Today is going to be a great day. I waited ever since yesterday for it to come. The sun is glowing orange-yellow through my window and I can see the Ava Island just outside. It seems like it took an awfully long time for today to arrive even though I tried to speed it up.
Yesterday I turned my clock eight hours ahead but it didn’t seem to make a bit of difference, except that I was seven hours, fifty-eight minutes, forty-nine seconds, and nine hundred and ninety-nine milliseconds late for school. I thought something was funny when I got there because my classroom was empty. I strolled the halls looking for my best friend but only spotted a man in the cafeteria pushing a broom.
“Sir, have you seen my teacher?” I softly asked. The man stopped sweeping, turned, and looked down at me. He raised one eyebrow, was quite surprised to see me, and pulled out a chair. As I sat down, he scratched his head and glanced through the window at the dark orange sky. He tenderly patted my arm and said, “Lil lady she went home hours ago and so should you or you will miss your supper.” “But Sir,” I whispered, “that can’t be true because it is only now time for school to begin” and handed him my clock. He looked it over, shook it up and down, then handed it back to me. He smiled and suddenly roared with laughter. It was probably as loud as a freight train. I wondered what was so funny. He slapped his knee, bent forward, then leaned on his broom. With his hand waving in the air as if conducting a symphony he blurted, “You would be right if you were in London, England but this is Texas in our great USA.”
Not exactly sure what he meant, I thanked him and quickly walked away. I saw blurred notices tacked over all the walls, though I didn’t stop to read even one. When I got outside I saw the lonely racks hoping their bikes would soon be back. For sure, I would rather be at home than in this empty place but I think someone should have come to school today on this regular school day. Or it would have been a simple thing for someone to tell me, “Oh, by the way my dear, we switched the days and made today tomorrow.” Is that so much to ask, I wondered? With only that little bit of kindness, I would have put today in a jar and saved it for later.
Still, I don’t know why time takes so long. It only has one single thing to do. It doesn’t have to wash dishes, practice piano, or take a dreaded bath. Yet, it won’t negotiate or bend the rules or even say, “that’s that.” It is, I think, just stubborn because no matter what I do or say or even promise, it just sits there doing nothing.
I was so looking forward to this very special day and now it seems that time took it all away. It is unfair for time to treat me in that way because I am reliable and have never caused it any harm. I feed my pups, give them water too, and never once has Santa passed by without leaving me a surprise.
Time really should be nicer to me. I would be a good friend. I would take it to movies, buy popcorn and hot dogs, and rarely leave it alone. I would let it listen to my I-pod and loan it my roller blades. But no, it just ignores my sincere generosity and doesn’t seem to care that it has hurt my feelings.
Through it all, I have developed my opinion of time that is likely to remain. But tell me for Pete’s sake how is it that time can change but still stay the same?
Just when I was ready for supper, I felt a gentle touch on my cheek and a squeeze on my hand. I thought at first it must be that broom man again. So, I looked back but could only see a haze. I was smelling cinnamon bread when something brushed against my other hand. I quickly turned around as a voice invaded my head, “Time to wake up and get ready to go to school,” the words drifted.
“School?” I thought. “School?”
Hooray! I didn’t loose my special day. It is just beginning and I have so much to do. I will brush my teeth, wear my coat, and remember my lunch box. I will sharpen my pencils, take extra paper, and pack my backpack. I will clean my locker and sit quietly in my seat. When my teacher asks my class whether anything interesting happened last night, I won’t raise my hand or make a peep. I will never tell that the secret of how to change time is by just going to sleep.
© Coninc, TheBackYardKids.com, Short Stories For Short Folk (Library of Congress 1-147158261, pending)
