convincing lie. All he cared about now was winning Maddie and making a fool of every jock who ever dared to call him Clayface.
Clayton strode inside the school gym and was greeted by loud, obnoxious Top 40 music. The interior of the gym looked altogether foreign to Clayton. It was lit like a nightclub complete with a spinning disco ball, which reflected a myriad of colorful spots around the crowd of dancing teenagers. A fog machine in one corner puffed dense clouds above the ground, creating an ethereal atmosphere on the dance floor. Several students congregated around a concession table, looking awkward as they worked up the courage to dance or not. The jocks and cheerleaders didn't have that problem though. Many of them danced in groups when a party song came on, shoving aside anyone outside of their social circle. They dominated the dance floor causing Clayton's insides to churn when he saw Blaine was at the center of it all.
Clayton stalked the perimeter of the gym, searching for Maddie who was thankfully absent from Blaine's side. Many students reacted to his new appearance with widened eyes and gaping mouths as he weaved through the dancing throng. He relished their attentive stares and hushed whispering.
He finally spotted Maddie standing behind a colorful arch made entirely of balloons. She wore a strapless blue dress that shimmered in the scant light. Maddie lifted a glass of punch to her lips and looked completely bored as she sipped the red liquid.
"Hey, are you having a good time?" Clayton asked, moving furtively beside her.
"What?" Maddie jumped and turn to face him. "You scared me!"
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay," she said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind an ear. Maddie's eyes widened when she finally looked at his face. "Clayton? Is that you?"
Clayton smiled and nodded.
"You look--"
"Incredible?"
Maddie laughed, covering her mouth. "How did you lose so much weight so fast?"
"It's a new diet I'm on."
"Well, it's pretty awesome!" Maddie grinned. Her eyes moved from his face to his toes and back up again.
Clayton took a deep breath and stared into her eyes, taking in their deep ocean blue color. A lump formed in his throat as he gathered the courage to ask the question he'd waited months to ask.
"Clayton, are you all right?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, Maddie. Will you...dance with me?" Clayton bit his lower lip. He wanted to ask her out, but fear prevented him.
Maddie offered a sideways smile. "I’d love to."
She likes me.
A wave of euphoria rushed through him. Three months of work had paid off. He couldn't stop himself from asking the real question on his mind.
"Actually, that's not what I wanted to ask you."
Maddie furrowed a brow. "What were you going to ask?"
"Maddie, would you go out with me? I know we haven't talked in a long time or hung out for years, but I've always liked you. You're beautiful and smart and funny," Clayton paused then sighed. "So what do you think?"
"Clayton, that's really sweet," Maddie said, still smiling. "Why don’t we start with a dance and—"
"Hey, Clayface! What are you doing with my date?" Blaine's voice cut the air like a boat horn.
Clayton's cheeks became hot as he turned to face the king of the jocks. Blaine approached with his entourage in tow, sipping punch from his glass. He nearly spit it out when he got a good look at Clayton.
"Whoa! Did you get plastic surgery, Clayface?" Blaine chuckled. The rest of his friends giggled on cue.
"No. I worked out and shed the weight, Blaine."
"Yeah, right—in a week? Nah, I bet your Mom is loaded. She didn't want to see her poor lil' Clayface get picked on at school," he taunted. "You'll always be a freak, no matter how much work you get done."
The whole group burst into laughter like a rabid pack of hyenas. Blaine flashed a goofy grin then took another swig of his punch. Clayton pushed the bottom of the glass into Blaine's face causing the red liquid to spill over his mouth and stain his white dress shirt. Blaine choked and sputtered before realizing what had happened. His eyes turned fierce and he lunged at Clayton, but stopped abruptly. Clayton moved two steps to the right, stuck his foot out, and clicked the crown on his watch. Blaine reached out at nothing and tripped on his outstretched foot, falling hard into the ground next to Maddie.
Clayton braced himself for the next attack once Blaine stood up and inched closer to him.
"Stop it, Blaine!" Maddie yelled, shoving him aside. “I’m going to dance with Clayton, so just get lost!”
Blaine’s brow knotted and his mouth fell open, unable to speak. His entourage and the crowd forming around them also watched in stunned silence. Clayton suppressed a laugh, opting to smile broadly at Blaine instead.
"Let’s have that dance,” Maddie said, grabbing Clayton’s hand.
They turned toward the dance floor, holding hands and smiling at each other. The moment was short-lived.
“You’re nothing but a fake, Clayface. You’ll always be a loser because you’re a fat, ugly kid posing as something you’re not,” Blaine yelled.
“Ignore him,” Maddie said, squeezing Clayton’s hand.
Clayton smiled at her and stopped walking. “This will only take a second.”
He released her hand and stopped time. Blaine’s eyebrows were pulled together in a glare when Clayton walked confidently up to him. Clayton reared back his left arm and smashed his fist into Blaine’s face. Blood gushed down Blaine’s nose, but he did not cry out nor move.
“Let’s see how you like it,” Clayton said.
His right hand moved to click the watch, but he only felt bare skin. His heart froze for a moment before he frantically searched the ground around him. The polished gym floor reflected the crazed look of desperation on his face as he crawled around the feet of lifeless students. Granddad's warning echoed in his mind. Don't let time slip by and don't think you can control it. Did this happen to Granddad? Was this why he kept the watch hidden? Clayton pushed the questions out of his mind, continuing to search the area surrounding Blaine.
A glimmer of silver behind Maddie's foot caught his eye. He dove toward the spot and picked up the watch, clutching it to his chest. The watch band had come loose again. He popped the spring of the band back onto the watch, but noticed something else was wrong. The glass on the watch face was shattered and the minute hand had broken off. Clayton's neck muscles tensed when he pushed down the crown and the world remained frozen.
"Come on, come on—please!" Clayton cried. He jammed the crown several times, but nothing happened.
The blank stares of his peers watched him quietly as he broke down and wept on the floor. He gazed up at Maddie, whose face wore an eternal frown. She was so beautiful, so lovely. She wanted to dance with me. He could cherish her forever now in the world he had seized—in the moment between moments.
Note from the Author
Thank you for taking the time to read this short story, I sincerely appreciate your readership and I hope you enjoyed Carpe Tempus.
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About the Author
Daniel Adorno is an author of fantasy and science fiction, who occasionally dabbles in poetry. He teaches World Geography at a private college and lives in Farmington, Minnesota with his wife and 3 year-old son.
Visit Daniel’s website at https://www.danieladorno.com.
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