October 8th, 2012
Try as he might, George could never gain the respect from his high school senior class that he'd always hoped he would. The president of the Chess Club, he sang in the chorus before Glee made it hip and even skipped school with the rest of the senior class. He didn't want to be rude to his teachers even though he had an early release note from his mom to leave that day.
His last ditch effort to be cool was to join the Adventure Club with the other young studs in the school. When word got out that he would join the fun on the last great senior school run, no one wanted him to go.
"George," Cindy asked in her snobbish tone in front of the entire lunch crowd, "I hear you're going sky diving with the senior class's Adventure Club."
"Well, I thought it would be cool," George said behind his book, protected by his thick glasses and inside his protective shell. He never looked up.
"Well, it's not cool if you go, so don't," Cindy said, and with that comment, she turned her head and walked the route that would lead her to the EXIT door. Her walk and demeanor were much like a runway model. It was snobby in every way.
Hoots and hollering rang out from the lunchroom. The echo was so loud it bounced off the white sterile walls. The thunderous roar headed into the halls as it bounced throughout the school. But George didn't move from his seat. He didn't even grin, nor did he look beyond his book. He just sat in his chair and read, content with his decision to be part of the class.
After lunch, George walked through the halls, and everyone gawked at him. This frail boy would be jumping from a plane. Some would joke in wonderment because of how light he was. They would joke that he "didn't need a parachute because he would glide right down to the ground because of his lightness," and he may never come down or see the ground again.
He didn't care, not in the least. George just walked past them all without skipping a beat. What a sweet kid he was. But if you knew George, it would be no surprise how docile a creature he was. No matter what grade he was in, how old he was, or how many family summer retreats he went on, he would never speak negatively.
A quick flashback into yesteryear when he was even younger than he is now when George would try and play on the playground.
"George, get some balls and tell them to go to hell, and then say 'get out of your way,' you're just trying to play."
"Sorry, grandpa," George would say, "I'm just not made that way."
George made it to the Chess Club, where he would preside over the meeting. But no one cared; they just wanted to hear about Georges' soon-to-be sky-diving adventure.
"George," Karen started to ask, "Why are you jumping from a plane. You're not that way. Just stay here and play the game that we all love."
"Karen," George began to say, "I planned it his way. I'll jump from that plane in just a few days and return to preside over the next championship game."
And with that, George carried on with today's Chess Club meeting, discussing important things like where to calibrate the speed chess clocks. George had to finish the meeting early to get to the Glee Club to practice the songs for graduation. He was running late because there was a debate in Chess about the accuracy of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer.
"As we go on, we remember all the times we had together…" The Glee club sang their graduation song, Better Than Vitamin-C.
As he walked into the music room, the music stopped, and the choir went silent midway through the song.
George didn't flinch because of the awkward silence; he walked up the stairs and through the row where he would take up his spot to sing his Tenor low.
"Excuse me, pardon me," George said until he reached his position.
The group stood still and watched George take his spot. Nothing was said, but the snickering in the group made it known where they all stood on George's latest foray into his jump into the deep blue sky.
The day finally came. They went through their pre-checks and practiced with their jumping buddies. The entire time, George stood by and did what he had to do. He saw some class members taking side bets if he would even go through with it.
The plane took off and took half the club with it while the other half waited below until their time would arrive. George went with this group to show them he had the gusto to be among the first to hit the dirt below.
"Go, go, go," was shouted by the primary instructor as the plane reached its altitude so that the students could jump from the plane.
As each senior class member jumped one by one, they could enjoy the feeling of free falling from 10,000 feet. The wind screamed by their ears at 120 miles per hour with such force it sounded like a million flags flapping in the wind. Their shrieks were no match to the air that ganged up on their screams by rushing into their throats and muffling them out before the air could escape their lungs.
George was ready. He was next to take on his big quest.
As the seniors landed, they got to their feet, huddled around, and looked up, waiting for George to give up.
"George doesn't have the balls to do it," said one student who had known George since grade school.
As quickly as he said his crude comment, two people jumped out of the plane. It was right there, and then the senior class stood in shock, realizing George had done it. As the two free-falling souls landed safely on the ground, they jumped, then pointed and shouted in unison, "That bastard just threw us out and took the plane!"
And for the moment, the class stood shocked with disbelief that someone so meek did something pretty cool. Then, the class did something they never did. They clapped and screamed as the reality sank in; they couldn't believe George did it, that George could fly the plane.
The plane flew on as George sat behind the controls, proud he could throw them off and take the plane for the day. And for the moment, he was so cool. Deep down, the coolest of the class even knew he didn't know how to land.
1,126 words
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