A Day Off School
A Story Every Day in 2024 March 5th 65/366
He left his bike leaning on the rusty sign as the ocean boomed below him. The sea mirrored his inner emotions: angry, salty, erosive, powerful. Coming here was a solace. Something about the inevitability of the motion, the relentless, enduring push and pull grounded him and helped him to grasp life again and sort it into its relevant parts.
He should be at school now but he couldn't face it. The boredom of it; the pointlessness of lessons; being stuck in a classroom with other people who didn't care if he was there or not; the bullying. They'd notice his absence but he really didn't care in that moment. He might care later if he got into trouble and if he was still here.
He headed down the narrow path to the sand and waves below.
Why did she have to say that this morning? He'd just been getting his school things ready and was heading out when she'd told him that she wouldn't be there later. She passed him the lunch she'd made and dropped, casually, that she was moving out. To live with her new boyfriend. She said there was enough food for him, that with his dad coming at the weekend, she didn't feel too badly about leaving him. He was a big boy after all.
He was bitterly upset, bereft even at her leaving, but instead, he'd shrugged his shoulders and headed out of the door. Got on his bike.
She's a bitch, he'd thought, as he was cycling the short journey to school. . Let her go to her new bloke. What do I care?
And then he'd got angry, angry at where his life was headed, angry at the prospect of coming home to an empty house after a day of being confronted and he'd ridden away from his problems to the pull of the ocean.
He was at the water's edge. His shoes were in danger of being soaked by the wash.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Inhale the ozone. Clear your mind.
Breathe.
He'd be okay.
Calmer, he sighed.
If he left now, he might just be able to teach his first class of the day.
***
366 words
The picture was the inspiration for this story. I found it whilst browsing for something else and thought "I can make a story from that". And here we are.
Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please do leave a comment as I love to interact with my readers.
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Comments (10)
Love the twist!!!… but can we have a moment for this sentence?? 😍😍😍 “The sea mirrored his inner emotions: angry, salty, erosive, powerful.” It’s perfect.
Great job… you got me with the plot twist.
Somehow I knew he was a teacher. My close friend is a teacher and sometimes, the stress from work pressure and student problems gets to him. Reading your story reminded me of him. So I was surprised to discover I was right. Also, parents decisions affect their kids so much even of they're already adults. I would never forgive the parents who do this. Loved your story!
I was so upset thinking it was a mother that left her young child. Powerful evoking of emotions!
Some windows prove to be mirrors! Smashing!
I love how that last line was so unexpected, yet made complete sense once it hit!
Great punchline, Rachel. One single word makes all the difference, lol.
You did wonders using the photo! What a great twist at the end. It felt relatable as a student voice but especially so as a teacher once I reread
I totally did not see that coming. Wow! I let the story take me to one place and suddenly found myself in another. That is one hell of a twist. Great storytelling!
Ah, I like this - the end came as a surprise, though it shouldnt have, and was levelling, normalising.