Fiction Fix Sixteen

Josh Lamstein
stomach, and curing his cooties felt like flying. Billy knew the terror of cooties, but he
wanted to keep flying.
“You should lose your recess,” said Billy.
“You should lose your recess,” said Jenny.
“You made me lose my recess yesterday.”
“You’re mean, and you deserved it.”
“I’m not mean—you’re stupid!”
“I’m not stupid. How am I stupid?”
Billy thought fast. He had no idea why she was stupid, but he wasn’t going to say
that now.
“You’re stupid because…”
“You don’t even know!”
“You’re stupid because I’m an alien, and you don’t know!”
“What?” Jenny blinked.
“I’m an alien!”
“No you’re not!”
“See, you’re stupid!” said Billy, and he stomped away to play with Legos. He felt like
the stupidest person in the world. Of course he wasn’t an alien! He grinded his Legos
against each other and felt furious that they didn’t just fit together.
For the rest of the week, Jenny kept her distance from Billy. She looked at him from
the corner of her eyes with tight lips. Billy was ecstatic. Whenever he caught her eye in
circle time, he pulled on his hair, threw his leg behind his head, or trilled with his tongue.
This was more thrilling than watching TV or talking about himself.
On Friday morning during story time, Billy sat quietly, listening to the adventures of
a goat, until he turned blue and fell on his back. The class gasped, and the teacher rushed
over to him, throwing her book on the ground. When she knelt by his side, he gasped.
“Sorry, Mrs. Berg, I forgot to breathe.”
The whole class laughed, except for Jenny.
Billy ignored the lessons on the alphabet while thinking of new ways to seem like
an extraterrestrial. During recess, he walked next to Jenny, reveling as she tightened her
cheeks while looking at him with such curiosity. He sat in the sand at her feet and said,
“Glorp.”
He picked up a pinch of sand and placed it on his tongue like sugar. He said, “Ahh.”
Jenny sprinted from the sandbox.
Billy was full of great ideas. On Monday, he walked to school with a packet of ketchup
and big plans. In class, all he could think of were his big plans. He stared out the window
while twirling between his fingers the ketchup packet in his pocket.
When it was finally recess, Billy ran out of the class and waited at the benches. See-
Fiction Fix 49