500: An Anthology of Short Stories

Wathiq had the incorrigible habit of teasing everybody, finding an inordinate and unnatural amount of delight in tormenting all and sundry. Not even the class teacher of this thirteen-year-old terror was spared.

“I brought a spider to scare Mrs Shaw,” he whispered to his willing accomplice and no-brain sidekick, Meeka-eel. “It’s gonna be epic!” he said a bit louder, careful not to rouse the suspicions of his blissfully ignorant target.

Wathiq was tall for his age, resembling a whip-thin reed standing a full head higher than the rest of his classmates. His lanky look was further enhanced by his fondness for wearing shorts, even in biting cold temperatures. The prepubescent red pimples scattered randomly across his light-complexioned face resembled small scarlet craters upon a full moon.

“I bet she’s gonna scream her head off,” Meeka-eel enthused, giggling softly into a cupped hand. “Can I see it? Where’s the spider?” he asked eagerly.

Careful not to allow the arachnid from escaping, Wathiq displayed the hairy tarantula resting at the bottom of his lunchbox. The spider was easily the size of his palm; it looked none too happy to be so insultingly incarcerated in the container. The fuzzy hair all over its body bristled slightly in annoyance.

“Wow! That thing’s huge!” Meeka-eel exclaimed a little too loudly. Mrs Shaw looked up from her table where she was grading some work to pinpoint the origin of the noise. Wathiq and Meeka-eel avoided making eye contact with her.

“Wathiq McDuggal, I hope you’re not up to mischief again. You’re already sitting on nine demerits; one more incident, and it’s an afternoon detention for you,” Mrs Shaw threatened the teenager.

“Actually, Miss, I wanted to show you something, please,” Wathiq said, seeing a golden moment present itself. He treated Mrs Shaw to his brightest smile.

Although she suspected foul play, Mrs Shaw indicated with a curt tilt of her head for Wathiq to approach her table. Happy as a lark on a full crop of fat caterpillars, Wathiq dashed over to her, giving Meeka-eel a huge wink as he neared the teacher’s desk.

“This is a very special gift I brought just for you today, Miss,” Wathiq lied, intending to allay whatever disquieting thoughts Mrs Shaw might have had. Inside, he was bursting with barely controlled glee at what he and his entire class of thirty mates were about to witness.

“God help her, she’s gonna faint,” Meeka-eel said softly under his breath, hardly able to keep from jumping up and running amok in the room.

Whipping the lid off his lunchbox in a dramatic gesture, Wathiq hurled the tarantula on to Mrs Shaw’s table. For a few interminable seconds, spider and teacher goggled at each other in disbelief. Then Mrs Shaw did the unexpected.

“Aw, such a beautiful beastie!” she gushed, picking the tarantula up very gently. “You shouldn’t have, Wathiq, but thank you very much.”

Wathiq was still flabbergasted later as he sat steaming in detention at the end of the school day.