Bad Luck

• Cody Zammit, Grade 3
• Short Story
• 2017

Johnny rolled over, eyes blurry, slapping the snooze button. He drags his legs around and sits on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. Monday morning. After yesterday’s abrupt phone calls; he no longer had a job to rush to or a girlfriend to talk to. He pondered where to start as he breathed in the steam of his perfectly brewed coffee. He skulls his coffee and heads out to see his best mate, Donk. At the lights, only a block from Donk’s, he was rammed from behind and his car written off. He called Donk while he walked, to let him know what happened and Donk said he knew just the thing to help with such an unlucky week. Donk opened the door before Johnny even knocked, and thrust a small box into his hands. “There you go mate! This ought to turn your luck around!” he winked. Johnny opens the box and inside is a tiny, furry keyring. “It’s a lucky rabbit’s foot. Here!” grinned Donk as he handed Johnny some scratchies. Johnny wasn’t one to believe in superstitious garbage, but he stuck it in his pocket regardless and scratched the scratchies. To both of their surprise, Johnny won $500! Just a coincidence, he thought. He left Donk’s and strolled into his favourite coffee shop, and is greeted with a shower of confetti and shouts of “Congratulations!” He was rewarded with a years’ worth of free coffee for being their one millionth customer. He sat at the table with his prize coffee and turned the rabbit’s foot over and over in his hands. He was screaming ‘NO WAY! CAN THIS REALLY WORK?’ in his head. As he left the coffee shop, his phone began to sing. He answered it and was again greeted with congratulations. He was the winner of the new Ford GT, a competition he entered over a month ago. His day could not get any better! He jumped in a taxi to go pick up his prize. As he walked into the shop, he tripped on the step and smacked his face against the glass. “That’s a bit unlucky” he thought. He reached into his pocket and to his horror, found only a dust bunny! Where was his lucky charm! On the way home, he got attacked by a feral cat, stood in gum and lost his shoe trying to remove said gum. When he got home, Donk was already there and opened the door on his toe, spilt pizza on the carpet and when Johnny got a drink, his tap burst off and knocked him out. Donk woke Johnny, made him sit in the corner and told him not to move and called a plumber. When the plumber arrived, he was talking about a local taxi driver, who just won the division one lottery and was thanking a rabbit’s foot. Johnny whimpered, “Donk, I must have lost it in the taxi!” Donk laughed, “Well, better luck next time mate!”