At my teacher training this past week, they told me I needed to write and publish more. This is a story I wrote a few years back and thought I would share. No one can say I don't pay attention at my trainings.
Muffet
Muffet
was unlike any other girl in school: She
was six feet tall and weighed 186 lbs, her ears were covered with piercings—more
metal than flesh in that region. She wore thick, black eyeliner, dark red
lipstick, and her wardrobe consisted of black tops, black pants, and black
boots. As she stalked down the hallways,
little seventh graders would scurry out of the way, praying they wouldn’t be
the next unfortunate kid to get their head stuck in a toilet. No ninth grader in the history of Tuffet Jr.
High School had ever been so merciless.
If anyone stood in her way, they found themselves injured or
unconscious. Of all the unwritten laws
of the teen world, #1 on the list was: Do not ever mess with Missy Muffet.
On
the opposite end of the jr. high spectrum, Spencer Spedenhofer or “Spider” for
short, was on the student counsel, a member of the soccer team, and on the same
level of attractiveness as Brad Pitt. Although he was not a homosexual, he had
an impeccable sense of style: designer jeans, form fitting leather jackets, the
works. He’d stride down the hallways with his head up, a smile on his face.
He’d pat his friends on the back as he passed, still laughing at that last joke
they’d told. He frequently stooped down to pick up a stray gum wrapper or a
crumpled up math assignment and put it in the trash. No one was beyond his notice. Just because that shy girl in the corner had
a crater face didn’t mean he couldn’t say “hi” to her. He did everything he
could to make others feel worthwhile… but something was wrong with Spider. Occasionally he’d get a far off look in his
eye, as if he were somewhere else.
Spider was putting on a show. Not
a happy, Broadway musical with tap dancing and flashy costumes, but a tragedy
where the stage is littered with dead bodies by the end. Spider was in anguish, his soul torn to
pieces. Spider was in love with Missy
Muffet.
The
obsession had started in the fourth grade.
It was a passion he’d dealt with in secrecy, suffering in silence. What was it that drew him to her? Her unique
walk, her distinct features, her matchless beauty? Yes, but she also had a certain air about her
that attracted him. An “I don’t care what anybody thinks about me”
attitude. He always tried to find ways
to get close to her: on gym class sports teams, in the lunch line, as a math
tutor, but somehow she always managed to elude him.
It
was on May 21st that he finally broke. No more
subtleties, he told himself. My love is nothing to be ashamed of. He knew what he had to do. At lunchtime, he sought her out.
Muffet
wasn’t hard to find. She sat alone in
the corner under the “Go Titans” sign everyday.
Another kid had tried to sit there once, but he had disappeared shortly
thereafter. Some said that Muffet had forced him down the garbage disposal with
her left over fish sticks. Others argued
that she pummeled him so hard that his facial features shifted to the point
where he looked like someone else entirely.
Spider wasn’t afraid. He straightened
his back, clenched his jaw, and started towards her. Kids looked up from their trays as he passed,
smiling at him. Some even said “Hi,
Spider!” but he didn’t respond. He
didn’t hear them. He was like a General off to fight a war, or a Knight to slay
a dragon and rescue a Princess. Of course,
in his case, the dragon and the Princess were the same person.
The closer Spider
got to Muffet’s table, the more anxious the lunchroom became. Spider reached
his destination and brought himself to a halt. Every pair of eyes stared at
him. Blue eyes, brown eyes, hazel eyes;
all on him. Muffet looked up from her lunch
and removed one of her earphones. Spider
opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. It was as if he were being choked to death by
a burly man with gigantic hands. For almost
an entire minute, no one spoke, no one whispered, no one even breathed.
“What?”
Muffet finally blurted.
Spider
swallowed. Muffet blinked. “How’s your lunch?” he asked.
“Uh,
fine.” Muffet raised her eyebrows as if to say, “Why
are you talking to me, punk?”
Spider looked at
the lumpy, white substance. “What is it?”
“Cottage
cheese, why?”
“Just
curious, that’s all.”
