The other day I was late.
It was an accident. And it was only partly my fault.
See, first of all, I woke up late because it was too comfortable under the covers, where my feet were nice and warm, my body snuggled tightly against my blankets, and my mind still in dreams. So I hastily whacked a random button on my alarm. It was the “alarm off” button, not the snooze button.
Fifteen minutes later, my dad woke me up. “What are you doing?” he asked me, “It’s 8:10 already!” School started at 8:50. I needed to get to the meeting spot with everyone else (I biked with a few other people) at 8:25. I had fifteen minutes to eat, brush my teeth, ready my backpack, and be out of there.
Ten minutes later, I was ready. I’m quite proud of this part, actually, because I managed to eat and brush my teeth very fast. Of course, my dad was a little less pleased with the result when he saw how much of his soup I had left over.
But I hurried out of the house, and I got there on time. But just as I was about to wait, I felt my face for something that should have been there. But it wasn’t there.
My glasses and watch were still at home.
I quickly rode back home, looking behind me as I rode. Nobody was there yet, I could get home and back without being detected.
A few minutes later, I was back at the corner, waiting. 8:30.
Why wasn’t anybody else there yet? I wanted to call everyone else, but as I reached into my backpack, I remembered. I hadn’t brought my cell phone. Yet another accident.
But there was no time for that. Someone was coming.
She approached me. “Where’s everybody else?”
“I don’t know.”
“You think we should leave without them?”
“Ah, never mind, here they come.”
And there I saw them. They were riding towards us, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
We rode to school.
As I was about to lock my bike, I looked at my watch and did a double-take. It was 8:47. The bike racks were empty, and it was quiet. We were almost late.
I furiously ran into school. The hallways were quiet. Everyone was already in class.
It was really eerie. Normally, the hallways were filled with people, walking around, talking. But now, it was silent. The hallways were empty. Faint sounds could be heard behind the closed doors of classrooms. Eek.
I madly turned the lock to my locker. It wouldn’t open.
Swearing under my breath (shh, don’t tell my dad) I tried again. And again. It would not open.
It was the perfect time for my locker to get jammed, eh? Finally, it opened. I gave a word of thanks.
I threw my backpack in, took my binder out, and slammed the door, preparing to make a run for it.
Then I remembered. I forgot my math binder. I turned around.
And then the bell rang. And I knew I was officially late.
I threw my locker open. I was already late, so being a bit later wouldn’t make that much of a difference.
I grabbed it and made a run for it.
Inside the classroom, all the students were doing the pledge to the flag. Seeing the teacher staring at the computer screen. Oblivious to anything behind her, I put my stuff on the table, and turned around and continued the pledge.
The teacher looked at me. I pretended I had been here the whole time.
She wasn’t fooled.
I Hope Nobody Noticed That
The other day I was late.
It was an accident. And it was only partly my fault.
See, first of all, I woke up late because it was too comfortable under the covers, where my feet were nice and warm, my body snuggled tightly against my blankets, and my mind still in dreams. So I hastily whacked a random button on my alarm. It was the “alarm off” button, not the snooze button.
Fifteen minutes later, my dad woke me up. “What are you doing?” he asked me, “It’s 8:10 already!” School started at 8:50. I needed to get to the meeting spot with everyone else (I biked with a few other people) at 8:25. I had fifteen minutes to eat, brush my teeth, ready my backpack, and be out of there.
Ten minutes later, I was ready. I’m quite proud of this part, actually, because I managed to eat and brush my teeth very fast. Of course, my dad was a little less pleased with the result when he saw how much of his soup I had left over.
But I hurried out of the house, and I got there on time. But just as I was about to wait, I felt my face for something that should have been there. But it wasn’t there.
My glasses and watch were still at home.
I quickly rode back home, looking behind me as I rode. Nobody was there yet, I could get home and back without being detected.
A few minutes later, I was back at the corner, waiting. 8:30.
Why wasn’t anybody else there yet? I wanted to call everyone else, but as I reached into my backpack, I remembered. I hadn’t brought my cell phone. Yet another accident.
But there was no time for that. Someone was coming.
She approached me. “Where’s everybody else?”
“I don’t know.”
“You think we should leave without them?”
“Ah, never mind, here they come.”
And there I saw them. They were riding towards us, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
We rode to school.
As I was about to lock my bike, I looked at my watch and did a double-take. It was 8:47. The bike racks were empty, and it was quiet. We were almost late.
I furiously ran into school. The hallways were quiet. Everyone was already in class.
It was really eerie. Normally, the hallways were filled with people, walking around, talking. But now, it was silent. The hallways were empty. Faint sounds could be heard behind the closed doors of classrooms. Eek.
I madly turned the lock to my locker. It wouldn’t open.
Swearing under my breath (shh, don’t tell my dad) I tried again. And again. It would not open.
It was the perfect time for my locker to get jammed, eh? Finally, it opened. I gave a word of thanks.
I threw my backpack in, took my binder out, and slammed the door, preparing to make a run for it.
Then I remembered. I forgot my math binder. I turned around.
And then the bell rang. And I knew I was officially late.
I threw my locker open. I was already late, so being a bit later wouldn’t make that much of a difference.
I grabbed it and made a run for it.
Inside the classroom, all the students were doing the pledge to the flag. Seeing the teacher staring at the computer screen. Oblivious to anything behind her, I put my stuff on the table, and turned around and continued the pledge.
The teacher looked at me. I pretended I had been here the whole time.
She wasn’t fooled.