I’ve entered the Purple Pumpkin Writing Competition. The hardest part about it was keeping my submission below 600 words… So I first wrote it, and then delete, delete, deleted more than half of it. It goes to show that we can get a point across with fewer words. Well here it is, enjoy!
The Pumpkin Girl
by
Angelika Schwarz
It was the first high school reunion that she had ever attended. Lisa entered the decorated gym. Many of the alumni glanced her way, but no one greeted her. At the refreshment stand, she poured herself a drink.
An obese bald guy approached her, and stared at her name tag. “Lisa Campbell? Why don’t I know you?”
“I know you”, Lisa said, eyeing the man over her drink. “You were on the football team, right? Tod Baker.”
“Were you a cheerleader?”
“Well, sort of. I was the girl who dressed up as a pumpkin for the Halloween football games.”
“You got to be kidding me! What a waste of a beautiful girl.”
“Well looks like the table has turned.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Now you look like a pumpkin, and you don’t even need a costume. “
“That’s not very nice.” Tod scowled and stepped back.
“I know. You and your high school buddies weren’t nice to me either.” Lisa said, brushing her glossy black hair over her shoulder.
“So what are you going to do about it? Seek revenge?”
“Revenge? No, that’s too simple.”
Suddenly the lights dimmed. A cinema screen was pulled down from the ceiling. Lisa pushed her way through the crowd to the stage. 
“Music please”, she called. She grabbed a microphone and began to sing low and sexy, “You are so beautiful to me…” As she sung, the class photos of 1999 appeared in pale colors upon the screen. But the students weren’t identifiable, for large pumpkins covered each face. The camera zoomed in, focusing on the names. Lastly, Lisa presented a snapshot of herself ─ fat, crying, and alone.
She stopped singing.
A drumroll filled the room, while on the screen, the pumpkin heads slowly rolled off the teenagers’ shoulders, revealing how each student’s face had aged in a most unsightly way.
Lisa looked around the room. “Most of you have teenagers at home,” she said. “Tell your kids to treat their classmates with respect. Tell them they never really know who they’re messing with ─ or what that person may become. Tell them about me; I’m Lisa ─ better known as the Pumpkin Girl.”
Her eyes narrowed. “If your child should be a victim of mobbing, tell him or her never to give up! Hard work pays off and helps wounds heal faster!” The beautiful woman gesticulated toward the screen. “Your own pumpkin heads have just been removed! You’re now free of the spells that I’ve been casting over you throughout the years!”
A high pitched laugh resounded from Lisa’s ruby red lips. From the shadows, a tall man appeared
and guided her out through the school’s portals and into a dark stretch-limousine.
Through the glass doors, the dumbfounded class, of 1999, watched as the vehicle vanished, like a shooting star, into the yellow moon light.
Warily, the former classmates touched their own faces, while they observed, in astonishment, one another’s metamorphosis as their faces slowly smoothed, their wide downward grimaces transformed to shy smiles, eye balls lost the yellow shimmer, and the frightening orange blotches faded, revealing a youthful new freshness. But most of all a gentle and genuine kindness filled their hearts, which spread in a magical aura around the class of 1999.
THE END…
Copyright © 2015
All Rights Reserved for the author, Angelika Schwarz
Share this:
Write2Camp in Europe 
October 13, 2015 at 1:35 pm
Wow! This was a spooky story, which left me wanting more…well done!
LikeLike
October 13, 2015 at 2:06 pm
What a boo-tiful comment. Thank you Sharon. 🙂 The assignment was to write something with the word pumpkin in it. I guess I covered that part.
LikeLike
October 13, 2015 at 9:13 pm
Oh my goodness. I could not read fast enough to see what happens at the end. Beautifully written. What an amazing writer you are. Loved it.
LikeLike
October 14, 2015 at 1:02 am
Thank you Dee. It was fun to write, although I think the longer version was better… but I had to follow the rules. 🙂
LikeLike
October 16, 2015 at 1:37 am
You are amazing, Angelika! You’ve written a story of revenge with a moral and a happy ending. That’s quite a feat. Word limits on writing challenges are a definite drag.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 16, 2015 at 9:24 am
Thank you so much Debbie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 18, 2015 at 4:43 am
A gorgeous story with so much said in so few words. Sometimes word limits can bring out the best 🙂
LikeLike
October 18, 2015 at 9:16 am
I think you’re right Chantelle. “So much said in a few words” can make the story move at a faster pace. It was a good excercise. Have a lovely Sunday.
LikeLike