Board Thread:Writer's Showcase/@comment-25326117-20150304212224

I stood in front of the old oak tree near the old McClathy Elementary School. That place brought back so many bad and unwanted memories to me. The kids and the teachers, why did they have to be such assholes? The floors and sidewalks of the school were completely covered in old, disgusting gum. Some of the ceiling had fallen off and nobody ever dared to clean the bathrooms. There was literally ca-ca everywhere. Yikes!

But, probably the weirdest part of my childhood trauma known as McClathy's Elementary School was the kid that always sat in front of the old school, beside the old oak tree. The kid was about eleven-years-old and he was always frequented the spot whenever I made my long trek from school to home. The kid, nobody ever came close to him, apparently it sent bad vibes to everybody. We dared each other to go up to the kid to see it's face, but none of us were ever brave nor stupid enough to go even one inch near the kid. Like I said, the kid sent bad vibes. So, we all stuck to our gossip as most little kids did.

Andy, my best friend at the time would say, "I betcha his face is nothing, but a skull!"

I would reply, "Nah, dude that's impossible! The kid isn't-"

Andy always had a snarky remark, "I betcha can't even get in front of him to see his face."

Andy Falcon, my nine-year-old best friend was always the stupid, brave fool. He never backed from a dare and that day I had offered to do his homework for the entire year if he could even get in front of the kid's face. I regret that dare even to this day. Andy went through with it, one afternoon in May. The kid only frequented the oak tree in the afternoon, nobody knew why. Andy was never the same after that afternoon.

Our schoolmates and I would always ask what the kid's face looked like. He always gulped and would usually respond, "Don't bring it up!"

Andy and I grew apart in middle school and especially in high school. He would always cringe whenever he went by that damned oak and quicken his pace, never once looking back at the child that sat in front of it. I never understood why, especially after a bunch of other kids started a tradition of trying to see the kid's face. It never ended well. Parents would complain, teachers would always shout, and even the school janitor would scare the kids away with a wet mop, threatening to hit them with it if they ever trekked near the tree or the kid. The principal and the school board eventually had the old oak cut down, but still that same old kid remained in the same spot.

I am now sixteen and I finally got the guts to see this kid's face. I've done some 'research' on him, well gossip. Never can fully trust rumors. Anyways, here's what I dug up, "The kid's name was Lesley Connor. Nobody knew if Lesley was a boy or a girl.  Some say it was a she, but others say it was a he.  Whatever, the sex of the kid, nobody ever wanted to go near the kid, especially after it's parents kicked it out of the house for being too ugly."

Well, that's how the rumor goes and it's not the nicest one. I went up to the stump where the old oak sat, apparently there was some writing on it. It was carved into the bark and read, " "Nobody will care when you're dead. Once you're gone, you're gone. There's no coming back!"

The kid walked behind me. "Why are you in front of my father?!" The hair on the back of my neck rose and I was covered in goosebumps. I dared to look at the child and what I saw was behind horrifying. 