I figured I'd throw up an old story here. I wrote it several years ago for one of those six-word contests (you know, they give you six words and you write a story incorporating all of them). It may not be very good, but it felt sort of "true" to me.

After reading the description of this "day" I'm not sure I qualify. It's for professional writers, and I'm not that by any stretch. But I am a professional, and I do like to write, so maybe I do qualify after all.

I have no plans to ever submit this anywhere, and I guess posting it here means that I won't have to worry about it...

It's not my best, but well, have at it!

Scott



THE MOMENT


She sat in the front row and she was beautiful. Jeff's desk was two back from hers, and one row over, and he stared at her auburn tresses the entire class period, picturing the angelic face that was turned away from him. He was in love. She was totally unaware of him.

Julie Barton was the prettiest girl in the eighth grade. She was a cheerleader and an athlete. Jeff Glixton, a thin bespectacled boy, lived for her. He went to basketball games, pep rallies, and other such events
for one purpose: To watch her. He dreamed about her; thought about her every waking moment. Going to school was something to which Jeff looked forward each day, because he knew she'd be there and he could worship her from afar.

Jeff was one of the smarter kids in the school. He couldn't NOT be smart; he simply got all A's whether he studied or not. Though no one ever told him so, Jeff had something close to total recall, eidetic memory. It
served him exceedingly well in his classes and no doubt would continue to serve him well throughout his life.

His gift was also his curse, when it came to his fixation on the lovely Julie. Every glimpse of her was there for him, burned into his memory. It was like a book; he merely opened the cover and contained therein was a
comprehensive photo album of snapshots of her. All these snapshots were retouched by his idealization of her.

Jeff had never spoken to Julie. In fact, he had only rarely heard her voice. This class, English, was the only one he had ever been in with her, and she never answered questions or commented on the material. And Jeff
rarely got close enough to her to even hear her talking with her friends.

Jeff was shy, but only Julie made his shyness almost paralyzing. Among his friends, he was quiet and unassuming but not terribly so. None of his crowd, which consisted of mostly smart kids, knew anything about Jeff's
crush on the pretty cheerleader.

So here he sat, daydreaming about being Julie's boyfriend, walking before and between classes with her, holding her hand, maybe even stealing a peck on the lips now and then. Such was the extent of his fantasy.

The bell rang, and Jeff stood up, waiting for Julie to get near the door before collecting his books. Distracted, he jumped as someone tapped his shoulder.

"C'mon, move it," came the familiar voice of his best friend, Brian. "Quit checkin' out the cheerleader."

Jeff grinned sheepishly. "Was I being that obvious?"

"Only to me and to everyone waitin' to get past you," Brian said teasingly. Jeff laughed, a trifle nervous.

But Brian wasn't serious. Their crowd could look, but there was virtually no chance that the two groups would intermingle in any but the most superficial way.

"So Jeff, ya wanna go to the big party tonight?" asked Brian, referring to the Halloween dance which was being sponsored by the student council. Halloween wasn't really until Monday this year, but that was a school night, so the dance would be tonight, a Friday.

Jeff shrugged. "I don't have a costume."

"Go as a disgusting slimy slug," Brian suggested. "Oh, no, can't go as yourself."

"Maybe I'll go as a big red swollen zit," Jeff said, laughing. "If it's ok for me to go as you, that is." Brian slugged him in the shoulder.

"You're smart," Brian said. "You oughtta be able to think up some costume. I'll get my dad to pick you up, so we can ride over together. Gene's dad is supposed to take us home."

They arrived at their next class and Brian took his seat near the back of the room. Jeff's mind returned to Julie. He wondered if she'd be at the dance, and concluded that she almost certainly would be. Jeff turned around.

"Brian, I'll go to that dance with you guys."

Brian gave him a thumbs up and class started.

* * *


Jeff did not go the school dances usually. He figured that he would feel out of place, the male verson of a wallflower. He didn't know how to dance and was not comfortable in crowds.

And this dance was just about how he figured it would be. Black cats and pumpkin decorations adorned their gymnasium. He sat with Brian, Gene and Tony on the bleachers, his mask next to him on the bench, and they
watched the girls dance and some of the guys following the girls around.

She wasn't there.

"I'm going to the john, guys." Jeff stood up. "This is a really FUN dance," he said as sarcastically as he could manage. He grabbed his mask and made his way down the bleachers toward the gym floor.

Jeff crossed the gymnasium, thinking that THIS was torture. It wasn't like he and his pals got teased or pushed around. They just got ignored. They may as well be invisible.

But tonight could be different, Jeff suddenly sensed. They were all in costume. Brian was a pirate and Gene was the Frankenstein monster. Tony had come dressed as a gangster, replete with pinstripe suit and carrying a
tommy gun. Jeff himself was Death.

Behind his skeletal mask, he could be anonymous in a way he never was in school. He could do things that he never would do otherwise. And no one would have a clue as to who he was. He didn't have to be himself.

In the restroom he adjusted the mask. Behind it he smiled.

As Death he glided across the gymnasium, his dark robes swirling about him, his scythe held high. He didn't return to his friends in the bleachers but instead strode into the crowd of jocks and cheerleaders, the popular crowd. And there she was - a vision of loveliness in a genie costume.

As if on cue, the disc jockey faded out the rap song and a melodic slow song flowed forth from the sound system speakers. Jeff tapped Julie on the shoulder and she turned; her smile lit his world.

Jeff held out his hands, silently requesting the honor of a dance with her. Julie looked at him quizzically. "Who are you?" she asked. Her voice, which Jeff was hearing for almost the first time, was musical. He
covered his mouth, indicating that he couldn't or wouldn't speak.

"This is creepy," she said, but then she took his hands. He slipped one arm around her waist. The others were staring.

He spun Julie around with a grace that he didn't realize he possessed. He noted her scrutiny and he could sense her attempting to figure out who he was. He smiled again behind the mask, and danced her to the edge of the
crowd.

Julie danced rather well, and he felt her relax a bit. It felt wonderful, holding the girl of his dreams in his arms. The moment had to last.

Yet it couldn't. And it didn't. All too soon the song ended. Jeff released Julie and bowed.

"Tell me who you are," she asked again. Jeff shook his head, and moved toward the door. Julie stood still, watching him as he backed away, then turned and strode into the night.

The moment had ended. Jeff had been someone else, but it was over. He was himself again.

He couldn't return to the dance. He couldn't let them know who he was now. So he waited. And soon enough the dance was over, and he met Brian and the others at Gene's father's car.

* * *


Monday came. It was actually Halloween, but classes proceeded as if it were any day. In English class, Jeff stared, as always, at the back of Julie's head. She was still herself, and he himself. They were from different worlds, and never the 'twain should meet, except for a moment here and there. And now he had one of those moments. He smiled at the memory.

The pretty girl suddenly turned to face him. He meant to pull his gaze away, but he couldn't. Anyway, he was caught.

Julie smiled at him; it was the same high voltage smile she had given him at the dance. Then she turned back to face the front of the classroom.

Jeff wondered, did she know?

Did it matter?

Jeff glimpsed a future where it didn't, where their worlds merged and meshed; a future where anything was possible. Maybe in that future...

But then suddenly he was back in the present. This was junior high school, and here divisions mattered. Still, briefly, the magic of Halloween had removed those divisions for him, and Jeff would treasure the moment.

Julie glanced back at him again.

Maybe it DIDN'T matter...


THE END