coming!", I gasped.  I heard the door opening and David and I ran out the back door and hid in the bushes.

I knew she would see the mess we left on the table and know that we were home.

We were in big trouble and Mommy was going to beat us with a belt or a tree branch for playing hooky.

Mommy was in control of the family because she was very forceful and made everybody afraid of her including "daddy".

I was very scared and I started to cry.  David was scared too and knew we were both gonna get it.  "I told you she would catch us." , I said to David.  " I told you not to leave anything out, but you didn't listen to me." 

She yelled at us and beat us black and blue.   She said we were supposed to go to school and didn't go.  We tried to explain that it was getting too late to go to school and we went home instead.  She was even madder that we could have gone to pick oranges and not be in trouble.   That was a lie because she gets mad no matter what we do.

We feared for our lives because she was so cruel.   

We did not mean to accidentally play hooky.