Unhooked

It was a rainy Tuesday morning and my feet
slid and sloshed as I made my way into school.

With a clang and a bang
the school bell rang.

A clash of ninth graders flooded toward me
as I tried to get through to the opposite hallway.

As I, a lone eighth grader, pushed against the sea
called “Freshmen,” I felt my feet being pulled backward
along the glistening, wet floor!

In a fright I looked over my shoulder
and found the back of a girl’s head.

I tapped her, but she did not turn around
until her friend, giggling, showed her my predicament.

Just as my legs were about to be pulled out from under me,
the girl stopped and I quickly unhooked
our backpack zippers from one another.

“I thought I was being pulled!” I joked, just before
hustling to class,
careful not to slip or to touch anyone.