“The Pencil”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: Write a story titled “The Pencil”.

The pencil haunted me. It refused to leave my side. I guess most people would be happy to have a pencil that they couldn’t lose, but this one was cursed. Don’t believe me? Well, just wait. I’ll tell you all about it.

I got the pencil at a birthday party in first grade. It was one of those pencils with the plastic wrap around it, you know the ones that are impossible to sharpen because the plastic gets all caught up in the sharpener? Yeah, one of those. The party was close to Valentine’s day, so the pencil had pictures of little cupids all over it.

Honestly, I just threw away the party favour bag when I first got it. There wasn’t anything interesting in it, other than little pieces of chocolate. I ate those of course—couldn’t let them go to waste—but the rest was just garbage.

Somehow, a week after the party, the pencil reappeared. It was just sitting there, on my desk, magically sharpened. I asked my parents if they had taken it out of the garbage for me, but they both denied it. So, I tried throwing away the pencil again.

The next day, it was back. And, just to top it all off, all the little cupids had turned their pleasant smiley faces into big ugly frowns. I was positive that they were out to get me.

I knew I had to go to extreme measures. I went out to the backyard and buried it.

Okay, listen, I was in first grade at the time. I thought that burying something in the backyard meant that it was never to be found again, probably because whenever the dog went and buried something, we could never find it again.

But, of course, the next morning, there it was, sitting on my desk. Dirt stains covered the entire pencil, but I swear the eyes on the cupids were glowing. I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified in my life before.

From that day on, the pencil has never left my side. I’ve long since given up trying to get rid of it. I’ve never actually used it, but I do take it out every once in a while to make sure that the cupids haven’t regained their creepy glowing eyes; it seems as though if I keep in near me, the pencil stays happy and maintains the pleasant, happy, loving cupids.

Now, over twenty-five years later, the pencil still lives in my work briefcase. It comes with me to work every day before returning home. I’ve tried to call it my lucky pencil, but if I’m being honest, it’s done nothing but bring me bad luck. My job is the worst, I have absolutely no social connections outside of my roommate, and just last week, my car broke down and I can’t afford to buy a new one.

So there, are you convinced? Do you believe that my pencil is cursed? Because I certainly do.

Final Comments: I actually had a really fun time writing this one. The plot flowed surprisingly easily, though I wish I had included more description of the pencil’s appearance.

Overall Rating: 🙂