Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-25089042-20140621133819

Marga



      " By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes, " said Mr. Martino, my English teacher. "Could anyone tell me who delivered this line and why?"



      Silence.



<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Most of my classmates were half-asleep. Their heavy heads rested on their hands and shoulders. Their books laid open but seemed to only serve as paperweights. My seatmate, Francis, was texting underneath his desk.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Mr. Martino studied the room with his permanent enthusiasm. He was old, with more wrinkles than hairs on his head, but he always stood up perfectly upright; he moved like clockwork. Mr. Martino was my father's high school English teacher and now he was mine. For over forty-five years, he has been stuck in time <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">— <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> repeating the same lessons, following the same routines, asking the same questions, and hell, even wearing the same clothes. It was almost eerie how Mr. Martino could be so...mechanical.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I yawned and nearly considered dozing off with the rest of the class, until I remembered this morning: After breakfast, Mom and Dad sat me down and gave me this talk about how I should get my shit together and "work for the betterment of my future." They told me that they had a parent-teacher conference with all of my teachers the day before and found out that my performance had "considerable room for improvement." So they freaked. Now, Mr. Martino and the rest of my teachers were giving weekly reports on my grades and conduct, and I'd be grounded if they found out I wasn't improving.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Fuck that.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Though if I wasn't going to do shit, <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> I thought, I might as well act like I was trying. With a sigh, I pulled out my copy of MacBeth from my backpack and skimmed to Act 4. A small, white note fell from the pages. It read in skinny, black letters:

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p align="center" class="Body" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">HAVE YOU FED MARGA TODAY?

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I held the note and scanned the room suspiciously. The note certainly wasn't mine. I flipped my book and checked the stickered name tag on the cover. Joseph Michaels. My name, my book.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I leaned over to Francis and showed him the note. "Did you do this?"

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Francis looked away from his phone and stared at the piece of paper. "What am I looking at?"

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      "The note. Did you write this?"

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      "Write what?"

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      "The note. It says 'Have you fed Marga today?' Who the fuck is Marga?"

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      "What?"

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      "Joseph!" snapped Mr. Martino. "Perhaps you would like to share your little exchange with Francis to the class?"

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I shut up and bowed my head repentantly: an acquired reflex. Mr. Martino walked up to me and took the note from my hands. He examined it and turned it back to back, as if he were searching for something.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      "It's not even mine," I said. "I found it slipped into my book. I didn't write it, I swear. I don't even know what it means."

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">      <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US">"Write what, Joseph?" he said. He showed me the piece of paper.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      It was blank <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">— <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> a perfect shade of white <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> — <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language: EN-US"> on both sides. For a moment, the whole class stared in complete silence at the white strip Mr. Martino was holding.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Suddenly, the school bell rang and my classmates, as if woken from a trance, headed for the door, eager to get back home. I stayed in my seat, dumbfounded.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I know what I saw, I thought. ''This was the kind of thing you'd see in a magic show, or in a horror movie. Words don't just appear and disappear in an instant. This is a trick. But how? Why?''

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      The classroom was now empty except for Mr. Martino and I. We locked eyes. A shiver crept through my skin. Without blinking or breaking eye contact, he slowly placed the piece of paper into his mouth and swallowed it whole. He then briskly left the room without taking any of his things.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      My thoughts were fanatic and divided. ''Should I follow him and ask what the actual fuck that was all about? ''A part of me wanted an answer, another part of me was scared of what I may find. Before I could reach a consensus, I found myself going up to the door and checking the corridor. He was gone.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I made my way to the faculty workroom and nervously asked around for Mr. Martino. They haven't seen him. In fact, nobody has.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I quickly gathered my stuff and headed home. I walked faster and faster through the suburban streets, then I ran, like a lost child who sought his mother's embrace. The sun was setting fast. With each step, the blue sky drained more and more into an ominous red. I spotted my house about a hundred meters away. Faster and faster, my feet hit the pavement; the sound mirrored my quickening heartbeat.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I entered the front door of my house, threw my bag on the floor, and saw Mom and Dad in the kitchen. Strange. The garage was empty. They must have taken the bus. But didn't they say just this morning that they would be coming home late?

