SHAVINGS
School wasn't something that was hard for a guy like Marvin.
Elementary was no problem, Junior High wasn’t much of a challenge and High
School just sort of went by. Art was his best subject, but he really didn't
have an interest in anything else… and so he went on to College.
College wasn't hard… well at least not first three weeks of it.
You see, his college was noted for its distinguished humanities department.
When he arrived he knew that somehow he just would not fit in… and so he
didn't.
It was Tuesday afternoon in HU-101, basic writing, and the
homework was being handed back. He got his paper filled with red marks- so
many, in fact, that it was hard to read what he had written there himself.
Quickly he flipped the page over facedown on his desk- in the hope that the
person sitting behind him hadn't seen it. English had never been his best
subject- in fact his writing had frustrated English teachers as far back as he
could recall. This was especially true of his spelling. “YOUR SPELLING IS
ATROCIOUS” was the normal comment made by teachers who graded his spelling, yet
never took any constructive actions to correct the problem. They simply passed
him with a “D” for Don’t ever have to have you in my class again. One of his
English teachers went so far as to have a stamp custom made that said “Marvin,
YOUR SPELLING IS ATROCIOUS” so she would not have to write it out. Marvin was
impressed that she’d actually invested in a stamp with his name on it. That is…
until the day he graduated. As he walked proudly across the stage in his cap
and gown, passing the administrators and faculty, his English teacher reached
out and stamped him on the forehead… then she gave him the stamp and told him
to keep it, because he was gonna need it.
Marvin had always found it rather amusing that a guy like him
could so effectively annoy someone like English teachers with a college degree.
And all they could do about it was to keep reading and get more aggravated.
Besides, he figured anyone who is dull enough to major in English deserves to
be frustrated. Marvin could always picture them sitting up late at night,
grading papers with a red pen size of a baseball bat, shaking their heads and
making a "clicsh clicsh" sound with their tongues and being
frustrated beyond end when they got to his paper.
"We will go over the homework in a moment," Marvin’
English teacher, Mrs. Wilson said as she moved back toward her desk, "but
first…" Her voice muffled as she bent down behind her desk.
Standing and spinning at the same time she produced a Homelite
chain saw, and started it with a single quick pull.
WING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING!
She lurched toward Marvin rev’ing the saw.
"Holy shit!" he leaped backwards from his seat as if
ejected.
ZANGO! With one swipe she took off the seat back and the heel his
left sneaker.
The door was out of the question he reasoned as he crawled over
his classmates and their desktops, the sounds of the saw at his butt.
WING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING!
Mrs. Wilson rev’ed the saw, its exhaust blowing papers onto the
floor as she charged toward Marvin looking to draw and quarter him. He leaped
through the open window.
ZANGO! Another swipe.
Out the window he went plummeting from the second floor and hitting
the ground like a sack of sand. Marvin rolled a bit and then sprang to his feet
as half of the window shade flopped at his left. Looking up he could see that
up on the second floor Mrs. Wilson now had her skirt hopelessly caught in the
saw.
"What the hell was that all about?" he mumbled brushing
the grass from his chest.
For a second Marvin contemplated the half-severed heel of his
sneaker, then decided it was best to get out of there. Flopping into the
library he sat down attempted to repair his shoe, it was no use.
"Shit." he exclaimed.
A moment later he realized the word was echoing across the
stillness of the library. He looked toward the librarian’s desk expecting a
stern “shush.” Instead she produced a Homelite chainsaw, and started it with a
single pull.
WING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING!
She leapt atop her desk kicking the books aside with her
orthopedic shoes! She rev’ed the saw.
WING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING!
"Aw nuts!" Marvin bolted for the door only to be stopped
by the chewing blade as the librarian headed him off at 629 of the Dewey
decimal system. Marvin dodged as she took a swipe at him.
ZANGO! A bust of Ben Franklin decapitated.
ZANGO! Half a globe.
ZANGO! A Thesaurus because just a Thesau.
Marvin ducked, spun, kicked her in the rear. Stumbling forward the
librarian slammed into a large book rack. The texts rained down on her as the
book rack collapsed. The entire section of books turned into a giant pile as a
grinding chewing noise came from under the books and ground slowly to an end.
Marvin made for the door.
"I must be losing my mind," he reasoned. Trotting across
campus in a near panic his mind raced. There must be some safe place somewhere
on the campus- and he had to find it. Two buildings later he found himself in
the counselor's office. If he were actually losing his mind, this was the place
to go.
There was no waiting, so he got to go right in. Marvin sat down
next to the counselor's desk. A sweet mousy little lady, the guidance counselor
came in with a delicate cup of tea and sat at her desk.
"Hello," she said sweetly, "what's going on
today?"
"Sometimes I wash my socks and my underwear with a red
shirt," he told her preparing to regurgitate all of his problems in this
single visit "and they all come out frigging pink. I go through
girlfriends like most people go through bulk packages of toilet paper. The last
one told me that she was leaving me for everyone else. My roommate ate the last
of my peanut butter and people are trying to kill me all over campus… am I
going nuts, or what?"
She raised her eyebrows a bit and then softly said "Oh, I
don't think so. You may need a little shock treatment, but other than
that…" She shrugged.
Standing up Marvin decided to go out and give life one more try.
Who knows maybe a few chainsaw attacks in one day was just a
coincidence. Closing the counselor's door behind him he gave another thought to
the flopping heel his sneaker.
WING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING!
The blade of a Homelite chainsaw burst through the counselor's
door from the inside! Sticking in the door it stalled inches from the back of
his neck.
"Oh… Heck." The counselor’s voice squeaked softly from
behind the door.
That was it, the last straw. If Marvin was gonna stay alive he had
to not only get off campus, he had to get out of town. Making the familiar hike
down to the bus depot, he bought a one-way ticket home, hopped aboard and kept
a close eye out for chain saws. 36 hours later he dragged into his parents
front door and collapsed in one of their living room chairs.
"Mom, dad… It's been a nightmare." he whimpered to his
parents with his face buried in his hands.
"Don't worry son," his folks said in unison,
"you're home now, just relax, it's going to be okay…"
WING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING-NING!
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