I wrote this story last year whilst in class with students in grade 4/5/6 last year. We were trialling a new way to get kids to write: that being, during the writing session, we staff (teacher/aide) also write for 20 minutes...No interuptions allowed. It is a fantastic tool to get kids to write. At first they were a little unsettled. But once they saw us with our heads down, writing away they really got into it. The idea is to write anything...we have writers notebooks..The time can be used to write poetry, write letters, stories, brainstorm ideas for stories etc. I chose to write a story over a few lessons. Then I shared my story, by reading it to them. They loved it! Of course when I read it, I used a lot of expression, so I thought that was the reason why they loved it so much. They nagged me to print it, so I just made a booklet out of it on Publisher and left it in the room. It made it's way to the classroom library and was constantly being read during quiet reading time. I was so surprised, but pleased at the same time.
I FEEL GOOD....
I woke up feeling great!
I’d had the best night sleep ever!I decided, as I had time, to cook myself a big breakfast. When I reached for the eggs in the pantry, I knocked over the salt shaker. Salt went everywhere. I heard my dear old nan saying, “Oh, quick, pick some up and throw it over your left shoulder. To stop the bad luck.” I sighed, cleaned it up with the handy vac.
I hummed to myself as I was vac’ing. I started to dance too. I was having such a good time I broke into a song and pretended the handy vac was my microphone. I danced around the kitchen, belting out “I feel good-do do do , I feel good…”
In my mind I was on stage. Fans screaming my name, the spot light shining on me. Smoke coming up from the floor for that extra special effect…Smoke! Smoke?
I was having so much fun that I forgot that I was cooking bacon. Oh well, crispy bacon is okay. So it was a little more crispy than normal. I could handle that!
Despite eating very crispy, somewhat burnt bacon, I was still in a great mood. I cleaned up the kitchen and took myself off to the bathroom to brush my teeth and put my face on for the day. I turned off my electric tooth brush, but could still hear buzzing. I checked the switch, yep, definitely turned off. Buzzzzzz buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, I looked around the bathroom looking for whatever could be making the buzzing sound. Then I saw it. A pesky mozzie had landed on my cheek. I went to give it a slap to squish it. Not too bright an idea, as I was soon to discover. With my cheek still sore from my own slapping, I started to brush my hair. I was almost finished when I heard the buzzing sound again. I raised the hairbrush, ready to take a swipe at the bloodsucking pest. Keeping in mind that if it landed on me, that I would not use the brush to kill it. That would be just plain silly. I spied the mozzie on the mirror. Stupid mozzie! I very carefully raise the brush, I bring it down slowly, slowly, mustn’t let the mozzie know what’s coming…whack! Success! One dead mozzie….and one very broken mirror. Ooops! I guess using the hair brush to kill a mozzie on a mirror wasn’t really such a flash idea either. I gingerly picked up the mirror pieces, taking care not to cut myself. I laughed off the old superstition that breaking a mirror would bring seven years bad luck. Pffffft!
Nothing could break this fantastic mood I was in. Even though I’d almost burnt the house down and even though I’d broken a very expensive mirror, I was still feeling great. I finished putting on my makeup without a mirror. I mean, gees, I put makeup on every day, I could do it with my eyes closed. No need for a mirror anyway.
I looked at the time and realised I was rapidly running out of it. I checked that I had everything. Lunch-check, handbag-check, mobile phone-check, coat-check, umbrella…umbrella. Where was my umbrella? It was supposed to be behind the door. I always left it there. I searched the hallway for it. I was just about to give up and go without it when I saw what looked like the handle to my umbrella under the couch. Kids! I told them not to play with it. Never mind…it was found. I reached under the couch, feeling around for the handle. Ahah! Just as I put my hand on it, the Grandfather clock chimed 8 o’clock. Cripes, now I am running late. I grabbed the umbrella and yanked it out from under the couch. As I was about to stand up the umbrella burst open. I had pressed the button that makes the umbrella pop open. I heard my nan’s voice in my head saying “Don’t open that umbrella inside, it means bad luck.” I chuckled to myself, poor nan, she was so superstitious. Whoever heard of such rubbish?