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      "Mom! Dad!" I called out. "The weirdest thing just happened...''

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Their backs remained facing away from me.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      No reply.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I slowly approached my Dad and tapped him on the shoulder. "Dad?"

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Dad looked at me with an eerily stoic countenance. His eyes bored into mine.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      "Have you fed Marga today?" Dad whispered between his teeth.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      "What did you say?" I gasped in disbelief. He stared directly at me, completely motionless and silent.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      The silence was immediately broken by the ring of our telephone. It rang once. Dad stormed towards the telephone and yanked the device from its wires just before the second ring. He violently smashed it to the ground and plastic pieces exploded all around.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I staggered back.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      At that moment, Mom <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">— <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-bidi-font-style:italic">with an unnaturally strong push— <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">barricaded the front door with the adjacent cabinet. Mom and Dad then tweaked their heads towards my direction. I instinctively bolted upstairs and locked myself in my room.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%">''<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Whatthefuck! ''<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> my thoughts screamed in unison.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I opened my phone but the signal was dead. I turned on my computer and impatiently waited to get past the Windows start-up. Before my screen could fully load, all of a sudden, the power cut. My computer, alarm clock, TV, and bedroom lights all died simultaneously <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">— <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">in a flash, my room was blanketed in darkness.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%">''<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      The curtains! ''<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US"> I thought. I flung open the massive drapes, which in effect illuminated the room with dim, maroon light. I looked outside: the streets were desolate and black clouds were approaching from the horizon.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      ''But what about Mom? Dad?'' One thing was certain: those two downstairs were not who I thought they were. I decided I would barricade my door; that would at least buy me some time. I pushed my desk to the foot of my door then looked for a weapon. I grabbed my baseball bat when suddenly <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">— 

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">  

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">      <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-style:italic">CRACK!

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      With the sound of high-pitched thunder, my window shattered into a million pieces. Mom and Dad climbed into my room and beserked towards me. I gripped my bat tight. I swung at Dad. He caught my blow with his hands. He stared at me as he ripped the bat from my hands and broke it in half with his knee. Mom lunged at me. Her hands held my wrists to the ground.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I was pinned.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">     Mom dislocated her jaw and opened her mouth impossibly wide. She breathed an ashy gas directly to my face. My blood froze and I became paralyzed all over. From the depths of Mom's mouth came forth a tongue <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">— <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">a needle-like proboscis <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">— <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-bidi-font-style:italic">that s <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">lowly injected its way directly through the center of my forehead.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. As I laid pinned to the ground, I prayed for somebody to save me. With my remaining strength, I imagined a man wearing a black robe <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">— <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-bidi-font-style:italic">a priest—who would raise his glowing cross and read scripture to exorcise the creature that trapped and penetrated me. I prayed he would come. I prayed he would save me.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-style:italic">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-style:italic">      But he never did.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      I swam back and forth, in and out of consciousness, in a trance. It was the strangest sensation. It was as if every cell in my body was melting, liquefying. I felt like a decaying Pangaea: I rapidly broke into continents, then into smaller and smaller islands, until I was only ocean.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Then, a sharp pain. My spine felt like a lightning rod that shot electricity through my veins.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      My hands rose to my face without and against my control. My legs walked around the room; they, at first, limped but then learned and slowly gained control.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      In that moment, I understood.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">      Mr. Martino...

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">       Dad...

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">      Mom...

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Now, it was my turn.

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">

<p class="Body" style="line-height:115%">''<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-ansi-language:EN-US">      Today, I fed Marga. '' <ac_metadata title="My First Creepy Pasta - Need Feedback"> </ac_metadata>