Friday

the 13th

Narrative

Yesterday, January 13th, was the worse day of my life. Some say that Friday the 13th is the day of bad luck, but I have never believed in superstitions. Call me a realist, but I believe that there’s a logical explanation to why everything occurs. Before I get too philosophical, I think it is best that I formally introduce myself. My name is Amber. Amber Risotto. I am currently a freshman at Westvale High, home of the Stallions. If it needs to be known, I would be considered the quiet girl in your math class, the one who gets picked last on every sports team; really just the one that no one sees.

Now I take it you might feel kind of sorry for me, but don’t. Honestly, it might sound sad to you, but being this invisible in a suburban high school is more than I could ask. It means that I don’t have to get caught up in the nasty gossip of teenage girls, I can eat by myself without anyone forcing me to hold a conversation, or any of that other stuff that “normal” people are expected to do. You could say, I was happy with who I was and where I stood on the social ladder. 

WESTVALE HIGH

So like any other day in Chemistry, I sat alone towards the far back table. Miss Anderson would walk in any minute now, a cup of joe in her right hand and stacks of printed copies in her left. Just then she waltzed into the classroom and shut the door behind her, cueing everyone to finish their conversations later. “Goooood morning ladies and gents! Today we are going to be learning about the table of elements and how it came to be”, she enthusiastically rejoiced. “Since it’s Friday, I thought I would give you guys a break from my lecturing and let our technology do some of the teaching. So in other words, we are going to be watching a film. I assure you it’s the most exciting I could find.”

Everyone groaned, as they knew this meant it would be a long 50 minutes of class. “I want everyone to take out a sheet of paper and I want you to take notes so that you can use them to study for Monday’s exam.” Some pulled out paper from their bags, while others stared blankly at the wall. As Miss A was about to press play she shrieked, “Oh my, I almost forgot! Please don’t forget to head your notes with your names and today’s date: Friday, January 13th.” The lights were turned off and the film began. 

Back in the dark cold corner of the room, I sat with my head down and listened. Seeing the actual screen was near impossible from this far, so I relied on my supersonic hearing to guide me. From what I recall, the actual history might have been interesting, but all I could pay mind to was the narrator’s voice, a combination of stern and boring. So with the chilly breeze coming from the overhead air vent and the quietness of the room, I began to feel my body relax. It was only 10 minutes into the film, when it began to dawn on me how everything combined with the lack of 30 minutes of sleep last night really was taking a toll on me. My eyes were now carrying weights and my concentration was slowly beginning to drift, it was all a quick and sudden 1 sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep. Snore? 

“Risotto! Can someone please wake up Miss Risotto?!”, Miss Anderson shouted from the front of the class. Shaken back into reality, I jumped in my seat, causing a few students to giggle. The only questions I needed answered were: How long had I fallen asleep for? And man, why was everyone looking at me like that?! As the invisible girl, I did not like the limelight that was blinding me at the moment. Caught completely off guard, I paid no attention to the fact that while I took my morning siesta, my body had betrayed me. Finally looking down at my desk, I found a puddle of drool. No biggie, no one could have possibly seen the drool all the way back here and definitely no one ever really saw me. Or so I thought...

The first remark came from Tony Perez, varsity basketball captain and #1 heartthrob for all girls who fancied arrogance and muscles. “Eww! Totally gross dude. She could drown someone in all that slobber”, he joked with his buddy. As they laughed louder than necessary, others darted their eyes my way. I hurriedly wiped the puddle with the edge of my sweater’s sleeve and desperately tried to act casual. From the sudden awakening to sudden attention, it was all too much. I began to feel pulses of heat rise to my cheeks as my throat went dry, Sahara Desert dry.

Thankfully, Miss A came to the rescue, sort of, and asked everyone to face her as she recited the homework we had due Monday, before she dismissed us. Feeling completely humiliated, I sped out the door of the class before anyone could make any further eye contact. Definitely not a great way to start the day, but at least class was over. Second and third period flew by as they typically do, a perfect balance between poetry from the eighteenth century and limits in Calculus.

As I walked towards the cafeteria to pick up lunch, I could smell the mixing of aromas. The specialties of the day included: burnt cheese sticks with a side of boiled broccoli and chewy chicken fingers tossed on top of undercooked waffles. Ah, the educational system sure knows how to feed the children of the future. Grabbing a carton of chocolate milk and a side of tater tots, I exited towards the side doors, feet forward, head down. 

