Not Normal
By Ron Mueller
Not Normal by Ron Mueller © Around the World Publishing: Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction, in whole or in part in any form. This short story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
By Ron Mueller
He noticed things. He began to notice strange things going on at school. Yeah, Yeah strange things are always going on at school. But this was different. Jason began to notice everyone was starting to be nice to each other. He really noticed it when Janet Lekowski actually smiled and said hello to him. Janet Lekowski had never been nice to him. She was the meanest person walking the halls of the school. She was in eighth grade. She had just said hello to him. Something was wrong, very wrong.
At lunch he decided to test his idea that something was changing the kids at school. He took his tray and sat down in the area where all the jocks always sat. This he knew was suicide. He hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much.
Larry Smythe the meanest of the mean football jocks came toward him with his tray full of food. Jason almost got up to run away.
“Hey dude, how’s it hangin? Larry asked him as if they were buddies. Larry was in ninth grade. Jason was in seventh grade. That alone was cause for getting abused.
If it had been April Fool’s day maybe Jason would have believed it was a joke. Now he knew something was very wrong.
The rest of the football team showed up and acted as if Jason sitting at their table was normal. Jason hurried to finish his lunch. He had to find Jake and John. He hoped they had not been changed.
Something or someone was changing the kids. In a way it was nice but it was not normal.
He found his two buddies sitting at their favorite spot overlooking the tennis court. They were eating their sandwiches they had brought from home. They did this all the time. The three J’s as they were called, would sit on the grass and eat in peace. The lunch room was too dangerous and overwhelming. Jake Singleton was slender, tall and lanky with blue eyes. John Hazelwood was almost an opposite. He was short, a little heavier built with black hair and brown eyes. Jason knew he was sort of in between. He had brown hair, more or less blue eyes and had an average build. He hoped his physique would improve with puberty.
“How are you guys doing?” Jason asked. He watched closely to see if his buddies had been changed.
“Like always, just trying to stay out of the way and not get abused,” Jake replied. “Why didn’t you bring your lunch?”
“Oh, I did but I was running an experiment during lunch,” Jason replied.
“Hey, John, that looks like a great sandwich. Is it one of your inventions? Give me a bite?” Jason said to see if John was OK.
“You must be kidding. Get your filthy germs on my masterpiece. Besides you already had lunch,” John replied as he deliberately took a huge bite out of his sandwich.
Jason felt like hugging both of them. They were still normal.
“Have you noticed anything unusual in the last couple of days,” Jason asked as he waved back to two girls on the tennis court. That was strange. No one ever waved at them. Usually it was as if they were invisible.
“Only that you seem to be making friends with everyone around you. Who are you waving at,” John mumbled through a mouthful of food.
“Yep everything is normal with John,” thought Jason.
“Look, something is going on. I want you guys to help figure out what is happening.
“Today Janet Lekowski smiled and said hello to me,” Jason explained.
“Are you sure you didn’t imagine it. She never even looks at us. If she does it’s to tell us what losers we are and to get out of her sight,” Jake said without looking up. He thought Janet was good looking but she was mean as a snake.
“I’m sure. I did a test at lunch. I sat at the jock’s table,” Jason continued.
“Wow and your still in one piece,” Jake looked up to see if there were any bruises.
“It was weird. Larry Smythe treated me like one of the guys. When all the rest of the team showed up they all seemed to accept me. I ate as fast as I could and got out before one of them changed their minds. Something is going on and we need to find out what it is,” Jason said as he sat down on the grass besides his two friends.