Spider
wasn’t sure where to start, he wasn’t a poet after all. He wiped off a drop of sweat from his
forehead with a shaking hand. It was hard to be confident with everyone
watching him.
Muffet
finally spoke, “So are you gonna tell me why you really came over here or am I
gonna have to beat it out of you?”
“Oh,” Spider
started, “Well, Muffet—er—Missy…can I call you Missy? Not the point. Uh, I’m not really sure how to put
this.” He started, “I don’t usually get
nervous but...”
“Spill it,
Spedenhofer.”
Spider nodded. “The
thing is, Missy, I…uh…I like you. I like like you.” There was a giant gasp. He had to get through
this quickly. “Anyway, I was just
wondering if, maybe, you might like to go out with me some time? You know, like
a date.” Excited whispers erupted in the
lunch room. Some people even laughed, each snicker hitting Spider like rounds
from a sniper rifle. He broke out into a cold sweat. Muffet looked mortified.
She
continued to sit in silence, while he continued to stand there feeling like a
complete idiot. He knew he had to do
something, and quick. Gathering up that
last of his courage, he took a deep breath, and slid into the seat next to
her. Muffet jumped out of her seat as if
Spider had been an infectious disease.
She looked down at him with startled eyes. Spider’s face fell. He stared at her. Each breath she took was shallow and
raspy. Her eyes were wide and her mouth
hung open. The lunchroom went silent
once again. Spider desperately wanted to say something, but held his tongue,
waiting. Everyone was waiting. Muffet
shook her head, not quickly, but in slow motion, and after a moment or two,
stalked out of the lunch room, shoving kids out of her way.
Spider’s
heart was broken. No, more than broken,
it was smashed, shattered, crushed! He had scared her away. She was the only girl he’d ever loved and he
had scared her away. The rest of the day he sulked through the halls, ignoring
the mocking whispers that followed him everywhere.
It’s amazing how
fast news travels in the teen world. All of Tuffet Jr. High was laughing at him. “He asked Muffet out?” They whispered, “I
can’t believe we thought he was cool.”
No one looked at him the same. No more smiles, no more greetings. Popularity, his friend for so long, had
finally deserted him. He was now a
social outcast.
“I’m
so stupid,” he told himself, “What was I thinking? Muffet and I are obviously never meant to be
together. I’ll just have to get over her, I guess.” He chuckled to
himself. “Yeah, right.”
At
last the final bell rang. Waiting until
everyone else was out of the classroom; he grabbed his bag and started down the
long hallway. Garbage cluttered the floor around him, but he didn’t care, he
passed right on by. He was moping on a bench in front of the school when
suddenly he heard a voice behind him. “Did
you mean what you said in the lunch room, or were you on some kind of
dare?”
Startled, Spider
spun around to face Muffet. He gazed at
her, mouth wide open. “Well?” she demanded.
“I meant every
word.” He finally squeaked out. Muffet nodded her head but said nothing. “I’ve liked you since I first saw you in the
fourth grade.” He continued, “You had
your hair up in a pony tail, and you were wearing a “Transformers”
t-shirt. I remember thinking that only
the coolest girl in the world could wear a shirt like that.”
Muffet sat down
next to him. “I loved that shirt.” She
fidgeted for a moment and then turned to face him. “Look, this is stupid! Why do you like me? No one likes me! You’ll be better off if you
just forget the whole thing.”
“I know, but I
can’t help it!”
Silence.
Muffet bit her
lip. “I like you too, you know.”
Spider looked into
her eyes. “You do?”
She nodded. “You can hold my hand if you want to.”
He paused “Really?”
“Yeah.” She held
out her hand as an invitation. “And I won’t run away this time.”
“I won’t run away
either.” Spider whispered.
No turning back now. He held his breath
and reached out to take it. After gently sliding his hand into hers, they
entwined their fingers. Spider let out a sigh of relief and beamed at her. She blushed, gave him a sheepish smile in
return, and giggled. Who knew Missy Muffet could giggle? Tuffet Jr. High faded into the distance and
all went quiet. At that moment, they
were the only two people alive.
