From the first through ninth grave I was officially designated a "listener" by the New York City Board of Education. I could open and close my mouth when the class sung - had to, as a matter of fact - but no sound could emerge. I loved to sing, but whenever I sneakily tried, one teacher or another would blow on her pitch pipe and signal the class to silence. "Michael Cantor - was that you?"
Nothing really happened in the tenth grade, except that they just stopped caring. And I was always the best in the class at inventing dirty lyrics to the classic favorites, so the kids respected me even if the teachers didn't.
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