Slug and Salamander

Slug and Salamander

By: Isaac Francis

The streaks of water run down my cheeks and tickle my nerves with its cold, slimy hands. My head jerks to the left as I gasp for air and jerk back to the right. My feet are also fluttering. Everything moves in sync without a thought as to how to achieve each motion perfectly. The calm cycle of it all keeps my whole sense of thinking at ease. No care in the world. Suddenly, I hear a distorted ring of a bell. Springing up like a coil, I fly out the water, and the sun bathes me in light. My body shines with details of a muscular build. The water drip gives the sensation of oiling. I walk over to the locker room, and the heat splashes against my skinny body. As if I am cold, I shrivel when walking towards my lock door.

“If it ain’t our buddy Destan,” Flint taunts.

The friends around Flint start to bump into each other, and with a pig-like attitude, they snicker.

“Oh hey, Flint! Sorry, can we do this another day? I’m not really feeling my best today,” I squeaked.

“C’mon, you punk, it’s just some fun, ol’ fun that’s all there is to it.

I grab onto myself as if my skin offers me a sense of security. A towel in this situation would help a lot. The bullies’ footsteps approach me, and flashes of pain appear all over me without notice. A light flashes so brightly into my stomach, I’m winded and left on the ground as I reach towards a bench to pull my slumped body up. It takes a minute or two for my senses to recuperate, and I dress up for my next classes. Then limply stagger out of the locker room.

The second bell rings, and it’s time for biology. I am excited about this class because the topic this week is water. I head towards my biology class, and as I enter, the air conditioning scorches my body. I lose my weak personality and become filled with pride beyond understanding. The bullies do not bother me, and I don’t give any attention back to them.

The teacher begins to talk, “A question for the class, If humans are made up of 70% water, what does that say about everything else?”.

“Everything is dependent on water, even life,” I said.

“Correct! What about the atoms that make up water?” the teacher questioned.

“One oxygen and two hydrogen atoms,” I gloated.

“Excellent, Destan!” the teacher praised.

It wasn’t that I wanted to seem like a know-it-all; I just cannot control the feeling I receive when anything relates to water.

The bell rings. The cafeteria doors open wide, and the multitudinous pungent disperse throughout the school. The school slowly converts into a jungle with many wild animals scattered across the vicinity. I find myself sweating and feeling anxious about what the bullies may think of my previous class’s arrogant attitude. As I enter the cafeteria to see what is on the menu, I am welcomed with such a sudden and robust temperature it freezes me in time for a while. Immediately, I decided to not order food. Spicy tacos are on today’s menu, and it’s bothering my functioning. As if a hair strand in the waves of water without resistance follows the currents, I flow through the crowd of students to find myself a vacant seat reserved for a special me.

“Deston! Where do you think you’re hiding!” Flint roared. “Ya think you’re all smart, answering all ’em questions by yourself”.

“Me? Smart? No, you are the clearly better person here, Flint. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just feeling a bit overwhelmed and thought I can relax a bit in that class”, I whimpered.

“So you think doing work like using your brain is relaxing? You punk I’ve had it with you, nerdy fools! Guys get ’em,” Flint hissed.

I take this chance to run away towards the halls. Happily, I get to escape that hot hell of Mexican flames. The bullies begin to multiply, and more of Flint’s goons start to show up through the hallways. Some of these goons block the main exits of the school.

Like a puppet being guided by the master’s hands, I aimlessly run into each hall without knowing where I am headed. The doors ahead of me become the gymnasium’s doors, and I burst in without thinking of my situation. The goons and Flint show up from the entrance and laugh when the realization strikes everyone that there is no other exit. To the left of the gymnasium, there is the pool. Flint notices where my eyes avert and tell his goons to block the entrance to the pool room. I assume Flint saw there is a connection between water and me, but he is still uncertain.

“Just kowtow, you punk,” Flint ordered.

I look up and notice Flint’s sweat travel down his forehead to his rosy cheeks. It is quite hot in this gymnasium; four boys steaming and letting off heat. I start to feel cold inside, yet my body is burning up. Flint looks at his friends, cocks his head, and some goons move as if he’s ordering them. A couple of the goons approach me, but I stumble back and retreat towards the walls of the gym sides. My body pressed against the cold brick wall, my arm felt an iron item stuck on the wall. I look towards this block of iron, and it turns out to be a fire alarm.

Don’t let him pull that!” Flint screamed.

But I already secured the grip of the lever, so I yanked my arm down with as much courage I had left within my cold body.

Everyone in the gym all at once stops moving as the wooden floors lose their friction. The goons look over to me and see that I am standing tall with my shirt soaked. The wet shirt outlines my muscles. The goons carefully close the distance but find themselves on the grounds before realizing a strike was received to each of them. I look over to Flint and smile, adding a comment I say,

“Care to join?”.

“You ain’t normal!”, he shrieked.

The sprinkles spurt and the water drops calm me down. I feel ever so relaxed for the first time, yet I just partook in the most exciting chapter of my life. As I look up, the fabricated rain splashes my cheeks and the water runs trickling my nerves. The water feels cold and slimy, yet it calms me down with warmth.