Jawbreakers, Bubble Gum and Stick Candy

by BobA. Troutt

  *****

  Jawbreakers, Bubble Gum and Stick Candy

  George and the Princess

  Knock, knock, knock came the loud, firm sound upon the classroom door. Slowly, Miss Sarah eased from the blackboard, went over and opened the door.

  “Why, Mr. Brown,” she said with a slight giggle in her voice. “Please, come in.”

  Casually, Mr. Brown, the school principal, stepped inside the room. He was a huge man with coal black hair and dark bushy eyebrows.

  “Miss Sarah,” he said, “I have a new student for you.”

  Miss Sarah quietly giggled under her breath and placed her hand on the new student’s shoulder.

  “My child, what is your name?” she asked.

  “Melissa,” replied the girl.

  The children sat in silence as Melissa nervously looked around the room and then smiled. Everyone in the class smiled back. Well, everyone except George. He sat at his desk and stared in amazement at the new girl. Now, he thought, she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen and Melissa is such a pretty name.”

  “Class,” said Miss Sarah, “we have a new student with us today. Her name is Melissa.”

  “Hi, Melissa,” yelled a couple of the students while the others just waved their hands. George was the only one who didn’t respond. He was so stunned by her beauty that he suddenly fell to the floor. Thump he went when he hit the floor. Everyone quickly looked around at George. Embarrassed, he got up off the floor and sat at his desk.

  “Are you alright, George?” asked Miss Sarah.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a red face.

  The class burst out laughing.

  “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,” they all laughed.

  George’s face turned even redder as he slid down in his desk and put his head down. Hesitantly, he raised his head and saw Melissa looking at him with a big smile on her face. He smiled back with a look of relief on his face.

  “Well, I have to get back to my office,” said Mr. Brown.

  “Okay, class. It’s time to get back to work,” instructed Miss Sarah.

  “Oh, do we have to?” they all moaned.

  “Melissa, you can take the seat next to George.”

  As Melissa took her seat, Miss Sarah picked up where she left off. George started wiggling in his seat. He squirmed and twisted. But, he tried his best to keep his eyes on Melissa. She is the most beautiful girl I have even seen, he thought.

  “Ah hmm,” came a voice from the front of the room. “George, is there a problem?” asked Miss Sarah.

  “No, ma’am,” replied George.

  The class giggled and began to whisper to each other.

  “George has a girlfriend. George has a girlfriend,” teased one student.

  “Class,” said Miss Sarah after she cleared her throat.

  Gradually, the classroom settled down and she resumed teaching. George sat quietly at his desk; he was afraid to move. He looked straight ahead toward the front of the class. Every now and then he would cut his eyes over to the side and look at Melissa. She sat at her desk quietly and listened to Miss Sarah. She was unaware of George’s feelings toward her. Sweat beaded up on George’s forehead and slowly ran down the side of his face. Unexpectedly, Melissa shifted in her seat and accidently dropped her pencil; it rolled under the desk in front of George. He stretched his leg out and tried to reach her pencil with his foot. Carefully, he eased his foot little by little and inch by inch as he tried to get the pencil. However, the pencil rolled further away each time he touched it. Suddenly, there was a loud thump.

  “Ouch,” George said softly after he raised his head up and hit the bottom of his desk.

  “George Atwood, what on earth are you doing?” questioned Miss Sarah.

  “Uh…uh,” mumbled George.

  “Oh, Miss Sarah, George was trying to get my pencil for me. I accidentally dropped it.”

  “Yes, ma’am, here it is,” replied George as he held the pencil up.

  “Get back in your desk,” said Miss Sarah, “and pay attention.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” mumbled George as he slipped back in his desk.

  Miss Sarah turned and walked toward the front of the class once again. George peeped over at Melissa and smiled. She was looking at him, too, with a big smile on her face. George couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His little heart raced. Thump, thump, thump it went.

  A few days later, George was eating his lunch in the cafeteria. Melissa will never like a boy like me, thought George. I’m too clumsy, he thought. Besides, there are too many other boys she’ll probably be interested in. As George at his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he looked around the room. He noticed Melissa immediately when she came into the cafeteria. He watched her as she looked around and then headed straight toward him. George struggled to swallow the bite of peanut butter and jelly sandwich he had in his mouth. She kept coming closer and closer which made it even harder for him to swallow. She is so beautiful, he thought. She is as beautiful as a princess.

  “George, George,” yelled Melissa from across the cafeteria.

  George grabbed his drink, took a big gulp and swallowed the bite of his sandwich.

  “Hi, George,” said Melissa when she walked up to the table.

  “Oh, hi, Melissa,” he replied nonchalantly with a milkstache above his lip.

  “May I sit down and eat lunch with you?” she asked.

  “Sure,” said George. “Let me get your chair for you.”

  When he stood, he knocked over his drink; it spilled all over the table and dripped onto the floor.

  “I’m sorry, Melissa,” he said. “If you haven’t noticed already, I’m a little clumsy.”

  “Oh, that’s alright, George. I think it’s kinda cute.”

  “You do?” he asked.

  “Yes, I do,” she said as she took some napkins and helped him clean up the spilled milk.

  “I like your milk mustache,” she said with a chuckle.

  “Thanks,” he replied as he wiped it off his lip.

  They sat, talked, laughed and had a good time. It wasn’t long before it was time for them to go back to the classroom.

  “Melissa, uh…do…you…think…uh I could walk you home from school today?” asked George.

