CREATIONS: Shaco

Some say that I am timeless… that pure evil is not bound by chronology. Some say that I am a demon, spawned from the Shadow Isles to torment the living for all eternity. Sorry to disappoint the whimsical – whooo! hoo hoo! – but I am 19 years old. And I remember it like it was yesterday…

2 years ago, my senior prom! I'm usually the shy type, but hey, how often does one get to go to senior prom am I right? I'd had a crush on her for so long. Her golden hair and big, blue-gray eyes had enchanted me since elementary school. There was something.. simply.. magical – whooo haha ha! – about her. I had it all set up! I'd always had a unique proclivity for showmanship, if I do say so myself. And a bit of a geek for magic tricks, I had employed the help of one of my favorite teachers to sneak a jack-in-the-box into her locker. Upon opening, it would pop up and read "Will you go to prom with me… Annie?"

I thought my heart would beat out of my chest when she said yes! How could I be so lucky?! I soon found out just how lucky I was… haha! Prom day arrived. Dressed in admittedly atypical garb for the affair – Annie told me to wear red and black, thus limiting my clothing options to a red shirt I had on hand and some unfortunate black-and-white checkered pants that my mom had made (we were not wealthy, if you couldn't tell) – I picked up her corsage and awaited the evening.

The phone rang. It was Annie. She told me that she had come down with the flu and could not go to prom. I was shattered. But also knew I could not be selfish when she was suffering so. Thus, I comforted her in her time of – whooo ha ha! – grief. I guess no prom for me after all. Without a date, what was the point of a shy guy like me going to a dance anyway? But, then again, how often does one get to go to senior prom, am I right? So on I went.

And then there she was. Golden hair and gray-blue eyes, somehow more gray than blue this time. In perfect health she emerged from the limousine with the "popular kids". I couldn't believe it. How could she have lied to me? How could she do something so – WHOO! HAHA! Hehe! – childish…

Clearly, she was as surprised to see me as I was to see her.

"Shaco… I didn't think you'd come after I told you I was sick and couldn't make it. What are you doing here?" she asked, as if I were the one in the wrong. My throat was in a knot, and I could not bear a response. But through all my sadness emerged a familiar rage. An irrational one. I wanted to kill her right then and there. But this passionate fury was something I had felt before, though only on rare occasion. And I knew it would pass by the morning, like it always did. The remainder of the night was a blur of small talk, holding back tears, and – haha! – a buffet of cheese crackers. And one other distinct memory. Wouldn't ya know it... Annie won Prom Queen.

The next morning came. And the insatiable rage had not subsided. Her beautiful dress, her prefect hair, her glistening skin…. all a sham, concealing the… immaturity… that lie within her. I would make her pay for what she did to me. But I did not know how.

Weeks passed as I stewed in constant ire. Unable to think any thought other than that of my revenge. Only through forced laughter was I able to find just enough comfort to resist ending my own life. And then, almost suddenly, he was there. I do not know how, or when, or where…. But one thing is for certain – I did not find him, he found me. "How about a drink, to calm those nerves?" he asked. Seemingly a maniac, he referred to himself only as Singed. And he offered me a deal. If I would be willing to serve as the test subject for one of his new potions, then he would see to it that Annie was made to drink one of his.. older.. HEHE HA!... potions. In a blind rage, I accepted his offer. And this apparent maniac proved himself to be just that.

The next night, a graduation party was to be thrown. I knew this would be the perfect time to slip Annie her potion – and it was. She drank it. And nothing happened. And then, almost as if a voice in my head informed me with complete confidence, that the deal was that I had to drink my potion as well. And that night, I did. What I saw that night in the mirror was… indescribable. Once again enraged, I demanded that Singed show himself and give reason for this atrocious concoction. And he did.

Again, he asked "How about a drink?", as if that were some kind of greeting.

"What have you done to me?!" I heaved out, nearly breathless with rage. "Surely this is worse than what you gave to that liar Annie!"

"I have given you both but one potion", he replied. "This particular brew is a very unique one. For after one drinks it, it shows us – and the world – for what we truly are. Annie has been condemned to live for eternity as a mere child. For she is immature and.. well.. childish. And you… you are this."

And what I am…

What I am for wanting – needing – such harsh revenge for a girl's transgression…. What I am is truly horrifying. And thus it is behind this mask that I now hide. For I have been shown my true self. And words cannot describe what is behind my mask. I am terror. I am Shaco. WHOO hehe HA!