At this point, all memory of this morning’s mishap had slowly disappeared and my mind was now focused on the weekend. Creating a mental checklist, checklist #3 for the day, I counted the different homework assignments that I would start Saturday morning, 9 a.m. sharp. There was studying to be done for my Chem. exam, our own rendition of William Blake’s “The School Boy” poem, andBAM! Right then and there, my train of thought was lost as I bumped, scratch that out, collided straight into Jordan Prescott. My luck! Let me fill you in about Jordan Prescott. She’s the captain of the soccer team, vice-president of the senior class, and head Queen B. Figuratively speaking, if I were the tropical South, she would be the cold rigid North, if I were a guppy, she’d be a great white. To put it in simpler terms, she is not a force to be reckon with. 

Most likely now you can understand and envision how the situation played out. Standing with my empty lunch tray and a mouth full of silent apologizes, I stood frozen. The collision had scattered my tater tots in all directions and dropped my milk to a sudden death, causing it to pour out onto my shoes. Jordan noticeably angered, looked down at her books that had slipped out her hands. Making no attempt to grab them, I hurriedly bent down and swept them up before the milk could reach them. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t notice anyone in front of me”, I blurted out. Not saying a word, she gave me a look that stared into the depths of my soul and I immediately felt that this was not going to end well. 

“Does it look like I care for your excuses? Next time, wear a warning sign”, then she turned and walked away. Having caught the attention of the people sitting at the tables close by, everyone sat and whispered amongst themselves. Looking down at my pants, I came to the conclusion that chocolate milk did not sit well on khaki. Leaving my lunch laid across the cafeteria floor, I rushed towards the restroom. Once inside, I stepped into the farthest stall and using balled up tissue paper, began scrubbing the bottom of my pants. Making no progress, I sat on the bathroom floor with pants that looked ten times worse than before and sticky wet shoes. Thinking to myself what more could go wrong, I began to create a new checklist: The Unfortunate----“RIIIING! RIIIIING!! RIIIIIING!!!”

You have got to be kidding me?! Grabbing my bag as quick as my arms and legs could move, I scrambled towards the door. Running was never my forte, but right about now I had no other choice. Out of breath with my entire face flushed red for the third time today, I dove into Spanish class. I knew everyone would give me the stare, no one was ever spared from walking into class a minute late so with my 4-minute record, I would be the ultimate target. As I swiftly made my way across the class towards the corner front desk, I began to hear people laugh. Then there was pointing. Immediately looking down at my feet, I found a trail of toilet paper had stuck to the bottom of my shoe. Tugging it free, I noticed it wasn’t 2 ft. or 3, but a solid 4 feet of toilet paper where I could probably write down everything that was going wrong today. 

Oblivious to the mental breakdown that was occurring within me, Señora Sanchez said two words that would truly serve as the cherry on top: POP QUIZ. I repeat, pop quiz! At this moment, there was nothing I could do or say to escape from completely bombing it. I hadn’t expected a test until the following week and to be completely honest, Spanish was just an extra credit that would look great on college applications. Doubting every possible response, I began to scribble in answers here and there before the 5 minutes were over. As I hesitantly placed my paper into the basket, I glimpsed at the answer key laid across her desk. Surely enough, those answers I seemed to doubt and choose to change, were in fact correct. I should have known, today was already going exactly as planned. 

Feeling like a frazzled mess, I was glad to know the school day would finally be over in about 10 minutes. All I could think of at the moment was going straight home to rest, where I could try to forget everything that had happened today. Reminded that our quiz grades would be ready for us by Monday, class was dismissed. Not wanting to get caught up in the door jam, I waited for everyone to leave before I got up to make my way towards the bus. Right before I closed the door, from behind me I heard Señora Sanchez shout, “Make sure to be careful, today’s Friday the 13th!” Ha. Ha. It all made sense now. Somehow and in some way, I had unconsciously started to fall under the effects of the superstition when really, today’s events were all just a series of coincidences. 

Back in my head, I decided it was time to finish my list from earlier, starting with my morning slumber to failing the pop quiz in Spanish. I titled this list: “The Unfortunate, but Explainable Events of Today”. Feeling like I had solved a great mystery, I lifted my chin up and smiled for the world to see that today was just a bad day, nothing more to it.

When suddenly, my bus passed right before my eyes and made an abrupt left turn at the corner, leaving me stranded. 

           Yeah, forget that. I give up. Scratch out every word I said before. I hate to admit it, but Friday the 13th is a real thing. Trust me, I have a long list and I’ll have an even longer walk home to prove it.  

THE END

Magazine Article

Non-fictional/ Informational