First week of freshman year; the hallways were bright

before the bullies mapped their routes

and made it nearly impossible to get to 

  the good vending machines.

An occasional shove into a locker wasn't the worst

because the guys got it more often than me,

and I really had a lot of fun with my buddies.

Conversations about World of Warcraft

and Magic the Gathering

flooded empty spaces where my friends

never filled in their damn worksheets.