The Day My Legs Controlled Themselves

• Sebastian Retamal, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2019

I awake one morning and I know something is up, but I think it is nothing. Suddenly, my legs jump out of bed and carry me down the stairs, SUPER FAST!!!! “Did you sleep well last night?” It’s Mum, I think she is going to ask me about my- “And how come you got out of bed so fast, you love sleeping?”-legs. It’s true, I love sleeping.
Then, my legs carried me outside and to school, without having cereal or packing my school bag. But, when I (we) got there, it was closed. So I went home. I had my breakfast, got dressed (my legs took me to school in my pyjamas) and packed my bag. When it was time to go to school, my legs wouldn’t budge. “You’ve got to be kidding!” I yell.
“Are you OK?” asks Mum.
“Uuuuuhhhhhhhhh. Yeah, Mum” I reply. I punch my legs a few times. Then my legs decide to move. “Finally.” But, when I get out the door…
“Where are you going, Benjamin?” asks Mum. “It’s only the school holidays.” What, I never knew it was the school holidays. “Today we are going to the pool.” “How come you didn’t tell me?” I ask. Uh oh! I never knew we were going to the pool. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to the pool, but having my legs control themselves, I just can’t.
When we get to the pool, I curl myself into a ball and jump into the pool. Apparently, my legs love swimming. Hopefully they won’t make me drown. I like my life, legs. Did you hear that? I hope you did! So anyway, I swim up and down and up and down the lanes until I can’t swim any longer. Finally, it is time to go. But my legs have a mind of their own. They keep swimming up and down and up and down the lanes. Eventually, Mum gets fed up. She goes to see the security guard and comes back with the security guard. Uh oh! The security guard comes towards me and picks me up and carries me back to Mum.
In the car, Mum is not happy. I told her about my legs controlling themselves. “Your legs, your fault,” Mum replies. Mum can be so annoying sometimes. That night, I was thinking about what would happen if my legs were the same tomorrow at school. Wait a minute. Didn’t Mum say that it was the school holidays? I’d better go ask her. When I get there, Mum says “It is the last day of the school holidays.” Uh oh, (I know that I have said that a lot) tomorrow is school! No, NO, No, NO! School is tomorrow! Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! This is a nightmare! Wait a minute.
l am back in bed and, strangely, my legs don’t jump out of bed. I am now in control of my legs. This is very strange. Wait a minute, I think it was all a dream. YESSSS!!! I don’t have my legs controlling themselves and I didn’t get in trouble at the pool. IT WAS ALL A DREAM!!!! Hooray!!!