I am excited about this fanfic. Although the main genre is romance, I'm adding special themes in it that will help make the story fuller. I do my best to give you guys a feel of the moments in the scenes of the chapters, as well as how the characters are feeling. Just to be clear, this story takes place in recent events of the series, but I added some twists to give it a better feel.
Also, I'd like to reach out to the Guest reader who suggested this story idea. If you could make an actual account, I can reply to your messages directly. Otherwise, I'll try to answer questions on here. Some questions concerning material in the story will be answered in further reading of the fanfiction.
One more thing. A great story cannot be rushed, so please be patient with the plot.
Please continue to give me feedback, I hope to hear from new readers!
Cheeks of Glitter
Chapter One
"The math quiz is canceled," said Mr. Garrison, the fourth-grade teacher. He was holding a piece of paper out in front of him while facing the class, which began to murmur. "I mean it, no math quiz."
In a few seconds, the students came to realize that their teacher was being honest, and shouted out with glee, thrilled about the news. Not having a quiz lifted the heavy pressure off their shoulders.
"Somebody," Mr. Garrison continued with an annoyed expression, "one of you had to write a note to the principal, and request for social development for the up coming dance, because some of you students have low confidence and don't' know how to get a date."
"What, that's stupid!" Eric objected. "Butters, was this your idea?" He turned to the blonde-haired boy with a glare.
Butters, who was facing the teacher, yet watching Eric at the corner of his eye nervously, began to fidget, sending obvious signals.
"It was, wasn't it!"
"Eric, it doesn't matter whose idea it was," Mr. Garrison said with his hands on his hips. "The point is you children better learn fast so will only have to do this for one period."
Half the class were thrilled about the idea, mostly because they got out of the math quiz. However, a lot of the children were feeling pressured and embarrassed to talk about their social interactions. In fact, there were concerns.
"Mr. Garrison." That came from Wendy, who raised her hand high. She usually had an opinion about something, much to Eric's disliking because they both disagreed on the topic. He groaned in annoyance. "Wouldn't it be more appropriate to do this in a separate class? Some people may not feel comfortable with this."
Mr. Garrison sighed. "It was discussed, but we decided it's too much work. You kids are in grade school, for the love of God. This isn't a big deal."
"I disagree, Mr. Garrison!"
Stan watched the girl closely, seeing how she was genuinely concerned for the class. He used to like that about her. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that she only did it because she already felt good about herself. Why put the effort into embarrassing herself if she felt vulnerable? Stan noticed that during the past few weeks.
"Hey," Kyle said as he rose his hand before their teacher slumped into his desk full of frustration. "Do I still get graded for the math quiz even though we aren't taking it?"
Mr. Garrison inhaled deeply and rubbed his temples. "Kyle, sweet Mary, forget about the stupid math quiz."
"But I wanna get a good grade—"
"This isn't a grade, Kyle!"
"Then why is it required!"
The rest of the class began to chatter, some agreeing with Kyle and Wendy's statements, and others taking advantage of the situation to make their own conversations with each other while their teacher was distracted.
"Did you hear about that thing?" Clyde Donavan muttered softy to his friend, Craig Tucker.
"You mean that mutant dog?" Craig said with an eager smile. It brought Clyde into greater excitement.
Stan tried to out tune the bickering between Kyle, Wendy, and Eric, and succeeded in just a few seconds when Craig and Clyde's topic got him interested. He kept his eyes on his desktop.
"Yeah, it's so ugly that they put up a reward for whoever finds it, just so they could kill it," Clyde said. "I bet it's really bad."
A mutant dog? Stan thought to himself. How could anyone kill a dog just for being ugly?
"We should go catch it," Craig said. "I think I know where it might be."
Stan bit his lip. His love for animals had never changed, and he would do anything to save that dog no matter how ugly it was. Clyde and Craig were his friends, but they were too selfish and stuck in peer pressure. They would never listen to Stan.
"Where?" Clyde asked.
"Across the railroad track. Strays like to hang around poor places."
Stan kept that in mind and decided he would talk to Wendy so she could help him. She was always wanting him to help her with things, so maybe now was the chance for him to ask her for a favor. But we are broken up, he thought.
"We are just going to talk about self-esteem," Mr. Garrison said, trying to shut the children up from their ranting. "Then you children can have free time for the rest of First Period." To his surprise and liking, it worked. The class went silent. "Very good. The school counselor will be in shortly."
A few moments later, Mr. Mackey, the school counselor, entered the classroom, and got down to business. Nobody complained as he the man wrote down notes on the chalk board, explaining the definition of self-esteem.
Only a couple students contributed, answering questions, such as, "What keeps us from having a high self-esteem?" or "How can I get better at feeling good about myself?" It led to the school dance subject.
"I just see a lot of heart-break," Butters said. "Well, I guess maybe that's why I'm having a hard time asking a girl to the dance. What if she breaks my heart again?"
"You can't let fear keep you from trying, Butters." That came from Wendy, who was giving the boy a stern yet soft expression.
From Butters perspective, she turned to him so slowly that he could see a strand of her shiny black hair fall against her cheek. Below that, he could clearly see her new pink choker necklace with a heart-shaped pendant.
Some people, like Butters, hadn't noticed the girl's recent change in wardrove and accessories until now. It was fresh and attracting. The boy gazed upon her.
People like Stan wouldn't notice something so small and detailed, even if he did notice the girl's new skirt. He noticed the slight interaction between the two, and it bothered him.
"Yeah, Butters, Wendy is right, Mmmkay?" Mr. Mackey said. "You need to have faith in yourself, Mmmkay?"
The rest of the discussion only lasted a few more moments. After Mr. Mackey left, the students spent the rest of their first period talking amongst themselves in a decent way, so Mr. Garrison wouldn't get annoyed.
Nobody left their desks unless they needed to use the restroom or sharpen their pencils. It was a free study hall for the most part, only half the class spent their time having school-free related conversations.
Stan took this opportunity to explain to Kyle what he heard from Clyde and Craig. Kyle, who kept his eyes on his history homework, listened and agreed how horrible it was that this dog was up for a horrible surprise.
When Stan told Kyle about his plan to ask for Wendy's help, Kyle knew what was going. He guessed that his friend wanted the girl back, and there was nothing Kyle could do to stop him from trying so hard. "So, are you broken up, or not?" he asked as he wrote down the answers to his assignment.
"We are broken up," Stan said. "Look, I'm sorry I was in a bad mood earlier. My dad was pissing me off this morning."
Kyle didn't bother to ask what was going on, because he knew all too well how troubling Stan's father could be. "Well, what's Wendy gonna do?" he asked.
Stan was a bit frustrated with Kyle for not understanding his attempts. "Help me get the dog!"
"And do what?"
"She will have some ideas."
Kyle gave up on prying and decided to agree. Stan planned on talking to Wendy after her volleyball practice. The wait made the morning drag on forever.
When it was time for their first recess, Stan went to his locker to put his morning textbooks away. When he opened it up, a piece of paper fell to the floor.
Usually when there was something in a student's locker like that, it was either a love note, a threat, or a flyer for an upcoming event. Stan was cautious. He picked it up and gave a puzzled look when he saw a black and white photo of an odd-looking creature.
The creature had short fur, long pointy ears, and its face was scruffy. It took Stan to realize that the creature in the photo was a dog. A mutant dog, he wondered.
Above the photo were big, clear printed letters that read, Save Stitch! He Has Feelings. Stan stared at the paper for a long time, and then it hit him.
Somebody else was trying to save this dog. Either that, or Craig and Clyde found out about what Stan knew, and decided to play a trick on him.