Pandora's Lunch Box: Don't Open!

Chapter 9

At lunchtime, Randy Cornbluth walked past the many kids hanging out in the schoolyard and headed behind the school to a secluded area by the dumpsters. Sitting down against a wall, he pulled today's huge sandwich out of his bag. The incident with Pandora in the cafeteria had driven him to the safety of solitude. "Don't worry," he said lovingly to his sandwich, "no one will bother us here."

But as he got ready to take his first bite, he heard a weak whimper. Curious, he got up and looked around, and there, behind a dumpster, was Lexy sitting on the ground crying. Randy's eyes lit up, but then they softened as he wondered, why was Lexy crying? He wanted to talk to her, maybe to help her, but did he have the courage?

Meanwhile, inside the school, Pandora and Lyle sat at the end of a row of lockers, giving them privacy. Pandora stared angrily at the lunch box in her lap. "This whole thing is a mess. And it's all your fault!" She opened the lunch box, and the genies whooshed out. Pandora glared at Furio. "I didn't want Lexy's head to explode! I didn't want any of this!"

This got Furio thinking. "Hmmm, exploding head..."

"No! I said I didn't want it!" Pandora snapped. "I don't like her, that's all! She's mean to people, and I just wanted her to leave me alone."

Furio looked confused. "You just a-want her to leave you alone? No revenge?"

"No! No revenge, ever! She doesn't deserve it. Sure she's mean, but, I don't know, maybe she has a reason. Maybe she's insecure or something."

Lyle raised an eyebrow. "Insecure? Lexy?"

"Yeah," said Pandora. "And if she wasn't so insecure, maybe she'd be nice."

Behind the school, Randy was still trying to drum up the courage to talk to Lexy. Finally he squeaked out, "Lexy?"

Surprised, Lexy looked up. Seeing Randy, she immediately tried to cover her face and head. "Don't look at me! I'm a mondo-headed freak!"

Randy was taken aback. "No you're not. You're... beautiful."

Lexy peered through her fingers at Randy. "I am?"

Then, in what was for him the ultimate expression of love, Randy gingerly held out his sandwich to Lexy. "You want a bite of my sandwich?"

Lexy gave the sandwich a look. Just the sight of it horrified her. But she tried hard to accept this offer of kindness. "Uh... sure." She took the sandwich in her hands. Disgusting goop dripped out from between the many unrecognizable layers. Finally, she closed her eyes and took a bite. She chewed and swallowed, barely able to keep it down. Gulp! "Thanks."

Randy glowed. "Anything... for you." Feeling emboldened, he sat down next to Lexy.

Lexy nervously looked over at Randy. "Do you... think I have a big, enormous basketball head?"

Randy was shocked. "No! Your head is... perfect."

Lexy smiled wide and took another bite of the sandwich. "You know, this isn't bad."

Inside, Pandora was still worried about Lexy. "Maybe Lexy's got a lot of good qualities that she never shows anybody. I just wish I was better at seeing them." She turned away in sadness.

Furio shrugged. "You do? Oh well. Not as a-fun as revenge, but if that's what-a you want." He closed his eyes and concentrated, and then... "Done."

Pandora looked up. "Huh?"

"I've a-granted your wish."

"What wish?" Pandora asked.

Smugly raised his eyebrows. "My, aren't we forgetful?"

And just then, outside, as Lexy chewed another bite of Randy's sandwich, her head shrank back down to normal size! She moved to take another bite, but now her mouth couldn't open wide enough to bite the huge sandwich. "Hey, did this thing just get bigger?"

Randy stared at Lexy even more intensely now, having witnessed her head shrinking. "No... but you just got prettier!" Touched, Lexy looked over at Randy. As he met her gaze, he turned beet red and started to sweat, getting ready to say something. "Lexy, will you... gulp!... go out with me?"

"Um... sure," Lexy said uncertainly.

Randy's eyes lit up with joy. This was the happiest day of his life!

Then the bell went off. Randy had to pull himself out of his blissful reverie and get up. He held his hand out to Lexy and helped her up too. And with a feeling of peacefulness she had seldom felt before, Lexy joined Randy as they headed inside.

Pandora was still sitting with Lyle and the genies when Lexy and Randy came inside through a back door. They walked side by side, Randy looking over at Lexy with love in his eyes. Lexy smiled back softly, seeming not at all like her usual self.

Pandora and Lyle were stunned. "Her head! It shrank back down!" whispered Lyle.

Pandora looked at Furio. "You changed her back!"

"As you wished!" said Furio.

Pandora beamed, finally realizing what just happened. "Right! Thank you!" Then she closed the lunch box, and the genies whooshed back inside.

As Lexy and Randy walked by, Lexy turned to Pandora and Lyle with a smile. "Hi Pandora! Hi Lyle!"

Pandora and Lyle were too shocked to respond. As Lexy and Randy moved on, Pandora smiled again. "She's not only back to normal – she's better! Hey, I think I'm getting this wish thing down. It's just a matter of wishing the right wish. And then I can get anything I want!"

"I don't know, Pandora. You almost made Lexy a lollipop-shaped freak for the rest of her life!" Lyle said, a little too loud.

And just down the hall, Lexy stopped and cocked her ears. "Huh??" She listened intently as Lyle went on.

"You're just lucky it all worked out in the end," Lyle said. "You should put that thing away before someone else gets hurt."

"But they won't!" Pandora insisted. "I know how to do it now! With this lunch box, I'm gonna have the most splendiferous life ever!"

Overhearing every word, Lexy stared down the hall at Pandora's lunch box. Her newfound look of tranquility quickly dissolved back into the snobbish sneer she usually wore. With ferocious intensity, she whispered to herself:

"I want that lunch box!"