It happened in sixth grade, during recess. It was a sunny, warm day. Lawson was throwing rocks at kids, telling everyone that he was the strongest person in the whole school. Spinelli disagreed with him, and it turned into an argument about if boys are stronger than girls. TJ then claimed that Spinelli was able to do more pushups than Lawson. He also suggested that the winner gets to choose the losers outfit for the whole next day.
Spinelli remembered that her arms were sore for a whole week. The 25 pushups she managed to do weren't enough. Lawson managed 42, and Spinelli had to wear an outfit of his choice for a whole day. The short blue skirt, which he probably stole from the Ashley's, was knee length. To her own surprise, Spinelli enjoyed every single second of wearing it. The feeling of fresh air on her bare legs, it was just so comfortable. Even the piercing stares and giggles didn't bother her. Yes, it made her feel weird, but in a great way. She couldn't explain it, but being seen as a normal girl wasn't that bad after all.
The day was going well until Lawson opened his mouth again. It happened during recess again, and he yelled, "Nice legs, babe," at Spinelli. It was so loud that everyone in the schoolyard heard that.
From that moment, it was over for Spinelli. Everyone in the yard stared at her and her legs. She crumbled and started to weep. She remembered her face starting to feel hot and the sweat on her head dripping on her blue dress. When she felt her heartbeat rising higher every second, she thought she was going to die.
In retrospect, Spinelli wasn't sure if it was a good idea to run home after that incident. To her surprise, the kids didn't laugh or bully her, and pretty much everyone forgot about that incident a few days later.
Still, that day changed her life, and soon she would realize that she wasn't the only one whose life changed.
Two years later,
Spinelli was sitting in Miss Finster's English class, resting her chin her palm and struggling to keep her eyes open. She was wearing her typical outfit. It consisted of her oversized boots, her red dress with yellow-red stockings, and her black leather jacket with an orange ski cap on her head.
Twenty more minutes until recess, I'm so bored right now, she thought, after taking a glance at the clock.
Spinelli stretched her arms in the air and yawned loudly, without even covering her mouth, which gathered Miss Finster's attention.
"Spinelli, are you a pig? Show some manners, god damned!" Miss Finster scolded, putting one arm on her hip.
Spinelli grinded her teeth and let out a quiet growl. "I'm sorry, Miss Finster."
"You should be. If this happens one more time, I will send you to the principle, do you understand me?" Miss Finster yelled at Spinelli.
Spinelli crossed her arms. "Yes, I understand."
Sitting at the far back of the classroom, Spinelli had a good overview of the classroom. She was bored, and looked around. The whole gang, except Vince, was here with her in class.
Mikey was sitting to the left near the windows. Like every day, he was secretly trying to eat something under his desk. This time it was a chocolate bar. Spinelli chuckled silently, if he keeps eating like that, he is gonna explode one day.
TJ, to the right near the exit, was scribbling something on a piece of paper. He started to smile when he saw Spinelli's gaze meeting with his. He is probably planning a prank right now, Spinelli thought, she smiled back at him.
Gus was two tables in front of Spinelli, sitting stiff and quiet. Gretchen was right in front of the teacher. She was being very attentive and focused on Miss Finster's lesson.
Behind Mikey was the well-known snitch, Randall. To his right were Ashley A, B, and Q.
Spinelli tried to focus on Miss Finster's old rusty voice, but she suddenly could feel her heartbeat rising, and a faint blush crept up on her face. It was because the sleeve of her right arm fell down when she was stretching her arm in the air, exposing her bare wrist to the class. She quickly but discreetly pushed her sleeve over her wrist, covering it again.
Her body started to shake a little bit. Thankfully, around 30 seconds later, she calmed down a bit. Spinelli sighed in relief. God damned, that was close. I hope no one saw me like this.
Spinelli was staring out of the window when a short, loud, low-pitched rumbling noise interrupted Spinelli's mini-crisis. It was coming from Mikey's table, more precisely, from his stomach. Mikey shot up out of his chair, raising his right arm. "Miss Finster, can I go to the toilet?" he asked, almost yelling.
Miss Finster pointed at the clock. "Look at the clock, only ten minutes left until the class ends," she yelled, narrowing her eyes. "You can hold it in!"
"Miss Finster, I'm sorry, but I can't hold it anymore. I'll have to go now!" he pleaded while shifting his body back and forth.
"I said NO! Now sit down and be quiet!" Miss Finster yelled.
Mikey sat down, holding his stomach in pain. However, a few seconds later, he shot out of his chair and started to run out of the classroom. The papers on the front desks flew to the ground as he rushed to the door. Miss Finster yelled something incomprehensible, but he ignored her. Giggles and snickering were coming from everywhere, especially from the three Ashley's.
"Oh my god, this is so embarrassing!" Ashley A said, scrunching up her face.
"I agree with you Ashley A!" Ashley Q screeched.
"Look how fast he ran! I bet he has—" Ashley B yelled, but she was interrupted by Ashley A, "I know what you are thinking about, Ashley B!"
The three Ashley's stood up and yelled, "Diarrhea!" while giving each other a high-five.
Miss Finster stood up and yelled, "Stop the laughter!" She repeatedly punched her table with her palm, but the class continued laughing. "I said stop you little brats!"
The laughter did not stop, which made Spinelli's blood boil. She stood up and yelled, "Stop laughing, you idiots!" while putting her hands on her hips.
Randall interrupted the sudden silence. "Then what? Little girl!" he sneered at Spinelli.
What? Little girl? He doesn't even fear me anymore? Spinelli thought.
Spinelli slowly turned her head to the little rat and clenched her fists. "I'll show you what I'm gonna do!" she yelled, shaking her right fist in the air.
Spinelli was ready to beat the shit out of Randall, but Miss Finster suddenly screamed, "You two, stop!" She then pointed at Spinelli, yelling, "And you, sit down!"
The class calmed down, and Spinelli sank into her chair. Her heart was still pounding when she rested her chin on her right palm. Five minutes passed, Spinelli was staring out of the window, she wondered about Mikey.
He must be taking a big dump if it takes that long, Spinelli thought before her mind slowly drifted into sleep. A crumpled up note hitting her right arm interrupted her dreamy state. Spinelli's mouth was gaping open in shock because she realized something. Her right sleeve fell down again, this time exposing her right upper arm to the class. Spinelli stared at her arm, not sure what do to now. Shit, I think TJ saw my bare arm!
Spinelli lost her sense of time, and her heartbeat increased. She could feel her body heating up and sweat forming on her head. Her body was frozen like a deer in headlights. Her mind was blank, and her eyes were fixed on the chalkboard.
A few minutes later, the bell rang. Spinelli was still in her panicked state when someone gently touched her exposed arm. It was TJ, and he gave her a worryingly look.
"You alright, Spin? You look pale, and you didn't react to my note," TJ asked, eyeballing Spinelli.
When TJ let go of Spinelli's wrist, Spinelli rubbed her forehead. "Ugh, yeah, you know, this Randall rat pissing me off!. And I'm worried about Mikey."
She then quickly pushed the sleeves over her right arm and shot up out of her chair.
TJ nodded and asked, "Uh, did you read my note?" pointing at the crumpled up note on Spinelli's desk.
Spinelli grabbed the note. "I'll read it later." Then, a smile formed on her face. "But first it's time for recess!" she said, before walking outside the class. Spinelli's last thoughts before she left the classroom were, TJ saw my arm and even touched it but he didn't even laugh?