Bad Boy: A Memoir

Myers began taking math lessons with his sister Viola's husband. He hated the rote learning involved in these tutoring sessions, but the trade-off was that he was allowed to keep going to Bible school, which he genuinely enjoyed. In fact, it was partly a religious feeling that inspired Myers to turn over a new leaf at school the coming year: "I wanted to be good and do God's will, as I was being taught in church" (28).

The school year started off well, with Myers befriending a white boy named Eric Leonhardt; the two served as "cookie monitors," fetching treats and milk for the class from a local bakery. However, Myers’s teacher was strict and warned Myers early in the year that she wouldn't tolerate misbehavior—something Myers was able to avoid until spring, when he got into a fight with another boy. As Mrs. Parker told Myers off in front of the class, he picked up a book and threw it: "I meant to throw it into the corner to show how mad I was. [Mrs. Parker] saw me getting ready to throw the book and jumped to one side. The book hit her on the shoulder, and she screamed" (31).