Rumor Has It...

Prompt: Write a COMEDY STORY about gossip that gets out of hand, and begins with this line:
"A little gossip goes a long way."

Word Count: 1003

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A little gossip goes a long way and for poor Marcia Crumb, this saying couldn’t be any truer. You see, Marcia was a quiet, unassuming young woman who attended Libertyville High school. She could walk down the hallways and you wouldn’t even notice…unless you bumped into her or were forced to recognize her whenever the teacher asked for help in the classroom. She wasn’t as beautiful as the other more popular girls in the school, but when she smiled, she could light up the room – if she was ever given the chance to smile that is.

Marcia didn’t really have a lot of friends. Sure, she spoke to a few girls in class but they were acquaintances and nothing more. She went home alone each day, sighing and wondering if she’d ever become popular like the others. She hated how stringy her brown hair looked and thought her eyes were too wide and that her nose could look a little bit more cute and—

Whoa!

She ducked behind a tree and rubbed her eyes quickly, unable to believe what she was seeing. Standing a few feet from her was the most popular boy in school - Alex Dumell - and an older woman! Marcia couldn’t really see her features from here, but with that long red hair, she had no doubt he was making out with Mrs. Minton – the Chemistry teacher!

What a scoop! Oh, if only she had a close friend to share the news with!

“You look like you’re about ready to burst with something,” Amanda Brynes said the next morning as she opened her locker beside Marcia’s. “What’s up?”

Amanda was one of those acquaintances mind you, but Marcia just had to tell someone. She leaned closer to whisper. “Don’t tell anyone this, okay? But I think I saw Alex Dumell making out with an older woman last night.”

Amanda’s eyes widened as she slammed her locker shut. “Get out!” she screamed and quickly lowered her voice. “For real?!”

Marcia, now pleased to see she had someone’s full attention, got ready to launch into the whole story when the bell rang for their next class. “I’ll tell you the rest later,” she cried.

But oh how things got twisted so quickly. Amanda, who couldn’t keep her mouth shut for anything, whispered to her best friend, Clarissa, during Math class. “Guess what? Alex Dumell is dating another woman!”

“What?” Clarissa asked in shock. “But I thought he was dating Lindsay! Oh, she’s gonna flip!”

“Just don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Sure thing.”

But Clarissa was a member of the school’s band, and during practice, she just had to tell Barbara Winters, her other best friend.

“Did you hear that Alex Dumell is dating another girl in this school?”

Barbara’s eyes widened. “Shut up! Who?!”

“I don’t know, but I think it’s that Marcia girl. She told Amanda that they made out last night or something.”

“Marcia? Who’s Marcia?”

“Oh, she’s that girl who’s in class that doesn’t talk much. The one with the brown hair. But just don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

However, during lunch period, Barbara – who was doing her best to get into Amy Lee’s clique – found herself spilling the beans to her enraptured audience.

“…so it’s like Alex and this Marcia girl are now dating and they were making out in public last night and almost got caught by the cops.”

“No way!” came the cries of disbelief and yet glee from the girls who all hated Lindsay Martin. She was the perfect cheerleader and having Alex for a boyfriend was just too much. It would be nice to see Miss Perfect crumble at this news.

“But you’ve got to promise not to tell anyone,” Barbara whispered, and of course the group of five girls nodded in response, swearing not to tell a soul.

Now poor Marcia Crumb, at this time, was beginning to wonder why everyone was staring at her as she walked down the hallways. She quickened her steps as the curious eyes kept following her and as she got to her locker, she was suddenly accosted by two girls she had never spoken to in her life.

“So, is it true?” one of them asked.

“Is what true?” Marcia asked in mild panic.

“Oh, don’t be such a tease!” the other girl squealed and giggled. “That you and Alex Dumell were necking in Lover’s Cove last night and he got to feel you up and that he wears polka-dotted boxers?”

“Hu…huh?”

“Oooh, so it is true then!” The girls screamed in delight and ran off, leaving Marcia even more confused than ever. How had this happened? Where did this rumor come from? Who would spread such a story about her when…?

“Eeek!” She slapped a hand over her mouth as it finally dawned on her. Amanda must have blabbed to the others and now, somehow along the way, the original story was lost and she was now the main character in it.

She contemplated running to Mexico, at least no one would be able to see her—

“Hey, you.”

She spun around quickly, her breath catching in her throat as she met the amused black eyes of none other than Alex Dumell. She flushed to the roots of her hair and held her books before her like a shield.

“I didn’t do it!” she said quickly, as she watched him lean closer. “I didn’t say anything like that! They spread the rumor! They said…!”

“Black boxers, not polka-dotted ones,” he whispered before chuckling softly and walking away.

Marcia, who finally managed to breathe, once he was out of sight, sank to a bench and tried to stop herself from grinning like a fool. Alex Dumell had spoken to her. The Alex Dumell had actually stopped to say a few words to her!

She sighed in content and daydreamed of him, now thinking that perhaps a little gossip wasn’t such a bad thing after all.