BENJI. (a guide to being normal)

Benji Does the Impossible

“What you going to do, loser?” Parker smacked the end of the chain against the tender part of Benji’s injured leg, making him move backwards. He did it again, laughing cruelly.

“Don’t hit him!” Kris shouted, but one of the boys slapped a hand over her mouth.

Angered, Benji moved forward to rescue her, but Parker was a step ahead of him and threw the chain around his neck and tightened it. Parker’s mates cackled and encouraged the fight like the bug-eyed hyenas from The Lion King.  Benji writhed and kicked out in pain, but Parker had the upper hand. He always did.

As Benji felt the wall meet his back with a stinging blow, he escaped into his imaginary world. Every audible sound dimmed to the quality of a record running out of batteries. The boys in front of him became disfigured images, their arms floating beside them in slow motion. Letting his eyelids drop, he envisioned himself as the hero he’d seen himself in his dreams. Was it possible for him to unmask his identity as the small town loser and reveal the battered hero? Could he do at least one thing right without disappointing anyone? Opening his eyes, Benji stared into Parker’s crazed eyes. Slowly, letting his imagination take control, Parker’s surly face crumpled and wrinkled into the face of a zombie. The seeping wounds, the sunken, glassy eyes, and the shredded gums became as clear as they were in his dreams.

Terrified, Benji managed to give a firm kick in Parker’s chest, sending the boy far back enough to loosen the chain. Feeling the compression release, Benji snatched the chain and squared his shoulder. His jaw shifted to one side and set in purpose. His feet parted, grounding himself to the concrete. The chain rattled off his shoulder and clattered to the ground. Benji snapped his head towards Kris, who had found her own strength in the battle. She bravely pushed the men off of her, retaliating to every blow with a strong slap. To Benji, all the predators looked like zombies.

Rushing into the scene, he snatched the collar of the first man who advanced him and spun him out of the way. He grabbed Kris’s hand and helped her to her feet.

“We’re surrounded,” Kris said, clutching dependently to Benji’s shoulder.

The four “zombies” approached the two, their bodies hunched and limbs swinging like pendulums by their crooked sides. Parker stepped out in front and growled so deep in his throat, a chill crawled up Benji’s spine and the ground vibrated.

Taking Kris’s hand in his, he gave her a confirming squeeze of the hand before releasing it. He knew she trusted her, for she did not reach out for his hand. Keeping his eyes on the attackers, he knelt down and blindly stuck his hand in Kris’s handbag. When he had found the object he wanted, he concealed it behind his back. He heard Parker bark at him and the sound of the chain striking the concrete made him jump, but he couldn’t let the fear hinder his plan. Glancing around his surroundings, he spotted a spray paint can beside his feet. How convenient. He knocked it gently with his toe and felt the weight of it as it rolled against his foot. It was at least half-full.

“They’re getting madder, Benji,” Kris’s voice echoed.

Inhaling deeply, Benji snatched the spray paint can, clicked the top off and braced himself for the result. “Hello, boys,” he began fiercely. In his mind, the rising of a violin vibrating soulfully across its strings rose, accompanied by epic vocal harmonies and the melodic chords of a piano. The bass came in strong, beating at a tribal rhythm. The violin ascended into an angelic whisper and then faded out as Benji’s voice entered in an invincible tone, “Come to see me?” And with those words of triumph, Benji whipped out the instrument he had confiscated from Kris’s handbag and flipped it open in his palm. It was a handheld mirror. Angling it right, he caught the sun’s reflection and aimed the beams into his enemies’ eyes.

They all moaned in pain and their hands flew up in front of them. Parker threw his face away and whimpered in pitiful squeaks.

Benji placed his finger on top of the aerosol can and waited for the right moment. When Parker turned his eyes back on him, the metallic sound of a handgun’s slide being yanked back sung in Benji’s ears as the blue mist shot out from the can and into Parker’s eyes.

Fill with lead, crawlers. Benji thought to himself as he felt a satisfying smile slip onto his face. He lowered the can as the other boys fled from the alleyway. When his can sputtered and could no longer perform its duty, Benji simply struck the can on the crown of Parker’s head, making him fall forward unconscious.

“Benji?” Kris said in a small voice. “Are you all right?”

Benji remained standing over Parker, his breath coming out in long, burdensome pants. “Is it over?”

Kris placed her hands on his shoulders and turned him to her. She waited for the fire to die down before she spoke to him. At last, his soft gaze returned and he smiled ever so shyly at her. Beaming uncontrollably, Kris embraced him. “Thank you.”

“Listen,” Benji began, “I know you’ve got a boyfriend, but—,”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Kris corrected.

“What? But what about that Jon-man.”

“Jon? He was my boyfriend like four months ago.”

“But, I saw—that picture of you two together. It said, ‘in a relationship.’” Benji’s face flushed in surprise. He wasn’t sure whether to be horribly confused or happy.

“Benji, one of my friends must’ve commented on it and I replied, making it bump up into your newsfeed. If you looked at my profile, it would’ve said ‘single.’ Or, have nothing at all. You silly clot.” She rested her hands around his neck and caressed the red marks the chain had left. “Benji—,”

“Kris, I know I'm a loser, I know I don't deserve you. But I know you love me, and that's just as important as knowing I love you." His eyes brimmed with tears and he tried to smile, but a different and new feeling came over him that he couldn’t control.

Knowing not what else to do, Kris settled her arms around his shoulder, lifted herself from her toes, and leaned in. She cheeks dimpled and she placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Benji relaxed beneath them and returned the intimacy by enclosing her in his arms. He pulled her close and parted the kiss, just long enough for him to press his forehead against hers and look into her beautiful hazel eyes. He felt his heart beating at a steady pace, harmonious with hers. The doubts dried up and his heart opened, like a compass pointing north, towards hers. He moved a strand from her face and tucked it behind her ear. She pressed against his hand and he felt her smile.

“Benji, I love you,” Kris said, her eyes meeting his.

Silence fell on him. The world came to a halt. He felt like he was somewhere else. He didn’t see himself in his dreams or in reality, but in a memory that hadn’t been made yet. It was a strange and new place, but not one he feared. Before the words were formed on his tongue, they started in his heart. And it was his soul that spoke instead, “I love you, too.”