Rapid Weekends
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Yangshuya Xu, Grade 11
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Short Story
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2017
Saturday morning, a great day to gaze upon the empty streets, occasionally occupied by skaters and bike riders whizzing past. But today is different. I have an assignment to complete and hand-in Monday morning.
10:30am. I set up my desk. A cup of earl grey and a laptop centred in the middle with criteria sheets unevenly spread across, decorating the dull furniture. Fingers tapping on the table, making a crisp “click” each time my nails contact the wood. Time is slipping away, I can feel it.
I stare at my computer screen. A short black line flashing periodically on a blank document, prepared to be stained with words of wisdom but I haven’t got any. I sit back and look straight up, eyes glancing at the clock close by. 11:00am.
What? I’ve barely done anything!
Sitting back up clumsily, I tie up my hair and resume. After finally managing to construct a sentence I sit back again. With the hope of being inspired by my surroundings, I shift my vision outside. My neighbour’s watching the news. I haven’t talk to them for a long time. I always loved to go out with them and chat with their daughter, who is around the same age as me, during the weekends. I’ve always wished I was an articulate speaker like her. But I’m not gifted with that talent. Nor do I seem to have the ability to concentrate on a single task-
Homework, right.
Patting random keys on the device, I watched alphabets appear on the screen. The black line flashed, urging me to hasten the speed in which I was completing my assignment at.
As sunshine fell in through my window, the afternoon warmth has got my eyes blinking at a rapid pace and head nodding. Involuntarily, I spin my chair towards my bed and lean my body on it.
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By evening I was woken by my mother’s distant call from downstairs.
“Dinner time!”
My heartbeat quicken and with accelerated respiration I jump out of bed. I run down the staircase and the clock reads 6 o’clock. Confused and anxious, I join in at the dinner table. Mum tells me to come down faster next time. Dad asks what movie was on tonight. My elder sister humiliates me by asking how was my nap. But everything became irrelevant as Dad found a good movie on channel nine.
9:30pm. I think I can manage to complete a bit of the homework before I travel to dreamland, again. Or maybe I’ll leave it for tomorrow. I mean, I still have another 24 hours before it is due...
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Yesterday didn’t go as smoothly as planned. It’s fine, I still have today, Sunday. I head downstairs to fetch a cup of tea and my brain is trying to figure out what did I do yesterday whilst wondering: why do weekends go by so fast?