Disclaimer: I do not own Recess or any of its characters.
Author's Note: Okay, so I was watching the episode with the perfect kid that came to their school and decided that I wanted to write a one-shot about it.
The Perfect Kid
Jared was back. And while I had gotten along with the kid after our attempt to shut him out failed, I now disliked him with a passion that was worse than the first time many years ago in fourth grade.
Jared showed up in our ninth grade English class two weeks ago, still the same person. He was smarter than Gretchen, more poetic than Mikey, more athletic than Vince, and stronger than Spinelli. While none of this bothered me anymore, because as were the youngest of four classes in the high school we had been experiencing a lot of this lately, what did bug me was Jared's choice in girls. Jared decided out of all the girls at high school, he wanted Ashley Spinelli.
Ashley Spinelli was the only girl that I had wanted for years. And now the perfect guy wanted her. He was smart, charming, handsome, athletic, and everything Spinelli deserved in a guy.
I, well, I had none of the above qualities. I was constantly pulling pranks and making jokes, something which Jared could do even better than me. Everything I had ever wanted for my high school career came crashing down whenever I found out that Jared was planning on asking Spinelli out right at this moment. So, I'm sitting here on a swing at Third Street Elementary School remembering all the times that I had known Ashley Spinelli was the one for me, and contemplating how much my life sucked.
"Is this seat taken?" a voice broke me out of my sulkiness.
"What are you doing here Spinelli?" I asked, a surprised tone in my voice as I looked up at the girl who had just been feeling my thoughts.
"I'm going to take that as a yes," she replied, before sitting down in the swing next to me, "and I came here to swing with one of my childhood friends."
"I thought Jared was going to ask you out right now," I tried to explain my abrupt question.
"Oh, he did," Spinelli responded.
"And shouldn't you be with your new boyfriend?" I inquired, not able to keep a tone of bitterness out of my voice.
"If I had said yes, then I would be there with him," Spinelli responded coolly.
"You said no?" I asked, hope coming back to me.
"Yeah," Spinelli looked up at the sky, "it just did not seem right."
"But, he's perfect," I protested. I couldn't really understand why I was telling her this; I didn't want her to be with him.
"Do you want me to go back and say yes?" Spinelli quirked an eyebrow at me, "because you know, the reason I said no was because I thought there might be something between the two of us."
"What?" I asked, taken aback.
"And judging your reaction," Spinelli said, somewhat hurt, "I just might have been wrong."
"No, you are definitely right," I smiled, looking at her, coming to a complete stop on my swing as she did the same. Before this moment we had been lightly swinging back and forth, "I just didn't think you felt the same way about me."
"I do," Spinelli smiled.
"But what about Jared?" I asked, still coming back to that factor.
"What about Jared?" she questioned, "if I had chosen him, I wouldn't be here. With you."
"But, he's perfect," I protested again. I don't know why I couldn't just shut my mouth and deal with what Spinelli was telling me. Maybe it was because I just wanted to make sure how she really felt about me. Maybe it was because I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. Maybe it was because there was a gorgeous girl sitting next to me who deserved the best, and with Jared in the picture, I knew I wasn't the best.
"Apparently, I'm going to have to spell this out for you," Spinelli shook her head at me, "TJ, Jared may be perfect. And he probably is. But, I like you because of your imperfections. The way you get mad every time you tell a joke that nobody else finds funny, the silly way you try to protect me whenever somebody makes fun of me, the way you can disappoint somebody, but the next day make it up to them by doing something amazing, and even the way that you think and talk a lot about yourself, and do not really think about other people that much."
"But, that just makes me a loser," I shook my head, "I'm not the funniest, I can't protect, I can be an amazing disappointment, and apparently you find me self-centered."
"No, maybe you aren't the funniest, but you are funny, and you do try to protect me, even if you don't succeed, and you usually pull through for people, even if somewhat disappointing them in the beginning, also, you aren't self-centered, you just like to talk," Spinelli tried to explain to me.
"And you like me despite all of these things?" I asked, feeling somewhat better.
"I like you because of these things," Spinelli smiled at me, "and also because you can make me laugh, you're there for me when I cry, and you're just generally a good guy."
"I'm not perfect, and you still like me?" I smiled, taking her hand in mine.
"Always," she smiled back, leaning against me.