JoJo; Part One

JoJo lived in SmallTown, USA back in the 1970s. He grew up in a Middle-Income family. They owned a house with a picket fence, and had two dogs names Ruff and Scratchy. Dan Smith, JoJo's dad worked at the Monument place, located on the east side of town, while his mom, Alice was a nurse. JoJo had one bratty sister, Remi, who liked to follow JoJo where ever he went. This only happened when Mrs. Smith made JoJo allow Remi to tag along. To JoJo, his life had been a simple and fun one for the first 12 years of his life, but as he entered seventh grade and turned 13-years old, something was weird! All of the sudden, he had all this energy that literally didn't sit well in a classroom. He couldn't wait until recess, and when he got home he played for at least two hours. Since, JoJo was a good student, he would come in and do his homework, usually before supper. By the way, this small town was in the Deep South, and the evening meal was called "supper".

There were other things that were new in JoJo's life that he had never experienced before. One of the biggest changes was the amount of time he spent thinking about girls. JoJo had begun to notice girls back in the fourth grade, but now he was under some kind of spell! As cute girls approached him, he would go into this whole other universe. JoJo had a difficult time knowing what to say to the girls. He did a lot of coughing and smiling. If there was a consolation, JoJo's buddies were experiencing this same phenomenon. Their favorite phrase to describe a pretty girl was: "SHE'S HOT!!" Dan realized this was the boys' favorite description of these cute girls on Saturday afternoon. JoJo and his friends Tommy Wildfire and Bob Rhodes were shooting pool in the basement. As Dan started down the stairs to the basement, he stopped at the top step and listened. The boys' conversation was repetitious.

"What do you think about Janie?"
"She's Hot!"
"Cindy?"
"She's Hot!"
"Donna?"
"She's Hot!"

Dan actually muffled his own mouth to stop from literally LOLing! About that time, Alice called for Dan to come to the phone. He quietly retreated from his ease-dropping perch.

"Hello"
"Is this Mr. Smith?"
"Yes, it is."
"Mr. Smith, this is Ms. Cantankerous, JoJo's Math teacher."
"Hi, Ms. Cantankerous. What can I do for you?'
"First, I apologize for calling you on Saturday, but I do need your help."
"Oh? How can I help you?"
"Mr. Smith, JoJo is failing Math. I am concerned because he has never had a score below 99."
"I am glad you called! Do you have a thought to the reason for his grade?"
"Well...."
"Ms Cantankerous, don't sugar coat it."
"No sir, I just don't want to meddle. The truth of the matter..."
"Go on."
"Her name is Janie."
"I am not following you."
"Mr. Smith, if I gave a test on Janie, JoJo would make a 100."
"But, he's failing math?!"
"Yes sir."
"I will!"
"Sir?"
"You asked me if I would I help, and I promise you things will change."
"Thank you, Mr. Smith! Again, I apologize for calling on a Saturday."
"Not at all, Mr Cantankerous. Thank you."

Dan hangs up the phone. He thinks for about 42 seconds, then yells, "JoJo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'