He woke up in the morning feeling sick. He hated to admit it, but he had finally succumbed to the one disease to which he thought he was immune: love. Though he felt his feelings were at war with his mind itself, the boy was only too willing to acquiesce to love’s subtle charms.

   Though the girl hardly knew that Christopher existed, he had already given her apotheosis. As he left his room that morning, he very nearly catechized in front of the picture of her he had taped above his door. He briefly considered saying six “Hail Melanie’s,” but thought better of it. As the image of her laughing face did nothing to assuage his nausea, he turned from it and briskly left his doorway.

   As the boy walked, he tormented himself with thoughts of doubt. Mostly he worried that Melanie would not be interested in a bourgeois boyfriend when she herself came from so much money. He obsessed over his low coffers, feeling that if he could somehow feign wealth, he would have better chances of impressing his goddess. For the moment, however, Christopher had to stop panicking and focus on schoolwork. That was why he was there, was it not? He did not leave home to fall in love.

When Christopher made his way into the classroom, he heard his fellow students murmuring. Out of the sea of whispers, he could hear Melanie’s name, again and again. He heard awful things. Evidently, feelings of fondness for Melanie were not pandemic; the girl had many enemies, and they were vocal about their dislike. Christopher was not credulous enough to believe the harsh words of his classmates. He loathed them as they spat out slanders about his perfect Melanie.

   As Christopher listened, he realized that he could no longer bear to hear people adulterate Melanie’s good name. These cretins were not even good enough to utter sweet “Melanie,” let alone link that sacred name with anything less than perfection! The bile in Christopher’s stomach built up, his chest tightened, and in a moment of catharsis, he thrust his fist into the nearest naysayer. Christopher proceeded to topple desks, shove four more classmates, scream incoherently, and generally throw the biggest tantrum the campus had ever seen.

   The boy who had been punched, one of the football team’s linebackers, tackled Christopher, while two other fellows from the class physically restrained him until the administration could be called. Following some heavy sedation, Christopher was shuffled into the administration building in order to see the dean. So began the long process of moving from one office of the campus’ bureaucracy to another. Each official Christopher met with asked him why he had done what he had done, and wrestled with how to punish the young man. He looked miserable, and asked for a trash can to vomit into on more than one occasion. The only thing he could say was “Melanie” before turning weakly and heaving dryly.  

   When Melanie was found, the dean brought her to Christopher. She barely recognized him. However, when she was told the entire story, her eyes grew misty.

   “You assaulted a linebacker for me?” she said, eyes full of adoration.

   In Christopher's mind, it had all been worth it for that one precious glance.

(All stories are copyrighted to the Collaborative Learning Center and are not available for redistribution without explicit conset. For more information please e-mail PapeD@ripon.edu. The 100 Words Projcet is property of the Collaborative Learning Center, Ripon College, Ripon WI. All rights reserved.)