MM E:III *****

As the bell rang its announcement of freedom, Mel walked with a grin into the hallway. The Ontario school flooded with students on their way to watch the football game, but Mel went somewhere else. He went to the changeroom.

Mel’s career in sports had only materialised the previous year, but it was this fulfilling vocation that kept him hanging on. You see, with a name like Mel, it was virtually impossible for a person to lead even a meagre resemblance of a social life. It was the other half of his name he employed on the field, and his success at the game garnered the respect of each and every student at Marlborough High. The trouble was, nobody knew it was him on that field. This is because Melvin Morale was not a quarterback or a star running-back.

He was the school mascot.

When Mel donned the heavy suit and mask, he did not simply become the face of the Marlborough Muskrats franchise. He became Mighty Muskrat, defender of the defenceless; or at least, the weakly fortified. He commanded an army of nimbly minded adolescents, whose cry could be heard at his explicit command! A cartwheel and an extended arm could unleash the lusty moans and jealous groans of every co-ed in the stands! And what was more, like a true hero, he did not do it for his own glory, as he might easily do. He did it entirely for the team he represented; for the team who was nothing without the home team’s cheer- who was nothing without HIM.

You might call this excessive. In fact, it is excessive. It is nothing short of sheer insanity. Melvin Morale was the epitome of a card-carrying lunatic. “What could possibly have driven our hero so fully over the edge?” you may wonder. Clearly, this was the product of a long process, but there was one moment where his invented identity and his neglected reality crossed paths. I witnessed this moment first hand, and it is with terrifying clarity I will disclose this history to you, my esteemed reader, in the next episode. Don’t miss it; it’s sure to be worth five stars.

TO BE CONTINUED