The class began just like any other class , I was borrowing a new erasure
from a friend , I had tossed my third sheet of drafting paper in the waste paper
basket , missing only once . The clock hit 2:10 and our teacher excused himself
. As soon as the door shut My friend BV sprung into action . BV was everything I
was not ..His exploits were legendary at Benson , He was easily the best in all
the shop classes ....it is rumored that the character of McGyver was actually
based on him . Using only a spoon taken from the cafeteria , a paper clip a used
piece of bubble gum and a Cotton swab within Minutes BV had completely removed
the entire door knob assembly from the door . He then raced downstairs and
buried the hardware behind the large Rhody bush in front of the School . Racing
back to his seat he was there for just a few minutes catching his breath as the
Ferenghi returned to the room . All of us tried as hard as possible to ignore
the look of frustration and anger on the teachers face , as He stormed around
the room looking in all the obvious hiding places . He then ordered all of us to
empty our desks ....but the Door Knob assembly was not to be found . The 3
o'clock bell rang and we all escaped under the Ferenghis steely gaze ...Careful
not to give BV away we simply melted away.
The next day ...we entered class ...Our teacher made one last plea for the
door knob to be returned ..then each of us was sent to the Principals office .
We went in groups of 5 ...but were greeted by the Principle individually . We
were encouraged to tell all , to break the code of silence that had developed
between us students and the Student responsible for the caper . My questioning
was Similar to the others . It began with Mr R telling me He knew I knew who did
it and it would be in my best interests to tell him . I responded quickly that I
had no idea who had taken the door knob , that in fact I had forgot to remove my
welding googles and they were covered by smudge from my most recent welding shop
explosion . Mr R said He heard about the Explosion , but he doubted I was still
wearing the googles . I was trapped , and yetI fell back to the usual position
of deny , deny, deny,
Eventually he let me slink away ...I had been true to the code .
As it turned out none of us gave up BV . It was also rumored that the
entire class was wearing welding googles they had forgot to remove , with the
exception of JB who had forgot to wear his glasses ,,,,no one had seen who took
the Door knob .
For several days the Door remained knobless . It was as if the School
Administration was saying " we will out last your feeble and immature efforts to
protect the guilty" .
Then a week later it reappeared ,,,,the door knob was back ,,,,a little .
dirty , stained by the red clay , and strangled by new roots ...but it was back
.
BV was not there . each of us looked accusingly at each other ...someone
had betrayed the code of silence ! But who ?
Once again we were summoned to the Principles office . I watched , as each
grim faced student emerged from the Office , paper work in hand ...All of us had
been caught in a lie and each of us was being punished .
It was my turn. Mr R told me to sit down , fixed me with an almost joyful
look . He explained to me that he knew for sure that all of us in the class had
lied to him , that each of us had been untruthful to him , He barely skipped a
beat when I Mentioned that he was being redundant . He went on to explain that
BV had come to his office and out of guilt confessed to the Crime , and had
also told MR that everyone in the class knew it was him who removed the Door
Knob , then BV accompanied by Mr R went outside and dug up the hidden Door
Knob.
All of us who had Lied to protect our friend ..were being suspended . In
my case since I had already been suspended 3 other times for fighting ,,,, my
suspension meant I was being expelled from Benson . I owuld have to go to Wilson
High School beginning my Junior year .
Mr R asked me how I felt about that ? But He had a very hard tome hearing
my answer above the my muted screams of delight that echoed through the
halls.
In retrospect this all seemed a little Ironic ....BV who alone removed the
Door Knob was not suspended , instead He was commended for his coming forth in
honesty . He was also commended for his expertise in removing the door knob ,
and in subsequent years used as a consultant for tricky Class room repairs . In
time a Trophy with his name on it would be laced in the school trophy case .
The trophy was awarded each year to the most imaginative shop student of the
year . Of course the Door Knob Caper became the source of Legend .
Those of us who kept our silence , are long gone . No mention of our
sacrifice , no trophies for us , no Legends .
I do not know what ever happened to our Drafting teacher . I Hope in time
He became more loving , more graceful ..or that he was deported back to Germany
to face various war crimes ,or perhaps beamed up to the Ferenghi Mother ship and
debriefed about us crazy earthlings .
My parents while genuinely upset that I had failed Benson were oddly
pleased that I had not betrayed my friend ...Nothing I could have done would
have had the same results ..I Left Benson not in disgrace but as a Martyr to the
code of silence .... Two years at Wilson was a well deserved sentence
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