Brown Slime Stories

Ruby

As the clock ticks away the seconds, a few girls at the back of the room whisper in hushed tones about some celebrity who is pregnant and getting divorced.

Two boys near the window are busy having a thumb war. They're laughing as they focus on their little contest, oblivious to their teacher walking into the room.

Ms. Garland, a middle-aged woman with long dark hair, comes in wearing a red and black skirt with a white blouse. She takes a seat at her desk and looks around the room, waiting for the class to settle down.

"Class, I have some news to share with you," Ms. Garland begins. "Today is midterm day, and that means you're all going to receive a copy of your grade report for the first semester."

"Awesome!" shouts a boy in the front row.

"Cool!" cries out a girl in the middle of the room.

Ms. Garland smiles as she waits for the rest of them to finish making their excited outbursts.

"As some of you have heard, there will be prizes for the top three students in each class," she continues. "Our top student will get a brand new E-reader. And the second and third place winners will get $20 and $10 gift cards for any store in the mall."

The students begin to cheer and clap. Ms. Garland just smiles as she waits for them to settle down again.

"Okay, okay," she says when they've calmed a bit. "Now, I also have a little bad news for whoever has the lowest grade."

The kids all quiet down, curious to hear what their teacher has to say.

"The lowest-ranked student will get a punishment. I think you all know what that means..."

As the students listen to their teacher saying this, they all look around the room at one another in shock. Some of them even gasp at the announcement.

"What?!" cries out a girl in the back. "I had no idea about that!"

"Me neither!" exclaims a boy near the front.

"I know, I know," Ms. Garland says sympathetically. "Mrs. White wanted to keep it a secret and have a surprise reveal, so that none of you would feel tempted to skip class today."

The students continue to stare at their teacher with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

"Anyway," Ms. Garland continues. "Let's start off with the lucky recipients of the prizes. First up, the three students with the highest grades in the class..."

With that, Ms. Garland picks up a small sheet of paper from her desk and begins to read out the names.

"The three students who ranked the highest are... Ashley, Rachel, and Mark. Please come up to the front of the class."

The three students stand up and make their way to the front of the room.

"Congratulations," Ms. Garland says to the three students. "You guys all worked really hard this semester and I'm very proud of you."

The three students all look quite relieved as they accept their rewards, smiling while the rest of the class claps politely before they walk back to their desks.

Ms. Garland waits until the commotion has died down before continuing.

"Okay, now for our unlucky student," she says. "Whoever scored the lowest grade in this class will be getting a little present that Mrs. White wants me to give you."

The students all look around at one another once more, knowing exactly what sort of surprise is in store for one of them.

"So, without further ado, let me announce the student with the lowest grade in the class..."