THE BINDER
By special guest author
Laura
West Roswell High
School - Corridor
Maria runs down the
hallway lugging her backpack, which is stuffed to overflowing. She is
wearing a fabulous outfit that perfectly blends current fashion with her
own unique funkiness and that "I just threw this on" look. Her
perfectly coiffed hair belies the fact that she woke up half an hour ago.
She rushes to her locker, eager to avoid yet another detention (which, of course, Michael will convince her to skip anyway). Out of the corner of her eye, she catches the glint of florescent lights reflecting off cellophane blond curls.
"MARIA!!!"
The astringent sound of Tess' voice causes Maria to stop in her tracks, almost dropping her heavy bookbag. She glares at Tess and prepares to deliver a patented "Maria DeLuca one liner" but before she opens her mouth --
"Maria where is Max I can't find him Michael doesn't know where her is I looked all over even in the boys' locker room and you two got all girlfriendy over the summer I happened to notice that ya' know so I figured you know where her is so tell me where Max is because I'm getting angry and sometimes when I get angry I break things with my mind."
"Well, at least that gray matter isn't a total waste."
Tess glares at Maria and suddenly all the seams in her bulging backpack split open causing a cascade of books, notebooks, papers, tampons, pens, essential oils, torn and retaped photographs of Michael....
"Oh my god!" Tess squeals in a voice that could cut glass. "We have the same binder!"
Maria stares at the mess on the floor, then she stares at Tess. She looks at the floor. She looks at Tess. Floor. Tess.
"I am OBVIOUSLY LATE for class, you break my eardrums, you break my bag, make my stuff fall all over, and all you can say is (imitating Tess' voice) 'Oh my god we have the same binder'!?!"
Tess delivers a smile that could cause diabetes. "Well, yeah, it's my special binder. Every page has hearts and flowers and smiley faces and I write 'I love Max,' 'Max-n-Tess 4ever,' 'Mrs. Maxwell Evans,' 'Tess Harding-Evans." I write in it all the time, the same thing over and over."
During this speech, Maria has gathered her belongings and stumbled to her locker. Tess has followed her, gushing all the way.
"It's such a special binder!"
Maria shoves and stuffs and prods to get her books into her locker. Tess grabs the binder and begins flipping through it.
"Is your binder special? Do you write 'Maria Guerin' and stuff like that?"
"No, you underdressed freak! It's for my first class. Give it to me now! I'm already late."
Maria tries to grab the binder but Tess won't let go. She points to something Maria has written in bold print on the front.
"What does this mean? The letters printed in the cover? What is ATL?" Tess shrieks refusing to loosen her hold.
Maria grasps the binder with both hands, concentrates on her utter loathing of Tess, and yanks as hard as she can. The binder flies high into the air. It comes down with great force and hits Tess in the head, killing her instantly. Maria grabs what is now her special binder, steps over Tess' body, and runs to class, stopping only to tell the janitor that someone has left a pile of trash down the hall.
The end