Teenage Troubles

• Justin Mangion, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2014

On a warm day a boy had awoken up in his single bed to the noise of his little sisters cry, in the crib on the other side of the room, He looked to his side where he saw his new Tetris fashioned alarm clock, He was surprised when he saw that it had a blank image he threw his legs over the side of his bed and tried to sit up but fell back on his bed. His door slammed open and his mum stormed in with a bottle filled with milk, he shot up like a rocket screaming “I’m up”

His mum jumped and cried “ahhhh” throwing the bottle in the air and spilling all over the floor. “Why aren’t you at school?!” she said as she breathed heavily
“What? Why? What time is it?” he said with great concern in his eyes.
“its noon” you are so grounded she said as she threw his school uniform at him
As he shot up stumbling through the door as he is try’s to put on his shirt on.
Before you he knows it he’s at the school office, trying to avoid the mean office ladies and principle. When he thinks he has gotten away with it. He start going to his class but as he turns to dash for the classroom, He crashes into a wall like figure, As soon as he fell to the ground he got up and slowly looked up to see an impossibly tidy suit as he makes his way to the face his heart starts to beat so loud it vibrates through his body
After 10 minutes of screaming in the principal’s office he was released and greeted by the loud piercing bell ringing vigorously for lunch, as he tried to rush to the door for the courtyard the doors slammed opened and everyone rushed out, it was a stampede the smart ones would wait until the hallways were clear and get out of every ones way but he didn’t have the luxury of an escape from this stampede.
People coming and going from all different directions pushing and pulling crashing against everything by the time everyone was gone he was on the floor bag somehow on the opposite side of the hall with all its contents scattered and ripped out but all as he tried to pull himself up and putting on the shoe that had been somehow ripped of him during in the commotion and try’s taking a step but horribly fails and stumbles.
He is caught by a guardian angel the girl he had liked since he first saw her two years ago he apologises as the anxiety corrupts him, “No its fine I wouldn’t want you hurt” she said in a flirty tone as he regains his stance he starts a conversation with her.

As the day went on they got to know each other and found things they had in common and never left each other’s side