WORST DAY EVER!

• Renee Collins, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2013

It was a dark, cloudy Tuesday morning when I woke up suddenly, to the sound of thunder and rain pelting my window pane, shaking it furiously! Stretching, I yawned lazily, reluctantly peering through the paleness of this dingy morning and saw …..”Oh No!! I’m an hour late for school!!” Wildly I dressed into a dirty, vile uniform that was meant to be washed last night. I shouted to my dad, who had just rolled out of bed, his black curly hair sticking up, untamed, with heavy green eyes hanging half opened, “hurry-up, I’m running late for school, we need to leave now!” Throwing on the last of our clothes, we grabbed our bags, rushing outside, as I panicked about the trouble that I’d be in.

My dad hurriedly parked outside the school, I barked “goodbye.” “Bye,” he answered abruptly, speeding off down the road, as he was running late also. I charged through the relentless rain that plummeted. Then whilst struggling to open the school gates, as if struck by lightning, I suddenly remembered, it’s a PUPIL FREE DAY!!! I launched myself, yelling, “is anybody there?” But there was no voice to be heard, except for my bone chilling echo.

Anxiously I scurried through my bag, to find my phone, when I heard a muffled, hissing noise moving behind me. A knot tightened in my stomach, and my heart pounded rapidly with fear, as I turned to see a large, strange, dark figure reaching out to grab me. Abruptly I dropped my bag and ran. Terror stricken and sprinting, I let out a blood curdling scream for “Help!” Again, through the haze of the blinding rain, the loathsome man scratched at me from nowhere. “Helllppp!” I screamed repeatedly, horrified to my soul.

Aimlessly, I ran into a nearby house, jumping through an open window, landing inside. I watched as the slinky, ebony creature of a man turned and scrambled away. Sighing with relief, I turned around only to face the mean old lady of Cope Place, who was rumoured to eat children for breakfast! Clothed in her dressing gown and holding a rolling pin weapon, she screamed, “Thief!” I rushed back outside, stumbling and falling into the slimy, sickening mud surrounding the house. Scrambling to my feet, I propelled, at the speed of light, over the hill to my home.

I cried out hysterically as I ran through my front door, quickly locking it behind me, “I’m home at last! Is anyone here?” Then I remembered that dad was in transit to work and mum was at an appointment. I hesitated, then observing the dirty wounds I had obtained from falling, I decided to have a soothing, hot, shower. Still shaking, I quickly got undressed and stepped in, anticipating the warm relief, but only tepid, disgusting, yellow gunk oozed onto me. I looked up at the leaking roof, whilst listening to the noise of the straining, clogged pipes behind the wall, and shouted angrily, ‘WORST DAY EVER!”