The Cost of A Broken Window

It's hot outside today. It's been hot for a few days with tempratures in the 90's with the feel like temprature over 100. Everyone is seeking a cool place to hide from the heat. Everyone but me. I'm outside pulling weeds from around the inground pool. This is my part of my punishment for breaking a window at school.
It was close to the end of school or maybe it was the last day of school, I'm not real certain of which. I know it was at the end of the day. A day that had gone pretty good, see I was in Alternative School. This is where kids with behavior problems go for their education. I was here because I wasn't doing my school work. My grades were straight E's in all my classes. That day, though was a good day. I had done all my classwork, handed in my homework, and did what I was instructed to do. The bell rings for the end of the day and we rush out to get on the bus. Suddenly I realized I had forgotten an assignment I needed to take home and work on. I went back in the school and when I got to the classroom the teacher had already locked the door and left. There was no other way in the room that I knew of. So, I started back down the hall to the buses. I turned right. There's the double door. It's a metal framed door with thick glass that has what appears to be wires going through it making a pattern of cross hatches. There's a bar that goes across the middle of the door that, when pushed, will open the door. I get close to the door and instead of using my hand, I used my right foot. I was frustrated because I had a good day and a missing assignment was going to screw things up for me, at school and at home. I raise my right leg to kick the door handle, which in turn would force the door open at a faster rate. I watch as, in slow motion, my foot goes above the bar and through the glass. Shattering the window. I knew I was in trouble now! I ran to the bus. Jumped on and begged the driver to "please leave." Of course he did not.
The window cost $98.96 to repair. I say repair because they used plexiglass in its place. So part of my punishment was to weed the flower garden around the pool. I worked all summer long and part of the fall too. When I got hot my adoptive mother would call me over to the steps of the back deck and pour pots of cold water on me. She would then have me remove my shirt and then send me back out in the hot sun to pull weeds. I don't know the demensions of the flower garden, I can say that it starts small on the east side of the pool. As it goes around to the north side it gets wider and is now a hill. From ground to the concrete that surrounded the pool is flowers, mulch, and weeds.
I spend all summer pulling weeds in the heat from 8 am until 5 sometimes 6 pm. After 3 days of having been in the sun with water dumped on me and no shirt on it finally happened. I got the worse case of sun poisoning I had ever had in years. One of her daughters threaten to call someone if she didn't at least allow me in the pool to cool off and try to keep from getting worse.
I walk into the chlorine pool water. Its coolness feels great on my feet, legs and waist. All of a sudden there's pain as it hits my back.My skin starts to get tight. As the water reaches my shoulders the pain starts to subside. The coolness starts to feel good, soon my back doesn't hurt. After a short time I am told to get out. Shortly after getting out my back starts to tighten up again. Sleeping is very difficult.
Come morning putting on a shirt is out of the question. Moving my arms in certain directions sends tears to my eyes. I catch a glimpse of my back in the mirror and I see my back is bright red with yellow bumps. Some big and a lot of them not so big. Blisters. This was my punishment for a $98.96 window.
Once my back heals I finish pulling the weeds and start hauling wood to the house. I am bringing up branches, logs, and even tried bringing up a tree stump. My adoptive brother and father would use a chain saw to cut up the logs and branches. I use a sledge hammer and wedge to split the cut up logs for burning. The branches I break into small pieces for kindling. I have the same schedule as before.