The Politics of Being Eddie Munson

Chapter Six: The Perks Of Failing English Lit

"Oh, what a glorious morning." Jeff practically sang as he sunk into his seat in Mrs. Mayweather's class.

"What's up your happy ass?" Eddie rolled his eyes while watching his friend take out his composition notebook and essay. It was due today- Friday.

"I wrote an amazing essay. I'm ready for my A+." The boy grinned as he swayed from side to side like a happy little kid. Eddie felt proud of his friend but, at the same time, felt sour. He knew he wasn't going to get an A on his paper. He just wasn't.

"I think I'm going to get a solid B." Gareth chimed in as he flipped through his essay.

"I'm getting an F." Eddie glared at his one-sided essay. He was never good with words unless they were lyrics to one of his songs- but songs were different from English Lit, right?

"You aren't getting an F, Eddie." Jeff rolled his eyes.

"I have one paper." Eddie deadpanned. "You and Gareth have several."

"Yeah, but yours is front and back, at least." Gareth smiled, but that faded once he flipped Eddie's paper. "Oh."

"Yeah- oh. I'm screwed!" Eddie put his head down on his desk, nose scrunched up against the cool wood.

"I told you I could have helped you." Jeff softly spoke.

"I wanted to succeed on my own, Jeff. If I'm going to graduate, I want to do it right. I don't want to cheat. No one gets anywhere in life by cheating." He spoke into his desk as he thought back to his fight with Vecna. He didn't run like he wanted to. He fought back and killed the ugly son of a bitch. Eddie had scars all over his abdomen to prove it. The metalhead wished to have the same energy with his school work. He wanted to pass. He's been stuck in the cycle of his senior year for so long now. He was tired.

"I get that." Jeff nodded. "It's very noble of you."

"Noble sh-noble." Gareth rolled his eyes. "Have Jeff help you, Ed. I know you want to do it independently, but everyone occasionally needs help."

Eddie turned his head to look at Gareth through all the curls sprawled on his desk. "I want this for myself, Gar."

"Alright, fine." Gareth mock surrendered with his hands in the air. "At least get your head off the desk and do the morning prompt on the board."

Eddie sat up and looked to the board with a squint- no, he didn't need glasses. "What's your favorite thing to do in your pass time?" Eddie whispered to himself. The two things flying into his head were playing guitar and working at Family Video with Steve. He couldn't possibly write about Steve- couldn't he? He tossed it around his mind for a moment before nodding to himself. He opened his notebook and wrote the date at the top corner of the page- May 9, 1986.

Eddie didn't know what writing demon possessed him, but the minute his pencil hit the paper, he couldn't stop writing. He wrote a total of five pages. The words weren't nonsense either. He wrote his feelings out. Something he didn't think was possible for him. It almost came out like a song- now that he's sat back in his chair rereading it. He, of course, didn't put Steve's name anywhere on the paper. He used gender-neutral terms when describing his crush.

When Mrs. Mayweather asked for all the notebooks to be passed up, Eddie was almost proud of himself. His feelings burst when he got his composition book back at the end of the period. He had gotten an A+. This was his first A+, let alone an A in general. Of course, the topic of Steve would cause him to get such a high grade.

"Holy shit, Eddie-" Jeff laughed as he peered at the metalhead's book. "-what the hell did you write about?"

"Can I say it's personal?" Eddie sheepishly asked.