[00:05.89]No One Will Ever Know
[00:08.06]by Janet Seever
[00:10.53]
[00:14.22]Karen, Judy and I were the last ones back in the school room after lunch.
[00:19.28]We put our metal lunch boxes on the shelf above the coat hooks,
[00:23.36]which were mostly empty.
[00:25.28]All of the other sixth graders were already outside,
[00:28.53]playing marbles or hop scotch or jumping rope,
[00:31.72]since it was a pleasant spring day.
[00:34.48]“Look what I found this morning in the storage cupboard
[00:36.61]when I was getting out some art supplies for Mrs. Eiffler.”
[00:41.05]With a conspiratorial grin on her face,
[00:43.75]Karen held up a wooden box filled with short pieces of chalk in every color of the rainbow.
[00:49.65]“Wow! What fun it would be to write on the chalkboard while everyone is outside.”
[00:55.36]Judy’s eyes twinkled with anticipation.
[00:57.95]
[00:59.12]“But Mrs. Eiffler doesn’t want us writing on the chalkboard,”
[01:02.43]I responded, already feeling guilty,
[01:05.30]although we had not yet done a thing.
[01:07.54]
[01:08.35]“Don’t be such a ‘fraidy cat’, Janet. No one will ever know,”
[01:12.13]said Karen, reaching into the box and drawing out a piece of chalk.
[01:16.30]
[01:17.50]“Right. Everyone is outside,
[01:19.99]so we’re safe.
[01:21.46]No one will tell on us.”
[01:23.86]Judy was already drawing a house with sure strokes.
[01:27.07]
[01:28.26]I reluctantly joined my friends in the artwork,
[01:30.80]wanting to be part of what was going on,
[01:32.92]but afraid of being caught.
[01:34.91]I knew well that we were breaking not one,
[01:36.81]but two class rules.
[01:39.51]The second rule was that no one was allowed to stay inside at noon
[01:42.82]without a written excuse from home if the weather was nice.
[01:45.95]
[01:47.03]Trying various colors,
[01:48.20]we drew houses, trees and three-dimensional boxes.
[01:52.35]It was fun!
[01:54.15]All the time we were watching the clock,
[01:56.61]knowing that our fun would be over if anyone walked into the room.
[01:59.65]
[02:01.31]Then Judy had an idea.
[02:03.74]“We’re all right-handed.
[02:06.13]Let’s see who can write their name best using their left hand.”
[02:09.54]
[02:10.96]Judy and Karen picked up their chalk and started writing.
[02:14.51]I chose a white piece from the box and wrote my name.
[02:18.10]The handwriting was a bit shaky,
[02:20.14]but no one would doubt that it said “Janet.”
[02:22.54]
[02:23.50]“I think Judy is the winner,”
[02:24.92]said Karen.
[02:25.98]“Hers is the best.”
[02:27.76]
[02:28.69]“We’d better get this board cleaned off before Mrs. Eiffler comes back,”
[02:31.89]said Judy, eying the clock.
[02:34.25]She picked up an eraser and began erasing our handiwork from the board.
[02:38.41]Everything came off... but my name!
[02:42.62]
[02:43.13]In disbelief,
[02:44.07]I looked at the chalk I held in my sweaty hand.
[02:46.80]
[02:47.07]On closer examination,
[02:48.55]it wasn’t chalk at all. I had picked up a small piece of white color crayon
[02:52.97]which was mixed in with the pieces of chalk.
[02:55.05]
[02:55.93]My stomach churned and my knees felt weak.
[02:58.81]What would Mrs. Eiffler do to me?
[03:00.51]
[03:02.23]My mother had a saying:
[03:04.18]“Fools’ names and fools’ faces always appear in public places.”
[03:09.22]I never understood fully what it meant before.
[03:12.10]Now I did!
[03:14.17]I was a fool,
[03:15.48]and there was my name in crayon to prove it.
[03:18.46]And the teacher would be returning soon.
[03:20.65]
[03:22.10]“Quick, let’s get some wet paper towels,”
[03:24.20]said Judy,
[03:25.42]springing into action.
[03:26.75]
[03:27.88]After vigorous rubbing,
[03:28.83]my name still remained.
[03:31.57]
[03:32.28]“I think I saw a can of cleanser by the sink in the coat room,”
[03:34.94]I said as I raced to find it.
[03:37.98]Precious minutes were ticking away.
[03:39.91]
[03:41.28]We rubbed and my name came off all right,
[03:44.00]but in the process of removing it,
[03:45.60]we left an abrasion on the chalkboard.
[03:48.05]Listening for footsteps coming down the hall,
[03:50.62]we dried the scrubbed area as much as we could with more paper towels
[03:54.38]and fanned it with a book to remove every tell-tale trace of wetness.
[03:58.14]
[03:59.45]We were just slipping into our desks as the bell rang
[04:01.99]and the other students began entering the room.
[04:04.85]The teacher walked in soon afterward.
[04:06.96]
[04:08.01]Mrs. Eiffler never asked about abrasion and maybe never noticed it.
[04:13.21]But I did.
[04:15.24]Every time I walked past the marred surface of the chalkboard,
[04:18.55]I remembered. Oh, how I remembered.
[04:21.87]
[04:22.81]The lesson I learned that day is one I never forgot,
[04:25.88]even though over forty years have passed since the event.
[04:29.79]“No one will ever know”
[04:31.45]is never true. Even if no one else found out,
[04:35.59]I myself knew.
[04:37.71]Sometimes living with a guilty conscience is punishment enough.
[04:40.41]