I don’t know why I though of Bo today. Maybe it was because Nas never sounded as good as he did today coming through my speakers and into the warm spring air. Maybe because days like this always make me a little nostalgic.
I moved to South Carolina my sophomore year of high school. I moved from Wisconsin where the “best” store the mall was a Deb’s but usually I got my clothes from JC Penny. I was tiny, a nerd, and Russian at that. I had no idea what Sperry’s were, I didn’t own a Coach bag, and I thought North Face was the name of some mountain. Needless to say I became an outcast by lunchtime of my first day.
I don’t like to talk too much about that period because it was kind of painful. Not only was I not liked but I was picked on and made fun of. My parents let me be homeschooled the first semester of my sophomore year because after two weeks I was an emotional mess. I came back by second semester and stayed on through till graduation. My senior year I couldn’t take lunch time anymore so the principal allowed me to go home for lunch.
Where does Bo come into this? I met Bo in French class. He was big, so big in fact that people used to call him Biggie. You couldn’t help but smile when you saw him. Bo was always laughing, always telling jokes, and quite often getting in trouble. Bo was also one of the few people who treated me well at that school. We bonded over my interest in rap. He introduced me to all the music that I love so much now and I would entertain him with stories of my life in Russia.
It was the one class I looked forward to going to. Every day I would walk past the “sorority” girls with the Lacoste polos and Seven jeans, over to the back of the classroom where Bo would be waiting for me. He would tell me about his “girl” troubles and I would try to give him advice. Sometimes we would get in trouble and get seperated but most of the time the teacher would just shake her head and smile.
Bo is one of the very few people that I think about or miss from that school. I will never forget his big laugh, his big hugs, and the kindness that he showed to me.
