Sunday, October 4, 2009

One Day in the Life of Jason McLaughlin

The beeping of the alarm broke the silence. Jason McLaughlin stirred from his sleep. He placed the alarm just out of reach so that getting up was a necessity, but Jason knew that if he did not get up in about two minutes, he would be late for school. He threw off the covers and slapped the alarm. Here we go again, Jason thought slumped down the stairs to breakfast.
His mom had prepared him a small bagel with cream cheese. He sat quietly, savoring his food, and tried to open his eyes completely. He had been up late again last night. He began thinking about what would go on at school that day. One test and a presentation awaited him. Great, he thought.
Feeling more awake now, Jason climbed slowly up the carpeted stairs again and took a shower. He picked out a good shirt and some shorts. It was going to be hot again today. Jason, now fully dressed, packed up his backpack, glancing at some notes for a few classes. You never know when you might have a reading quiz, he thought. He then hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders and—more briskly this time—walked down the stairs. His mom was down at the breakfast table having a cup of coffee before work
“Bye, Mom. Have a good day,” Jason said.
“Ok, Jason you too. Don’t forget to feed the dog when you get home, alright?”
“Got in mom, I’ll see you later.” Jason strode out the door and loaded his books into his trunk. Friends from other schools said he had the heaviest backpack they had ever seen. It felt no different for him than it did three years ago. Jason stepped into the driver seat and drove off to school.
Once in the parking lot, Jason put his backpack on his shoulders again and walked towards school. He locked his car deliberately, listening for the subsequent beeping. His friends Luke and Amanda met his path at the sidewalk.
“Hi, Jason,” said a smiling Amanda. Jason smiled back, exchanging greetings. He loved his friends because they helped ease the stress of attending the school that must not be named. The three students walked into the quad and set their backpacks down in their normal spot. The talked briefly about homework and the previous night’s TV shows for five minutes, and then the bell rang.
Jason sat through four classes before lunch without a free period. His second period test was very hard, but he felt a huge feeling of relief after he finished it. By the time the bell rang for lunch in his fourth period class, he was anxious to go eat. He met up with Luke, Amanda, and three others in the quad. They decided to go to Chipotle.
There was no question that lunch was Jason’s favorite part of the day. He got to relax his mind and chat with his friends, all of whom were the same year as he was. They talked briefly about what had happened in the first four periods of class in the car ride over, but then the conversations turned to sports, then a little bit of gossip, then TV, and then some more sports. Jason began to feel a little drowsy towards the end of lunch, which was completely normal for him. He longed to take a nap, but he had two more periods to get through.
Once back at school, Jason and his friends mingled in the quad for a little while, but the bell rang once again. Jason walked with Luke to where he put his backpack before lunch. Luke had a free, so he was in a good mood.
“You ready for soccer practice tonight? I think we’re doing a whole lot of fitness.” Luke and Jason played together on a club team. Soccer was their passion, but it took up a lot of time.
“Yeah, I’m ready. I just hope I have enough time to get ready for my history presentation on Friday. That’s the only other big assignment I have left this week,” said Jason. They talked for about a minute longer before Jason had to leave to not be late for class. He had been late to history already twice this week; it always met the period after lunch. But Jason did not want a detention, so he walked quickly across the quad to the class.
Jason took three and a half pages of notes in history, and then completed a biology lab on the behavior of pill bugs. At last, it was the end of the day. He could go home.
Jason walked to his car. It was hot. He remembered his mom saying it would be 105 again today. He put his bag in the trunk and drove back home. Once he arrived, he put his books on his desk, grabbed a snack, and took a 30-minute nap. The nap was a necessity—he would not be able to make it through three hours of homework and two hours of soccer practice without it. After he woke up from his nap, Jason completed his daily calculus homework, finished a reading for english, and did some research on his history presentation. He became so caught up in his studies that he did not notice the time: 5:00 PM. Time to go to soccer, he realized. Jason put on his soccer stuff and bounded down the stairs. He nearly ran into his mother.
“Watch out, Jason! You nearly ran me over honey. Um, what would you like for dinner when you get home? Salmon sound ok?”
“Yeah, sorry mom. I’m running late. Salmon sounds fine. I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Be careful. It’s rush hour.” Jason kissed her goodbye, reassuring her that he’d be careful. He then entered the garage and pulled out. He made it to soccer practice just in time to start warming up. He loved soccer practice. It was another way to forget about everything else going on and just play. He loved it so much that he was a little angry every time it ended, except when the team had to do running. Jason made it threw the practice without injuries. He played very well and ensured his starting spot for the weekend game: it was a successful practice.
Jason then drove back home. He gobbled down his plate of salmon, a dish in which he ate at least twice a week. He knew he had at least one more hour left of homework, but he would still eat his fill. He talked with his mom and dad about the school day and soccer practice. They shared a few gripes about their bosses and the mysterious goings-on of the working world. He paid some attention to them, but he knew it was time to get back on his homework.
After he finished his biology lab report and his spanish worksheet, Jason had a little bit of time to relax before bed. He surfed the internet for a little while, checked sports stats, and had short text conversations with his friends. He needed sleep though. It had been another long day. Maybe tomorrow the teachers would cancel all the tests for the remainder of the year. Yeah, right. Guess I’ll just have to suck it up, he thought. He then got ready for bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow. (1239)

1 comment:

  1. Chris--no wonder Jason is tired. Classes, friends, practice, homework, tests--it's a busy life. You do a good job creating a feel for everything that makes up Jason's day.

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