A Man Named Simon (A Short Story)

"They say he has super-speed!" they said, "I hear he has super-hearing!" they say. The local myth that had recently come into circulation at Rolsan Middle School was about a man named Simon, who according to legend, was a student at RMS. He had perfect grades, perfect parents, perfect life. But he did not want to leave his childhood behind. Upon graduating, Simon went missing and was never seen again.

That was before Daniel Sarvanski, a lowerclassmen "friend" of Simon, spilled the beans about him saying he was in the school somewhere. That made everyone go nuts. You see, people always thought Simon had some sort of power, ever since Kyle Wallbutton "heard" he could become invisible.

"IT'S SO AMAZING! A PERSON WHO CAN TURN INVISIBLE! HE'S LIKE A SUPERHERO!" Kyle was a nerd about superpowers, so he probably fibbed about the whole 'powers' thing, but now everyone's trying to find out ALL his powers. And trust me, researching information on someone no one even knows exists or not is hard, just ask my grade on my King Tut's Curse.

One day, everyone was chatting about 'Simon this!' and 'Simon that!', and I had had enough. I wasn't a fan of the rumors of Simon, so hearing about him everyday built up some mad temper.

"ALRIGHT, ALREADY!" I yelled. "I AM GONNA FIND THIS SIMON GUY, SO YOU GUYS CAN SHUT UP ABOUT HIM!" 

Snarky Ellen Johnson, on the other side of the room, said to me, "And how do you plan to do that?"

"Well, where has everyone heard that Simon could possibly be?" I said.

One after the other, the locations were pouring in. Locker rooms, janitor closets, the list went on and on.

First, I decided to check the locker rooms. According to a friend of mine, there is a locked door in the coach's office that no one has ever seen open, so that was my target. After everyone left, I snuck into the staff room and tried to pick the lock, only to realize that the coach always forgets his list of plans for the day.

The detention room is quite the... interesting place.

Secondly, the lunch room. Courtney Brown said that the garbage chute doesn't actually go to a garbage dumpster, but the secret hideout of Simon, who eats the scraps once they come down. The Lunchlady, Miss Geralda, always left the room unattended to read her romance novels, so I slipped in around that time.

Plugging my nose, I took the plunge...

Wow, up until that moment, I never realized how good things smelt that weren't week-old pizza slices.

Finally, the janitor's closet. Now in most stories, you'd think this would be the end. I find Simon and there's a happy ending. Well, you're horribly wrong. Not only did I run into the janitor, but I got suspended for trespassing after security camera footage for my last stunt was found.

I was starting to lose hope, Simon wasn't real, and people would talk about him nonstop... forever.

                                      ...

Now, you've probably given up on the story. But it isn't over yet. That was 3 years ago. Now I'm in 9th grade, and people still, to this day, talk about Simon.

I was having lunch one day, when a man, dressed as a staff member, asked me to follow him with my lunch. At the time, I assumed I did something wrong, but the man led me all the way from the cafeteria to the locked door in the coach's office.

"What is behind this door?" I asked, hoping to get an answer. "My fortress of solitude," he said. He opened the door to reveal an arcade machine, working tv, and a couch, amongst other things. I looked around at my surroundings in awe. Messy and unorganized, just like his room, the man says, "I asked you to come because of two things."

He started up the arcade machine and starts again. "First part, I want your food." I give him my food and ask, "Second part?"

"I heard a boy, like you, named Anthony Stephens was looking for a guy named Simon," he said.

"How'd you know that?" I asked, confused.

"Because..."

"I am Simon."

That's when I met the legend that was Simon.