Guess I'll Go Eat Worms

Written by: Twizzler0171

My name is Ezzy. Actually, it's Ezmerelda, but only my parents and teachers are allowed to call me that. I had something rather odd happen to me recently—I met a worm. But not just any worm, one that could talk to me. I've decided that I should tell you this story, because...well, I'll let you decide that on your own. I believe it will start off rather odd if I just began telling you of my experiences with Jeffrey, so I think I shall begin by telling you how I came to meet him. I don't have much time to explain things, so I may have to tell you what happened after I met him next time we meet.

When I met him, I thought Jeffrey was a fairly normal earthworm. His favorite food was fresh earth just after it had rained, he didn't like the sun, and he was a rather long worm—just short of six inches long. Of course, like all earthworms, he had a secret.

He loved to act.

You see, worms are not actually the boring, slimy fish bait we usually think of. Well, they are slimy for some people, and for others they are fish bait; and I suppose that for young children they are rather amusing. So, whatever you currently think of worms, they aren't just that.

All worms are excellent actors, able to seem like something they are not. Worms love to party, you see—there is nothing they enjoy more than to get together with all the other creepy crawlies to have a great time, and then go out and make all the other creatures think that they are rather, er...unintelligent.

But not poor Jeffrey; he didn't like to party. The millipedes with their millions of legs made him nervous and he was far too young to get the freshest drops of morning dew at the party. Instead, Jeffrey liked to curl up in front of the muddy place and read bug classics, such as A Tale of Two Honeybees by Charlie Beekins. Reading made a lot more sense than partying to him; unfortunately, it often got him into trouble at school.

Jeffrey's troubles first began when he was caught reading during drama class. His teacher, Mr. Dazzen Worm (who also happened to be Jeffrey's uncle) had to slap his ruler on Jeffrey's desk to make him pay attention. The ruler hit the desk with such force that it snapped in two. Frustrated, Mr. Worm dismissed the giggling class and ordered Jeffrey to come with him to the principal's office.

Jeffrey sat on the bench outside of the office, swinging his tail back and forth while waiting for Mr. Worm to finish speaking to the principal. All he could think of was how much he disliked the principal, who just happened to be a centipede: those were nearly as unnerving as the millipedes to him.

So, he was quite startled when the door in front of him (not the one into the principal's office, but the one into the room he was in) opened and his mother walked in.

"Jeffrey Worm," his mother chided. "I was working! Why must you misbehave, Jeffrey? Don't you want me to work enough to bring enough food home for us to eat?"

"I'm sorry, Mother," was Jeffrey's mumbled reply. He looked over at the principal's door, which was now beginning to open. Mr. Worm stuck his head through the door.

"Good day, Sadie. I am sorry to bother you—you were working late today, I understand? Anyway, both of you may enter the office now—Principal Celton is ready to speak with you," Mr. Worm said, nodding his greeting to Jeffrey's mother. The three worms wriggled their way into the office.

Principal Celton was a no-nonsense centipede, and as soon as everyone had gotten themselves settled he immediately began discussing his troubles. "Mrs. Worm, your son Jeffrey has been acting rather peculiar in his drama class recently. Mr. Worm as explained to me that he is constantly reading such books as A Tale of Two Honeybees in his class. Not only that, but he has been acting the scenes out and not acting as a well brought-up worm should!

"I apologize, Mrs. Worm—I am not saying you have brought your son up incorrectly; after all, there is a Black Widow in every family. But if your son's behavior is not corrected as soon as possible, he shall fail the class, and will be unable to graduate," he finished.

Jeffrey's mother gasped, her reddish-purple skin growing pink. "Thank you, Principal Celton. I shall make sure to tell my husband this when he comes home; I am sure we will be able to figure out something. Dazzen, do you think you could come by? Perhaps we can make some sort of agreement."

"Certainly, Sadie," the drama teacher responded. "I can come right now, in fact. I'll walk both of you home."

The journey home was a silent one, but as soon as Jeffrey closed the door to his room he heard his mother and uncle begin speaking to each other. He couldn't understand the words being spoken, but he knew they were about him. He sighed as he sat on his mud bed, feeling rather sad and discouraged.

A rap on his window caught the worm's attention; he grinned as he looked through and saw his friends. He quickly opened the window, eagerly listening to what they had been telling him.

"Jeffrey, Jeffrey was a worm

Never acted like he should

He never goes to parties, never acts to norm

'Gonna fail drama class like we knew he would!"

As they started their chant once again, Jeffrey closed his window and turned away. Tears began forming in his eyes. Silently, he began putting all his things into his backpack.

"No one likes me," he thought. "So, they won't realize I'm gone. At least, not for a few days, so I'll run away for awhile, and find some new friends, ones that won't make fun of my interests or how I act."

As quietly as he could, Jeffrey sneaked out of his house. Glancing back only once, he wriggled away as fast as he could.