A Quick Student-Summer Reality Check
It was Friday night. Emmet looked at his phone and was instantly relieved. No Schoology notifications and no more emails from Mary Ludemann. Brrring, brrring; “at last!” Emmet exclaimed as the aroma of sweet popcorn kernels wafted under his nose. Emmet was a particularly odd fellow when it came to food, and as soon as he poured the popcorn into a bowl, he added mustard. It was going to be a glorious night; there were none of Dr. Edwards’ vocabulary assignments due at 12:00, no term paper deadlines, just Emmet, his popcorn, and Netflix. Emmet had recently finished watching Outer Banks season three, the perfect summer story, and he was keen on finding something new.
Armed with his bowl of popcorn and mustard, Emmet prepared for what he believed would be an ultimate binge-watching session of an entire TV series. It was not what he expected. The seemingly infinite selection of shows and movies on Netflix became an overwhelming vortex of indecision. He wasted HOURS just scrolling and scrolling through all of the different genres and show trailers. We have all been there. His eyelids became heavy, and the couch felt like a sinkhole. Making it to his bed was out of the picture, and so with his last bit of energy, he clicked the mute button.
The next morning started early as sunlight poured into the room. Emmet rubbed his eyes aggressively in an at- tempt to return his vision to its natural state. His eyes were so glued shut by his lack of sleep that these attempts proved ineffective. He poured himself a bowl of Lucky Charms, but in his bizarreness, he enjoyed water in his cereal instead of milk. He scrolled through his Snapchat and clicked on a new message from his good friend, named in his phone: “Daddy Long Legs”
Chuck was asking Emmet to go to the beach with him. Emmet quickly agreed, as going to the beach was one of his favorite things to do in the summer, something he had been fantasizing about in the last few weeks of school. He loved feeling the warm summer sun on his skin, the cool sand between his toes, and eating his weird snacks while reading a book. Emmet finished up his food and saw his mom walking into the kitchen. Confused, she asked: “Emmet, what are you doing up so early?” He replied quickly with a brief and tired response: “I couldn’t sleep, the TV and I battled, and it came out victorious. I’m going to the beach with Chuck soon, will you pack me a bag with towels, snacks, and drinks?”
She was happy to do this for him as he rarely got outside with his friends, so she responded, “No problem, why don’t you get changed, and when you are finished, it will all be ready.”
Emmet dragged himself upstairs. His body was barely functioning, and he was a strict believer that caffeine would shrink his brain. Sauntering into the bathroom, he looked in the mirror. His hair was a mess, and his skin looked pale. He needed sunlight as he locked himself in his room all April and May making sure his term paper was perfect down to the last word. While his paper may have benefited from this time, his face did not. He brushed his teeth, threw on his pink polka dot bathing suit, and heard a call from his mother, “Emmet, your bag is all ready, hope the beach is fun, say hi to Chuck for me.”
As he trudged his way outside, the sun quickly revitalized him, and after a brutal school year of what he saw as backbreaking work, he finally had some excitement boiling in him. He hopped on his bike and rode as fast as he possibly could. “Ahh, finally,” Emmet thought to himself. “This is what summer feels like, the warm sun hitting my skin as I bike to the beach.” As he let his eyes shut to take in the summer breeze, he suddenly somersaulted forward and felt his skin burning as he skidded on the hard concrete. Emmet could not catch a break. His summer had become the opposite of what he expected.
