I stood in the corner of the cafeteria today to watch the carnage.
Dear Dad,
I stood way over in the corner of the cafeteria today to watch the carnage. Only a few girls giggled. The rest of us stood there like we were witnessing a car crash.
Misty Lee had two friends with her at her table—Sharon King and Candice Bello. They didn’t look like they were leaving. Will Mudgett came through the door about ten minutes after lunch started. His face was all red like when he was mad, only he didn’t look mad. Misty had her back to him, but as soon as he came in, Sharon and Candice—who were facing the door—leaned in to her and started whispering. Misty Lee had a sour cream and onion potato chip halfway to her mouth and froze just like that, her mouth wide open to receive that chip. Candice said something and Sharon started laughing, but Misty didn’t laugh. She closed her mouth and set that chip back down on the table.
A few of the people were watching Misty, but most were watching Will Mudgett, who was still standing in the doorway. Someone would come through the door and knock into Will Mudgett, but he’d manage to keep his eyes in Misty’s direction. He’d straighten himself back up and regain his position in the doorway, just in time for someone else to come through. This went on for about fifteen minutes. And lunch is only a half our long, so he only had about five minutes left before it was over. Finally, he walked over to Misty Lee’s table. He said something to Sharon and Candice and they started to get up, but then Misty said something and they sat back down. Then Will Mudgett just stood there without saying anything for like 60 seconds. I swear, there must have been a hundred people watching every breath he took.
Finally, he said something. I couldn’t hear what. Then Misty smiled at him in a way that made me sure she’d just turned him down. Every single person in the room knew what that kind of smile meant. Will said something to her then. She gave that smile again, touched him on his arm, and said something back.
Then the weird thing happened. Will Mudgett just kept standing there, looking at her. His face was still all red, but the skin right around his eyes grew all dark. Man, that kid can sure look scary when he wants to. Then he sat down at the table. I swear, I think he forgot Misty Lee and those other girls were even there. I think the room disappeared for him.
The bell rang, like at the end of a round in a UFC match, and Misty and her friends went back to their corners. Will Mudgett just kept sitting there. I left with everybody else to go to math class. Will Mudgett was supposed to be in that class, but he never showed.
Your son,
Trevor