The Autumn flower.

Chapter1: The best pie

The fresh fall air was heavy with the scent of pumpkins and burning leaves, and the younger students of Bullworth academy were outside with their Home ec class learning how to make pumpkin pie.

Pedro De la Hoya was hard at work, grinding fresh cinnamon and pounding dough to make the perfect pie.

The children laughed and played in the grass near the football field, and worked to make their pies worth a passing grade.

Mrs. Rumly, the new Home ec teacher, went around, taking pies out of the portable ovens and taste-testing them.

“Hmmm, Melody, you put too much cinnamon in it. It still tastes okay, but try to put a pinch or two less in there next time, or else it’ll overpower the other flavors. I’ll give you a B for your effort”.

Melody beamed at Mrs. Rumly, who smiled approvingly.

“Oh dear Sheldon, you… drew Dr. Crabblesnitch’s face on the pie”, she said, stifling her laughter. She tasted his pie. “But boy, it tastes good, A-“

Finally, she arrived at Pedro’s finished product.

It looked beautiful.

Simply breathtaking

Like it had been made by a professional in a commercial bakery.

Mrs. Rumly did not want to taste the pie.

She didn’t want to ruin it by taking anything away from it.

But she had to taste it to grade Pedro’s work.

She took her fork, and stuck it into the pie.

She felt as if she was vandalizing a priceless work of art, marring its beauty, as if spraying graffiti on the statue of liberty.

All feelings of guilt vanished when she stuck her fork in her mouth.

Never in her life, had she had a pie so delicious.

“Wow, it must be a sin to eat something that tastes this good, this boy is truly a genius” Mrs. Rumly thought.

Her taste buds were feeling an ecstasy they had never felt before, in a swirling mix of sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin, and many other flavors she couldn’t identify.

She looked at the eleven year old in amazement.

“Ohh I put too much sugar in didn’t I, or was the crust not done, I’m gonna fail aren’t I”, Pedro wailed.

“This is the single best pie any student of mine has ever produced, you pass, in fact, you’ve just gotten 110 percent for this marking period”, Mrs. Rumly said, still in awe.

“Y-you mean it wasn’t terrible, I thought for sure I had measured that butter wrong”, Pedro said, surprised at how much his teacher liked his pie.

“Not at all, I love it, in fact, I would be honored if you would make pies for us at the bake sale in two weeks”, She said.

“Me, oh no no no no no, I’m not good enough-“

“Yes you are Pedro, and I hope to see you there, I’ve never had such a delicious pie in all my life”.

“Well, if you think I’m good enough, I’ll be there”, Pedro said, though he looked unsure.

Meanwhile…

“Now, who can tell me what Halloween was originally about”, Mr. Washington, the new history teacher for the seniors asked?

Jimmy Hopkins normally didn’t care about school, but if he wanted to graduate, he needed A’s this year.

He’d made a resolution to study.

This question was cake for him.

He raised his hand.

“Ahh, James, yes can you give us the answer”?

Jimmy cleared his throat, and spoke.

“Halloween is actually short for Hallows eve, and dates back to the days of the first Christian martyrs in the second century.

It was turned into a day to remember all God’s saints by the seventh century, but nowadays, people mainly associate Halloween with evil”.

“Yes very good James, that’s correct, now-“, But Mr. Washington was cut off as the bell rang, signaling the end of afternoon classes.

They had a week long Halloween break this year and Halloween was five days away.

Jimmy was itching to pull some pranks, he couldn’t wait to be behind the old skeleton mask again.

Breaking into peoples cars and breaking stink bombs in the glove boxes was quite entertaining.

He actually made Dr. Crabblesnitch throw up last Halloween, yet his favorite holiday was starting to grow stale for him, withering like the dry leaves falling from the elm trees that littered the campus.

He wanted, no, he needed something new this year.

Something fresh and exciting, a new Halloween that would give the withered leaves some green again.

He exited the building and grabbed his red BMX.

He decided to pedal down to the football field and say hi to some of the new jocks.

He’d gotten in solid with all the kids apart from the jocks in the freshman class.

It never hurt to have more friends.

As he approached he smelled something that smelled like pumpkin pie.

He hadn’t had a fresh pumpkin pie since he was five, and damn it smelled good.

He hopped off his bike and saw Pedro holding the pie in a pie tin.

“Hey kid, mind if I have a piece”, Jimmy asked approaching Pedro.

“Take a piece sir”, he said, looking up at Jimmy with wide, admiring eyes.

Jimmy took a huge hunk and wolfed half of it down in one bite.

“Damn Pedro, did you make this yourself, it’s amazing”, Jimmy said, letting the flavors dance on his tongue.

He was in heaven.

“This is the best damn pie I’ve ever had” Jimmy said giving him a thumbs up.

Pedro positively glowed.

His hero had just complimented him.

But where to go from there?

Jimmy turned to leave but Pedro asked “Wannaseemoviewime”?

“Huh”, Jimmy asked confused?

“I was just wondering…if you wanted to catch a movie with me tomorrow”?

Jimmy considered this.

“What movie”, He asked?

Pedro was about to say “whatever you want to see”, but he didn’t want it to seem like a date.

After all, he knew Jimmy was bi- but whoever heard of a seventeen year old going out with a fourth grader?

Jimmy may’ve been bi, but Pedro was pretty sure he didn’t want to seem like a pedophile.

“Disturbia”, he said finally.

Jimmy thought for a minute.

Finally, he answered.

“Sure, tomorrow, six o’clock”, Jimmy said.

“See ya then”, Pedro said.

And with that, Jimmy pedaled away, forgetting he reason he’d gone down to the football field in the first place.

Pedro was more excited than he’d ever been in his life.

He was going to see a movie with his hero.

Well what do you think. NO FLAMES. Review.