Today was one of those days Leonard Card of 42 Victoria Way, Cloverdale hopes to forget. This was the day his class at Confederacy Primary School took their end of year exams. His teacher asked them to get a good night’s sleep. Leonard wanted to do well on the tests so he skipped his favorite TV show to go to bed early. Choosing between that extra hour of sleep and Hell’s Kitchen with Chef Ramsey was the toughest decision he’d made the entire school year.
Leonard was woken by the sound of choking thirty minutes after falling asleep . He knew it was his little brother above him in the top bunk. A moment later he felt something moist and warm drip onto his exposed leg hanging out of the covers and off the bed. The smell that followed pulled him right into the world of the conscious. He sat up and looked at his leg,
“Oh Gross!” he shouted. “Mom, Skip just threw up on my leg!”
Skip’s head appeared upside down from the top bunk looking down at his older brother.
The lower half of his face was smeared in an chunky orange liquid. He had tears in his eyes. Leonard held his anger. Chewing Skip out wouldn’t solve anything.
Mother put Skip in a warm bath. Leonard had instructions to change the bedding for both beds. Of course he couldn’t do that until he cleaned the stinky discharge from the mattress and carpet. One hour later all was well. Skip was in mother’s bed for the night so Leonard could sleep undisturbed.
This morning Leonard woke up late. His mother was up most of the night with Skip and slept through her alarm. His teacher told them to eat a good healthy breakfast so their minds would have the necessary nutrients to stay focused. Leonard rushed out the door with a piece of toast and jam and a Pop Tart. Hardly what his teacher would classify as "Nutritious".
Of course he missed the bus. The Fates were turning against him. His mother was back in bed asleep and Leonard’s dad had the car at work. He sat down on the curb, ate his Pop Tart and reviewed his options. He wanted to go back to bed but knew he couldn’t get out of the year end exams. If he didn’t take them today he’d have to go in on the make up day, usually a Saturday. He wasn’t going to give up a Saturday.
Leonard decided to ride his bike to school. A good idea until he found his front tire flat. So much for that. That left running. Leonard broke into a fast run, covering the two miles in record time. He was hot and sweaty when he got to the school.
Celeste Botts, the pretty girl that sits behind him, commented that he smelt like a wet dog. Leonard didn't need to hear that.
At 10:00 A.M. the class hunkered down into testing mode. Every student was issued a sharpened No. 2 pencil, the test booklet and the bubble answer sheet. Leonard was tired and in a very bad mood. Part way through the test he turned to his friend across the isle and asked for the time. The teacher told them it was a timed test but Leonard wasn't paying attention. The teacher misunderstood the nature of the short conversation and assumed Leonard was attempting to extort answers from his more intelligent classmate. That led to a disqualification. A disqualification meant he had to stay after school and take the alternate test for that section.
Of course he missed his bus. He called for a ride home. His mother was at the doctor with Skip and his dad was still at work. He surrendered to fate and started the long walk through Cloverdale back to Victoria Way. Leonard was in one of his very bad moods. His mother doesn’t like him very much when he’s having “A Meltdown” as she puts it. She usually sends him outside until he calms down.
Leonard decided to save himself the chewing out and banishment to the outdoors by taking his time on the walk home. Of course his plan wasn’t to fall asleep on the footpath but he saw a few interesting cloud formations and stretched out to watch them sail by. His delay in arriving home frightened his mother. She called his father. He left work early to search for Leonard. It didn’t take long to find him.
Leonard was forgiven for the fright he’d caused his parents. After hearing about his day his mom and dad took he and his brother to the Wonderland Bakery for a special treat.
Leonard went to bed that night feeling better and happy the school year was nearly at an end.
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