U-N-F-A-I-T-H-F-U-L

Aaron raised his hand. “Yes, Aaron,” Mrs. Henderson said through her teeth and then smiled as she called on Aaron, one of her students.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Well it looks like your picture of Mr. Henderson must’ve fell off your desk . It’s got a crack in it.”

“Well, accidents do happen. Let’s continue our class spelling bee… Shall we?” Mrs. Henderson moved from behind her desk and stood in front of the whiteboard.

“Now, Billy spell the word ‘Cheating’.”

“C-H-E… A-T-I-N-G” Billy grinned.

“That’s right. Very good for a boy.”

Billy felt uncomfortable under the piercing gaze of Mrs. Henderson all of a sudden.

“Sally. Spell Purple Panties.”

A few boys snickered. Sally stood and looked quizzically at Mrs. Henderson. “Isn’t that two words?” She blinked up at her.

“Oh, well yes it is…Sorry, my mistake.” Mrs. Henderson’s eyes became mere slits as she looked at the floor, then back at Sally. “Let’s just spell the word ‘Purple’.”

“Ooooh. My favorite color! P-U-R-P-L-E.”

“Excellent. You’re so innocent and sweet, Sally. Never let any boy take advantage of that. Always keep your eyes open.”

“I’m only nine,” Sally stated, “My mom says I’m not allowed to date until fourteen.”

“Good for her. That’s a wonderful idea. It should be thirty or,” Mrs. Henderson glanced at the cracked photo on her desk, "… never. Now, Stacey spell ‘garbage’”

“That’s hard. Can you give the first letter?”

“That would be G. Same as the first letter of my husband’s name – Gene.”

“Ok. G-A-R—E”
“No. No. G-A-R-B… Continue.”
“G-A-R-B-A-G-E. Garbage.”

The bell rang as the children lined up at the door to go to lunch. They chattered about the spelling bee.

Mrs. Henderson went home early that day. No one knew exactly why.

297 Words
Flash Story Must contain: Cheating, Purple, Garbage