06/10/2024
Ever had a dream so real you could actually feel the disappointment? Yeah, welcome to โFlickers and Flights,โ where paper planes crash-land with your not-so-great exam scores, classroom lights flicker like they know your soul is struggling, and school feels like the same day on repeat. Itโs for anyone who lives for the bell, or prayed their alarm was just a bad dream. We all get through it, one day at a time, with a few crashes along the way.
๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ | Flickers and Flights
I was lounging on top of a hill, enjoying the peaceful breeze, when something strange caught my eye. It was flying straight toward meโfast.
โWhat theโฆ Is that a bird? Wait, no, way too white. Andโฆ hold on, is something written on it?โ I squinted, trying to make sense of the blur. โNo wayโฆ Is that a paper airplane?!โ
Before I could react, it nose-dived right into my lap. I picked it up, confused. And then I saw itโwritten on its wings was my exam score.
65/100. Ouch.
I groaned. โOf course, it's mine. Why couldn't my grades fly as high as this stupid plane?โ I could practically hear my teacherโs disappointed voice echoing in my head. Sheโd expected perfection. I'd given herโฆ well, not that. I could picture her sad eyes behind her glasses. "Distracted," she called me. She wasnโt wrong.
It wasnโt that I didnโt careโI did! But between exams, assignments, and all the constant pressure, sometimes I just wanted to breathe. So yeah, Iโd winged it on the test, relying on stock knowledge. Clearly, stock knowledge wasnโt enough.
Just as I was about to dive deep into a spiral of self-pity, I heard itโa sound that was both distant and unbearably familiar, growing louder and louder, untilโ
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
I shot upright, my heart pounding. The world around me dissolved as I realized the awful truth.
It was just a dream.
I blinked, still half-asleep, as my phone vibrated relentlessly beside me. 6:30 a.m. Time for my real nightmare to begin. Yay, another day of schoolโฆ
I grabbed my phone, scrolling mindlessly through Facebook, my eyes burning from the harsh light. โCome on, give me somethingโanythingโworth waking up for,โ I muttered to myself. Spoiler: nothing ever did. Not even the juiciest gossip could cure the exhaustion I felt.
I was tired.
Tired of waking up early.
Tired of school.
Tired ofโฆ everything.
I glanced at the time. Dang it. No extra minutes to spare. The morning rush was about to begin. I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed, shuffled through breakfast, and got ready to head out.
School? Same old, same old. I sat through classes, took notes, got more homeworkโlike eight hours of school wasnโt punishment enough. And, of course, the dreaded pop quizzes. You know what was fun? Watching the classroom lightbulb flicker in sync with my soul. It sputtered like it wanted to quit, but something kept it from completely giving up. Just like me, I guess.
When the bell finally rang, I felt a sense of freedomโuntil I remembered the mountain of homework waiting for me at home. I shuffled back, finished my assignments, ate, and collapsed onto my bed.
Finally. Me time. I unlocked my phone and dove into TikTok, losing myself in an endless loop of videos. At least here, I could escape the stress I felt, even if only for a little while.
Eventually, my eyelids grew heavy, and sleep took over.
Morning came too fast. My alarm blared, and sunlight poured through the window. I groaned, half-hoping the rainstorm from last night wouldโve canceled school. But no such luck. Of course, I couldnโt get that lucky.
Another day of the same routine.
Wake up. Go to school. Survive. Go home. Sleep.
And tomorrow?
Well, tomorrowโฆ we do it all over again.
๐๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ & ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ: Jonah Rhaine L. Ebo
