Before the Reform
Written and illustrated by Julia
Based (loosely) on a true story

. . . .
Chapter Two:
“Julius Caesar”


Robert sighed dejectedly. Why they had to do this boring play, he had no idea. What was the point of going back into ...well, BC, anyway, just to recount the stabbing of some Roman guy? There must be a way to make it more interesting. Wait a minute! The stabbing. What if it looked like Hercules or whoever was really getting stabbed? An ugly yet beautiful idea started playing out in his head. Chuck was uh ...Caesar; thank heavens, that wouldn’t stake a problem. As for the rest ...Bob recalled angrily that he was the third to stab Caesar, rather than the first, and that position belonged to a girl. Ah, he’d win her over.
At rehearsal, he whispered, “Hey, Betty. Can I switch places with you?”
“Wha’fo’?” she asked dubiously.
Side-stepping the African-American girl’s question, Bob replied, “Well, if you take my part you’ll have less lines, see?”
Still suspicious, Betty said, “Well, okay, but if we get in trouble, it’s yo’ fal’.”
“Okay, okay. Thanks, Betty.”
The class went through the play, and afterwards Bob held a conference with Chuck. “Hi, Caesar, I’ve got an idea that’s gonna make this play ten times more fun.”
“I’m game, Bob.”
. . . . .
The next day, right before the play rehearsal, Bob and chuck asked innocently to go to the bathroom. Little did the teacher know that they were preparing for a disaster. She complied and the two conspirators rushed out, Bob with his knapsack held tightly in his hand. In the boys’ bathroom, they locked the door so no one could barge in on their plan. Chuck took his shirt off, and Bob took out a piece of plywood from his sack and strung it to the middle of Chuck’s back with two belts. He then took a baggy full of catsup and tacked the edges up perilously in the center of the board. Chuck carefully slid on his white costume, and walked stiffly back down the hall with Bob, who by now had on his outfit on too. Bob clasped a foot-and-a-half long medal knife between the folds of his robe.
When the rehearsal was underway, Bob went through the motions in his mind, his internal eye picturing his prank with utmost pleasure. Chuck sat cockily in his metal school chair awaiting the cue. Finally, the time when Caesar was to get stabbed came put-putting ‘round the bend, and the teacher whispered to the conspirator, “Chuck, stand up so he can stab you.”
Chuck rose from his seat, a slight grin edging through the corners of his mouth. Ready at hand, Bob drew the blade and threw it with perfect aim; it landed smack in the middle of the catsup bag. The red paste oozed down his white-clad back as Chuck recoiled and collapsed on the teacher’s desk. The desk scooted at least two yards back. Like a wave the whole class pushed to the back of the room. Poor Betty stood rooted to the spot directly in front of the desk, screeching over and over again.
The blade still protruding from Chuck’s back quivered as he shook with silent mirth. The catsup could be smelled from the back of the school room where everyone crowded, but no one was paying attention to this; they were standing amidst mayhem and soaking it up with delighted horror as the teacher screamed in alarm, “Charlie, go get the nurse!”
Charlie wheeled around and ran straight into the wall.
At this point, slowly and majestically, Chuck stood up and grinned at his classmates while Robert, who had been till now attempting to conceal his laughter, rolled onto the floor with guffaws. The bedraggled teacher stood shaking with rage as the class weaved through the displaced chairs and crowded around Chuck. The whole incident had taken a full seven minutes before Chuck could bear the secret no longer.
“Bob didn’t have the first stabbing role; who gave it to him? Who!” the ruffled teacher demanded.
. . . . .
Betty, Robert, and Chuck all received a failing grade for that English assignment; the latter two for the rest of the semester.
On the bus ride home, as Robert and Chuck sat amongst their new admirers, they overheard two girls talking in the next seat over.
“Did you hear what happened today? A guy got stabbed and had to go to the emergency room! I wonder if the guy who did it is going to jail?”
Robert exchanged glances with his co-conspirator. “Mission complete.”

Back to "Before the Reform" 1


| Literature Corner | | Stories | | Girl Talk | | Special Articles | | Words of Wisdom |
| Lookin' Good | | Poems | | URAQT | | Movie Reviews | | Music Reviews | | Archives |
| Links | | Fun Stuff | | Letters from Readers | | Guestbook | | Email the editor |