Math was my worst subject

Math was my worst subject in the 9th grade. My teacher, Ms. Richard, was cool; she was a smart dresser and read Vogue and had a figure to match. I can still smell that hand lotion she used on her hands. Just the way she moved her hands back and forth was fascinating- She could have been in the Peony Pavilion Opera. The school had a reputation for tough Italians, I remembered my brother saying. He always made friends with them. Not me; I stood my ground. One time, one called me a fairy. I told him, “It takes one to know one!” One time in class I remember Ms. Richard said to a tough Italian, “ we can both roll up our sleeves and step out into the hall.” She took no bull! She always said, “If you want to be smart, first you have to learn how.” I told her I was going to my first ballet performance at the Music Hall. She said, “I am going, too”, but she never went. Late one afternoon, when all her favorite black girls gathered around her, she turned to me and said I would have to stay after school. I told her that I couldn’t stay because my husband was waiting for me outside.