The Poison Aroma

• Justin Farrawell, Grade 11, Kempsey Adventist School
• Short Story
• 2015

Excellence Award in the 'Read Write Repeat 2015' competition

The poison aroma seeped out of every pore in her body. Poised to strike me with tremendous force, it wafted my general direction, ready to pierce the veil of my navel cavity. The stench burned. It felt like heavy daggers being plunged deep up my nose, an unbearable aroma that only she could wear. The stinging feeling kicks in, pungent and plentiful, it slithers past my sensory nerves and signals my brain that it now resides within my system. The aroma of a dragon. She slowly moved towards me, her eyes wide with anger, beading down on me. Claws ready to pounce, she could feel my fear rising. She thrives for it, she lives of its malicious energy. I fidget uncontrollably, trying to hide the object that she was seeking from me. I sweat furiously, struggling to keep a hold of it in my clammy hands. She’s seen it, I can feel her eyes penetrating the protective barrier of my poker face, seeing past the deceit and combing for the truth. From her once slow docile state, she begins barreling down on my position at a pythons pace. She has definitely seen it. Screeching to a holt beside my timeworn wooden desk, she reaches her hand out forcefully. Her eyes tell me her thoughts “Jones, NOW!” I struggle to make eye contact, her perfume wounds my tear ducts and cons them into weeping. She stares, her beady eyes forcing it’s way into my soul and pulling out my ability to control my already stunned movement. Without hesitation, I plunge my hand towards her. She Smirks. She knows she has me. She seizes my hand and opens it. Revealing the concealed yellow note that I had been hiding. Grabbing it, she proceeds to unravel it leisurely, giving the class plenty of time to tune in to the entertaining gossip that was about to bless their ears. I gaze at her with eyes of pure dread. My heart skips constantly. She stares back and opens her cherry red, tarnished lips and utters a single, evil word; “gotcha”