  Melissa hesitated for a few moments. She didn’t want to answer too quickly or appear to be too anxious.

  “That will be alright,” she replied as she glanced up at George.

  As Melissa got up to leave, George grabbed hold of her arm.

  “You are so pretty,” he said when she turned around.

  “Why, thank you,” she replied. “You are so sweet.”

  After school George walked Melissa home. They casually strolled down the sidewalk enjoying each other’s company. George walked with his chest poked out and held his breath. He did his best to impress her.

  “Is something wrong, George?” she asked.

  “Oh, no,” he replied. “I just need to take a deep breath.”

  They talked all the way to her house. George felt like he was on top of the world. When she wasn’t looking, he would poke out his chest and lift his chin. My little princess, he thought to himself.

  “Well, George, this is where I live,” she said. “Thank you for walking me home.”

  “That’s okay, Melissa, anytime,” he replied. “I really enjoyed walking you home.”

  “What about tomorrow?” she asked. “Will you walk me home tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow!” he yelled. “For real; I mean, sure thing. I’d be happy to.”

  He was so excited; he raised his foot to jump for with joy. But, there were strings of chewing attached to the bottom of his shoe. The gum stretched from his shoe to the sidewalk.

  “Oh, no,” he said, “just my luck.”

  Melissa dropped her head and giggled.

  “George,” she said. “There will never be another one like you.”

  The more
he struggled with the chewing gum, the stringier it got. Finally, he broke free. He scraped the bottom of his shoe on the edge of the sidewalk and headed home.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” said George as he waved goodbye.

  He walked away with his head down; he felt so stupid and embarrassed. Melissa had noticed him walking with his chest out and chin held high. She was impressed that he would go through that much trouble for her.

  “George,” hollered Melissa as he walked away.

  “Yeah?” he turned around and replied.

  Melissa ran up and kissed him on the cheek. She felt sorry for him because she knew in her heart that he was embarrassed.

  “You are a sweet boy,” she said. “Thanks again for walking me home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  After she kissed him, George couldn’t move. He was frozen in his tracks. All he could do was watch her run toward the house. He stood on the sidewalk with his mouth wide open, speechless and red-faced as she disappeared inside the house.

  Time soon passed and the school year neared its end. George and Melissa had seen a lot of each other and became good friends. The school dance held each year at the end of school was coming up. George wondered if Melissa would go with him. He spent hours in front of the mirror and practiced asking her to the dance. It would be his first date and he didn’t want to mess it up. Day after day, he spent time with her and tried to get up the nerve to ask her to the dance. But, he always chickened out. He was afraid she would say no. Eventually, the day came when he had no other choice. He was at the point that it was either now or never. He knew it was time for him to bite the bullet and make his move. He got his opportunity when he saw Melissa coming out of the library and hurried over to her.

  “Melissa,” he called. “Wait a minute.”

  “Oh, hi, George; are you headed to class?” she asked.

  “Yes, I am,” he replied. “But, I want to ask you something first.”

  About the time he started to ask her, he stepped on his shoelace and almost tripped. However, George regained his balance and didn’t fall.

  “Hey, George, you’re getting the hang of it now,” said Melissa.

  George and Melissa were startled when they heard everyone clapping. George looked around and saw his classmates applauding and cheering.

  “Way to go, George,” they cried.

  George smiled from ear to ear and so did Melissa.

  “What did you want to ask me, George?” questioned Melissa.

  “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot,” he said. “I was wondering if you would go to the dance with me.”

  “I’d love to,” she replied.

  She grabbed him by the arm and laid her head on his shoulder.

  “She said yes,” cried George.

  His classmates were so happy for him. George jumped up, kicked his heels and waltzed down the hall with Melissa.

  “She said yes, yes, yes,” he cried all the way to the classroom.

  It wasn’t long before the big day came for George to take Melissa to the dance. Melissa was all dressed up in a beautiful dress. She had her hair pulled up on her head with baby’s breath and a tiny little rose in it. George was also dressed to the tee. The silk sheen suit he wore glittered and sparkled. He had his hair slicked back and he was ready to boogie.

  All was quiet at Melissa’s house as she waited nervously for George to come and pick her up. From time to time, she would peep out the window to look for him. The last time she peeped out, a car pulled up and parked in front of her house. It was George and his dad. She quickly closed the curtain and hoped he hadn’t seen her. The back door of the car opened and George stepped out. He was dressed to kill as he walked up to her front door with flowers in his hand. Reluctantly, he knocked. He nervously waited for someone to answer the door. His hands sweated and his knees trembled. It seemed like forever before anyone came to the door. Finally, there was a crack in the door; he saw an eye and then heard a voice.

  “Melissa, someone is here to see you,” said her mother as she slowly opened the door.

  “Well, hello, George,” greeted her mother.

  “Hi, Miss Brentwater,” replied George.

  “Here is your date, George,” her mother stated.

  They both stood and stared at each other; they were speechless.

  George swallowed real hard and whispered, “These are for you, princess,” as he handed her the flowers.

  “Thank you, George. They are beautiful,” she said when she reached for the flowers.

  “Are you ready to go my little princess?” George asked.

  “Yes, I am,” replied Melissa.

  As they stepped out onto the porch, George patted his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. He took the wrapper off, broke it in half and gave her half.

  Melissa looked up at him, smiled and said, “George, you are so sweet.”

  George took her by the arm and said, “Let’s go dancing!”