Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: SEA CHANGE or TREE CHANGE (07/13/17)
-
TITLE: The Grinch's Smile | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
07/18/17 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
It wasn’t listening to Elvis rocking in his blue suede shoes through the juke box; It wasn’t the checkerboard style tiling or the padded red bar stools lined up like soldiers at attention next to the soda fountain counter; it wasn’t even the front end of the Chevy bursting out of the wall above the washroom entrances at the back – it was the face in clear command of the short-skirted waitresses who were bustling from table to table.
Sheena could have been my first love if she wasn’t such a Grinch back in high school. Her ginger hair and fiery eyes had lured me like bees to honey-suckle. I was new that year and the jocks warned me the first time they saw me looking her way. “She’s the Ice Queen –She pulls you in with her looks and destroys you with her words.”
I was a preacher’s kid fresh from the pangs of leaving all my best friends six hundred miles away. Fitting in was all that mattered. It didn’t take long to see what the guys meant.
Two weeks into classes I was reassigned lockers right next to hers. I saw her coming and worked at rearranging my books on the shelf inside.
“What happened to Tyler?” she asked into my back. I tried to ignore her and she jabbed her finger into my side. “I’m talking to you – what happened to Tyler?”
“Don’t know any Tyler,” I answered without turning around. “I just do what I’m told. Believe me, this wasn’t my choice.” I didn’t even notice her leave.
Of course I asked around when I heard others talk about her. The comments were inconsistent: “Dad messed her up and left; Mother cheated on her father and got a divorce; brother died in Afghanistan and her parents had a breakdown; her last boyfriend dumped her so harshly for a cheerleader she holds it against everyone; All she knows is bad love.”
We managed to miss each other most of the time at the lockers. After Christmas, in our new schedule, I walked into Math late and there was one seat left. Right next to Sheena. She glared at me all the way until I sat and refocused on the teacher.
As we were working on practice problems near the end of class she whispered, “Haven’t seen you around much, how was Christmas?”
I glanced her way and could immediately relate to those wise men who had seen the star in the east. I was drawn, pulled to abandon everything and move her way. Fortunately, I remembered the warnings and hung my head. “Pretty much the way it always is,” I said. “Church, food, presents, family.”
“Must be nice,” she said.
To myself I quoted “the fruit of the Spirit is self-control.” I knew people were given warning labels for a reason.
Two of my friends had noticed the interaction, approached me at my locker and asked how I was doing with the Grinch?
I smiled. “I can tell you she sure isn’t stealing my heart.” That’s when I sensed she was right behind me.
We were civil after that but I kept my emotional and personal distance.
The years had gone by. And here she was. Running a truck stop diner.
I couldn’t help staring and a few seconds later she looked up from her order pad and stared back. Her raised eyebrows told me she knew exactly who I was. And then she smiled.
While another waitress took my order it was Sheena that delivered the goods along with a piece of apple pie. “What a surprise!” she said. “It’s like Jesus heard my prayer and sent his answer.”
I cocked my head. “Not exactly what I was expecting after all this time.”
“Yeah, high school was a nightmare for all of us,” she said. “My life was so messed up. And then you gave me a dream after that one Christmas. You talked about normal life with church, family, food and presents. It took a few years but I began to believe it was possible.”
“So?”
“So, I’ve been asking Jesus to give me the chance to tell you. Everything’s changed. Love is good.”
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
Blessings~