I was thinking how wonderful the day was, how beautiful it was as I sat on the train making my way to work. People were smiling at me as they walked passed, making their way to their seats. Obviously my good mood was being passed onto others. They say that moods can be infectious, well here I sat with proof. Gee, people were even laughing as they looked at me. How good is that? I smiled by biggest smile, and even laughed with some of them. Gee life is grand.
A bunch of teenagers got on the train when it stopped at the next station. They were laughing and talking amongst themselves as they walked down the aisle. I looked up at them and smiled, and they burst into even louder laughter. Odd I thought, I mean, they were already happy, so why the side splitting laughter? I shrugged my shoulders. As the last stragglers came passed, I heard one girl whisper to her friend who was stifling a laugh, “Oh that is sooooooo tragic!” I looked around to see what was so tragic when I realised she was looking and talking about me. How rude! Youth of today!
I was relieved that my stop was next. As soon as the train stopped, I was up and on my way off the train. Passengers were again smiling at me, and my happy, buoyant mood returned. I wasn’t going to let the rudeness of a couple of smart alecky teenagers upset my awesome day.
I was waiting on the corner to cross the road to go into my office building, when a car drove straight through a puddle, splashing cold, murky water all over me. Yuk! The other pedestrians all made a collective gasp. I turned around to face them, expecting understanding faces. But their faces changed from understanding, shocked faces to smiles, grins and yup, laughter. I giggled to myself picturing how funny it would’ve looked seeing me being splashed by the puddle. Life was still grand, I could laugh at my own misfortune.
As I made way towards my desk, my fellow workers all greeted me with cheerful “Good mornings!” Some greeted me with sympathetic smiles, whilst others had caught the happiness bug I seemed to be radiating and laughed out their good mornings.
I took off my coat, pleased that my clothing underneath was still reasonably dry. I sat down at my computer and started working. Before I knew it, it was time for my break. I was glad, as I really did need to make a visit to the ladies room.
I dashed in, slamming the door shut behind me. Phew! Just made it. As I sat on the loo, a couple of my work mates came in. I could hear them chatting and laughing to one another. “OMG! Did you see her makeup?”
“I know, what was she thinking when she put it on?”
“I don’t know, but it sure wasn’t thinking about doing her makeup nicely. Hahaha! And, and hahaha, what about her hair? Doesn’t she own a hair dryer?”
Then they just broke up laughing, and I couldn’t really understand what they were saying. I got the giggles too, laughing is so contagious. I came out of my cubicle, laughing. They swung around when they heard me. Their faces full of horror. They both stammered out, “Ssssorry, we didn’t know you were in here.”
“It’s cool, what’s so fu……”, there were gone before I could even finish my question. Never mind. I washed my hands and looked up into the mirror. OMG! OMG!
There before me, was a, was a oh I don’t know. It was hideous anyway. My makeup that I could put on with my eyes closed was all over my face. Clearly, I can’t put my makeup on with my eyes closed. To make things worse, my wet hair had dried frizzy and boofy. It looked like I had been through a wind tunnel.
It hit me suddenly why everyone seemed so friendly this morning, smiling away at me. Why some people laughed when walking by me. Why the girls had called me tragic. My mood took a turn for the worse. I was the laughing stock of the world. There was not one person in the whole wide world who didn’t laugh at me and think I was tragic…….I burst out laughing….OMG! I really did look a sight. Hahaha, not everyone in the whole wide world thought I was a tragic, that was an exaggeration. The fact that I even thought that made me laugh even harder.
I could hear nan’s voice again telling me about all the things that give you bad luck…broken mirrors, spilt salt, black cats, umbrellas inside. Maybe she was right. I heard her voice again..”Never lose your sense of humour my darling girl, it will always make your world so much brighter.”
You know what? She was right!
