Though we may have acquainted ourselves with sixth grader George Cici, there is one detail that has been hidden from the Seabury community. George Cici is not George Cici at all. His real name is Smith Johnson, and he is from Florida, fleeing from the police to Lawrence.
When asked why he is a wanted criminal, G. Cici himself says, “So I went to the zoo, right, and I saw the alligators. So I also had a loaf [of bread] on me, and, you know, I fed it to the alligators. But the alligators started fighting over it, and then broke out and began fighting with the elephants for peanuts.”
When asked why G. Cici pretends to be his brother, eighth grader Thomas Cici says, “I don’t know, my family and I were leaving the zoo, and he kinda just hopped in our car. He told us that the guards were chasing him for no reason, so when we saw the guards chasing him, we drove off.” When asked why they did not kick him out of the car, T. Cici adds, “We felt really bad for him. We didn’t want him to go to Juvie over alligators. So we let him stay with us until everything calms down.”
When asked whether or not she knew her student was a criminal, faculty member Sara Asher says, “No, I really didn’t. I did notice a few times he didn’t respond to the name George, but I thought he just didn’t hear me. But I remember watching ‘Daily Dose of Internet’ with the class, and Smith Johnson’s ‘Florida Man’ case came up, and I could’ve sworn George was acting strangely for the rest of the class.”
Similarly, faculty member James LaRocca is very shocked at G. Cici’s past and has many questions. He asks, “Do alligators even like bread? Or peanuts?” G. Cici refused to provide an answer to either of these questions.
