A Slime Time for Julie

            by James Nolting

 

Julie was a skinny little girl with dark brown hair. Of all the beautiful, bright creatures in the world, Julie's favorite was the slug. She would spend hours each day lying in the mud watching the squishy, slimy, sloppy lumps slither along the ground, leaving their glistening trails shimmering behind.

 

 

The sun rose one summer morning to greet Julie, studiously preparing for her slug-studying ritual once again. She said goodbye to her mom and left through the backdoor in her overalls, with a magnifying glass sitting snugly in her hip pocket.

            Wondering what her precious live bananas had in store for her today, Julie crossed the yard, passing by her swing set, bicycle, sandbox and dolls on the way. Julie never understood why all the other kids liked playing with those things so much. They were nowhere near as spectacular and splendid as her squishy, sloppy, slimy slugs. She figured her classmates didn't know about slugs yet, which was fine with her. Julie was happy to keep them all to herself.

            Itching to see some  slithering slugs, Julie broke into a run, her smooth, shiny hair bouncing up and down with each step. She squeezed through an opening in the back fence and sank into the forest that grew behind her house. The skinny girl hopped over fallen logs and darted between the trees until at last she reached the shimmering creek that sliced through the center of the forest.

            Near the water's edge was a stump. On the stump was a dark purple slug. Julie gasped. It must have been the biggest slug she had ever seen. It was longer and thicker and slimier and sloppier and squishier than the bright yellow slugs she was used to.

 

 

Immediately, Julie darted to the stump and knelt next to the big sloppy creature. It slithered around just like the others, but somehow it was different. Everything the monstrous member did was much more interesting than the other, smaller slugs. The little girl watched her huge new friend slowly shimmy his was down the stump and through the mud. She followed its every sluggy movement through patches of grass and across moss-covered rocks, hardly breaking her concentration to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

            Locked in her big slug obsession, Julie didn't notice how late it was getting until the sun dropped so low she could barely see her gorgeous purple monster. Julie yawned. She was tired from crawling after the huge muddy slug in the hot sun all day. She wanted to go back to her soft, toasty bed and rest up for another day of slug watching. But it was dark now, and the sloppy slug had slithered around so much that Julie had gotten her direction home scrambled up. She leaned closer to her squishy companion and rested her head in the soft grass.

            Overhead, the moon shone down on the clearing, causing the leaves and slug to shimmer in the light. Julie stared at the slick, shiny slug before shutting her eyes and sinking fast asleep. Soon she was dreaming sweet, slug dreams. She was queen of Slug City. Spending all day playing with her big purple slugs. They were slithering all over her, leaving their sticky slug tracks on her legs and arms. Julie smiled sweetly at them all and stretched out to squeeze one tenderly. But she couldn't reach. She tried again, but her arm was stuck to her sticky side. The slugs had glued her to the soft grass. Julie woke up. Staring right at her was her own special slug.

 

 

            Victim to his sneaky slime, Julie struggled to stretch free, but he had slithered over every part of her as she dreamt. She screamed and shrieked but she knew no one was around to hear her shrill sounds. The big sloppy, slimy, squishy slug slithered closer and closer to her staring, crying eyes, preparing to smother her. Julie was terrified. She didn't understand why her luscious purple slug would do this to her. He was getting closer now. Centimeter by centimeter she felt the sticky slime slide up her chest to her neck.

            Ever nearer, the big slug slithered. Julie shrieked again, thinking how she would love to be back with her sweet, slim, shiny, yellow slugs. She was sorry she had crawled after this evil purple beast all day instead of after her squishy friends. Just then, the little, struggling girl felt something slide up her arm, then another on her leg, and another up her head.

            Yelling in fear of more purple slops coming to get her, Julie struggled yet again. The big slug was slithering up her chin to her mouth when she saw them. Slug after slug after slug was slithering up her sticky body toward her head. But they were brilliantly yellow and gleamed in the moonlight.

 

 

            Overjoyed, Julie squealed in glee, for she knew her slugs would soon set her free. Slowly, they slithered to the monstrous purple being and covered him in their own sticky slime. Julie heard a loud squelch as he plopped off her face, smothered by their squishy banana forms. She felt the purple slug's sticky slime being loosened by the smooth, silky, slimmer slugs. Julie sat up and stared serenely at her saviors. They swarmed around her and she softly patted their sticky heads, smiling warmly at them all.

            Unless her mother makes her stay home once in a while, Julie can always be seen spending time in the forest with her squishy, sloppy, slimy, friendly yellow slugs.