Jesse's Plight

Jesse's Plight

Howard Seeley

It was ten in the morning and Jesse was staring out the classroom window. The sun was out, and he could see the ninth-grade gym class playing soccer. The cheers and shouts were loud enough to pierce through the glass, further distracting him. I wish I were out there with them, he thought. But reality was stronger than fiction.

He turned to the biology teacher, Mr. Palmer. In Jesse’s mind, he wasn’t much more than a bore. Mr. Palmer’s droning voice and the gibberish he has written on the blackboard trying to explain cell division was more than enough to put Jesse to sleep. Mitosis and miosis were simple to understand and could even be understood by the soccer playing ninth graders if it were explained properly. So, why is Mr. Palmer having such a difficult time with it?

The shrill of another loud cheer echoed in the classroom. Jesse didn’t have to look to know someone just scored. The cheer took Jesse’s mind off the blackboard and his eyes wandered towards the seat beside him. In it sat the most beautiful girl in high school, at least in his mind. Her name was Melissa and they have been classmates since sixth grade. From that first day he saw her, he knew she was the one he wanted to be with. But reality was stronger than fiction. In fear of rejection, he never dared to speak to her.

Suddenly, a voice broke his concentration. “Earth to Jesse. Are you with us?” Jesse saw Mr. Palmer looking at him and the rest of the class turn their heads towards Jesse as well. He felt my face flush and heard snickering around the room. Jesse looked down at his feet, wishing he could crawl under the desk and disappear. Instead, he imagined himself floating above his body and heard himself say, “Sorry Mr. Palmer. It won’t happen again.”

Jesse blinked his eyes and found himself sitting in his chair. Mr. Palmer returned to talking to the blackboard and everyone in the class stared to the front feigning interest. Jesse took a quick glance at Melissa and saw a look of confusion on her face. Cell division? She doesn’t get it. At that moment, Jesse knew opportunity was knocking. This is my chance, he thought. I can offer to tutor her in biology and get to be close to her. Who knows after that? Maybe we can take the next step and start a relationship. With that thought in his mind, Jesse could feel his heart beginning to race.

He looked at her again and this time he let his imagination view her in a more provocative scenario. A warmth radiated from his groin, but then it was eradicated with Mr. Palmer’s voice. “Since you have your mind on other things, besides class today, I guess you already know what I’m talking about. So, please stand up and explain to us what mitosis is and where it happens in the body.”

Jesse put his hands on his desk readying to stand, when he realized the aftermath of his leud thoughts were still visible in his pants. He took his hands off the desk and placed them in his lap, trying to hide the evidence.

Mr. Palmer called out. “Is there a problem Jesse?” Jesse began to panic and the nervousness he felt seemed to excite him more. Crap! What am I going to do? The snickering began to pick up again and all thoughts seem to evaporate from his mind, except for the thought of humiliation. The burning he felt in his cheeks told him they were glowing purple and sending off fireworks for the whole class to watch. A voice in the back row broke the silence. “That’s the biggest turnip I’ve ever seen.” As the classroom erupted in laughter, Jesse wished he were dead.

Mr. Palmer stepped in and calmed the uproar. “Okay, that’s enough everyone.” When the laughter ceased, Mr. Palmer spoke to Jesse. “I highly suggest if you don’t know what I’m trying to teach in this class, you’d better pay attention and if you still don’t understand, see me after class.” Utterly defeated, Jesse looked down without saying a word.

Seconds seemed like minutes, as the class dragged on. At last, the dismissal bell rang, and Jesse retreated to the safety of the hallway. When he was about to turn at the corner of the hallway, he looked back and saw Melissa exiting the classroom. His first impulse was to go back and confront her. After all, I do know about cell division and she could certainly learn from me. He commanded his left foot to go towards her, but it refused to move. What is wrong with me, he thought and if in response to his question, it was as if his foot answered him. “Who do you think you are? Don’t you remember what happened a few minutes ago? Everyone thinks you are a moron and with good reason. Forget it, pal. She is out of your league. Go to your next class and stay in your dream world.”

Jesse knew he was right, but also knew he was wrong. Time and again he had tried to talk to Melissa and each time he tried was a failure. What is the point? After what just happened, she will only laugh at me. I was just rejected by the whole class and I don’t think I can handle another, especially from her.

But another voice came to his head. A voice, not from his foot, but from his heart. “You won’t know for sure unless you try. Besides, you’re already at the bottom of the barrel. You’ve got no where to go but up.”

Jesse tried to take another step forward and when his foot refused to move again, he overrode it and began his trek towards Melissa. Step by step, he came closer to his destination. Twenty feet. Fifteen feet. He could almost smell her perfume. Ten feet. Jesse’s mouth opened to utter those first words, “Excuse me.”

Then, fate came to the playing field.  As Jesse opened his mouth to speak, another voice interjected. It was the voice of one of the hecklers from the back of the classroom. “Hey, Melissa,” he said. “Did you get what Palmer was talking about?”

Melissa shook her head. “Not a word of it. Why?”

“I thought we could get together after school and go over it. Maybe we can make head or tails out of it.” The look of joy on Melissa’s told Jesse everything. He stopped in his tracks and turned to leave. As he was about to go, the Heckler cackled. “Hey, Turnip Head, why are you in my face? Is there something you want?”

Jesse was in no mood for a confrontation. He just shook his head and walked off, leaving the girl of his dreams behind. He went around the corner, heading for his next class. It’s alright, he thought. There’s a window in Geometry class I can look out of too. Hopefully, I’ll have a view of the twelfth-grade girl’s lacrosse team practicing. That will make up for the disaster today. A smile spread across Jesse’s face. Next time, I’ll listen to my foot.