Fungus Face

Written by Himeko Szeto

Edited by Adrian Mak

“WOAH!”

Exclaimed the girl.

With Chris’ table being swarmed by almost the entire class, it is hard to differentiate between everyone. However, this is merely a typical day for Chris- where he is loved and praised equally by all.

“Perfect score again? How do you manage it every time, Chris?” A boy asked.

“I heard even Evan from the neighbouring class lost a few marks here and there.” Another boy whispered.

“If only you lot would spend less time fawning over me, and more time revising. Maybe you could be half as good as I am.” Chris Faroh grinned with pride and scoffed as he ran his hand through his luscious honey-brown hair.

After school, Chris entered his home with his backpack slung over his shoulder as he yelled out to his mom to signify he’s home. Whilst walking up the stairs he felt an itching sensation on the lower right side of his jaw. Thinking it was nothing, he scratched the area and continued to walk up the stairs, and throws his backpack across the bedroom floor as he slammed the door shut and plopped right onto bed… Before realising he’d forgotten to take his medication. Chris’ eyes widened as he jumped right up, ran to the bathroom and scoured through his drawers for his meds- but what he didn’t realise then is something that will change everything. Now, this medication wasn’t just any ordinary medication- It was Chris’ secret to success. Of course, alongside his own hard work and personal luck!

The next morning, Chris woke up to his unsettling and ear-wrenching alarm (as usual). Chris pecks his mom’s cheek (as usual), before leaving for school (as usual).

In class 6A’s homeroom, Chris laid his ipad onto his desk and just as he was getting ready to revise for the upcoming exam, a classmate yelled out:

“WOAH! What’s that on your face?”

And another yelled out:

“Is that a zit? I have some pimple cream!”

Before long, Chris’ table was surrounded by his fellow classmates. As a result, Chris frantically searched his bag for a mirror and saw the red bump on his jaw with a white, tender, round tip sticking out. Suddenly, it all made sense as he recalled the label at the back of the bottle of meds he’d been taking to score well on his tests, and was reminded that fungus growing on the body was part of the side effects.

Still sweating and breathing profusely, Chris and his girlfriend were on a study date after school at Chris’ home. Their fingers intertwined, his girlfriend seemed to not have noticed a thing. Instead, it is almost as if nothing is out of the ordinary as they stay concentrated on their revision and flirted from time to time.

Time flew by, and his girlfriend needed to leave.

“Bye, Mrs Faroh.” His girlfriend put on her shoes as she bid his mother farewell.

“You have a nice evening dear,” Mrs Faroh hugged her son’s girlfriend as she handed a bag of snow-white amanita phalloides over to her. “all handpicked from our hometown.”

In shock, Chris snatched the bag from his mother as he flipped the bag over, causing it to snow all over the wooden floorboards. Before he looked up at the confused pair and looked back at the floor to find pink-red strawberries.

Miss Faroh hinted at and tapped Chris’ girlfriend's shoulder, she proceeded to leave the house.

“Now, Chris,” Mrs Faroh asked “Is there anything at all you’d like to tell me?”

“I’m fine, mom.” Chris avoided eye contact with his mom as he tried to walk up the stairs, away from his mother.

“Chris.”

Chris picked up his pace, and ascended the stairs- as he continued to ignore Mrs Faroh.

“CHRIS,” Mrs Faroh roared, as she dashed up the steps and grabbed her son by the wrist. Looking down at Chris, dead in the eye she continued to berate her son. “don’t you ignore me. I am already unhappy with your recent performance in school! Oh, the humiliation when the principal informed me that you are currently holding an arts club?”

Chris kept his head down and remained silent as his mother rambled on and on about how important it was to stay focused on the sciences as college applications were approaching.

“Choosing your dreams over your mother, you are just like your father-”

“Don’t you compare the dead deadbeat to me.” Chris snapped and shook Mrs Faroh’s hand off of him, “at least from what I remember, he’s always treated me better than you ever have.”

Realising the gravity of what had just come out of his mouth, Chris averted his gaze from his weeping mother who’s beating her chest and runs up to his bedroom and locked the door. Chris throws himself onto his bed and hid under the covers, slammed his eyes shut and prayed to those above this is all a mere dream.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. The alarm seems to go off just a second later. He checked the mirror and another two started growing on his face, while the one from yesterday only seems to be getting larger.

Today, Chris was at school with a facemask. He looked left and right with evergrowing paranoia before his eyes were masked with a pair of hands and all he could see and feel and hear were the white darkness. What followed was Chris falling onto the cold hard ground and air rushing in and escaping through his tightening and already narrow nostrils. His face turns snow pale, and all that was in his mind was static nothingness.

"Woah…” Chris’ friend put his arms in the air as he himself was surprised by how strongly his friend reacted to his nickel-and-dime joke.

Chris picked himself up from the floor, though such guilt Chris’ friend was feeling was swiftly succumbed by curiosity.

“What’s with the facemask,” His friend pulled it down to reveal the fungus infested face he had. Afraid, his friend tripped on his own foot and started crying. “Monster, MONSTER!”

Soon the whole school had got their eyes on Chris.

At last, back at Chris’ home he worked up the courage and warily threw the bottle of medication into the bin. Chris stared at the bin for what seemed to like an eternity before he let himself slide down the cupboards below the sink and tears overflowed his face as the water did above him. Chris bawled and bawled as even the slightest of air entering his lungs hurt- he prayed that the fungus will disappear by tomorrow morning.

With the news being spread as quickly as the fungus did on Chris’ face, everyone in school started turning against him. The boy who was once known as the genius is now known as the fungal freak at school. As the butt of the joke, Chris would be bullied by his peers with physical torment and have names thrown at him. Just as Chris thought things couldn’t get any worse, worse did eventually happen.

Under the bleachers, Chris’ girlfriend sweeped her hair away from her face. She was no ordinary girl, she was probably what aphrodite would look like if she ever visited the tainted grounds of earth. Raven-black hair, porcelain skin, rosy flushed cheeks, a dainty, perky nose, mauve plump lips… People always say eyes are the windows to one’s soul, if that was the case it must be that hers were always closed. It was as if behind her deep blue eyes she hides the darkest secrets. Chris’ girlfriend was a mystery.

“So… What did you call me out here for?” Chris walked out from the school building and tucked his flashcards away into the pockets of his grey hoodie.

“I am breaking up with you,” Jennifer said, callously as she searched her bag for the handmade bracelet Chris had put on her desk earlier in the day and put it in the centre of Chris’ palm, “Stop doing stuff like this, please. I find it irritating.”

Chris watched as Jennifer walked away arm in arm with Evan who had been standing nearby. Evan adjusted the position of his glasses as he smirked at Chris demeaningly. Chris’s left hand formed a fist, while his right clutched hard and deep onto his flashcards in his pocket. he threw them onto the ground and stomped on it as he screamed, at the top of his lungs, unintelligibly. Eventually, he experienced the same ringing as the other day and passed out under the bleachers, away from sunlight on the snow-covered grounds.

Surprisingly, Chris still managed to remain as one of the top students in his grade… though the day after the after his breakup Chris dropped out without warning, and he was never seen again. Before long, Chris became irrelevant. Although his artpieces were still showcased around school, everybody forgot Chris was the straight A genius, the artist, instead he was remembered as “The Fungus Face”.

-end