A Picture of My Day

By Clare Mishica

“I made a rainbow picture just like Aunt Jen did,” announced my little brother Kenneth as I tried to find my missing shoe. The bus was coming soon.

“Oh, no!” I cried as Kenneth waved his masterpiece around. “That’s my math assignment!”

“Aunt Jen takes her pictures with a camera,” I scolded. “She doesn’t draw them on my homework!”

Kenneth’s started to wail, and I finally found my shoe—in the dog’s mouth.

“Let go, Sam,” I grumbled as Mom called, “Gabriella, the bus is here!”

I slipped on my shoe, ignoring the dog slobber. Then I grabbed my backpack and ran out.

My morning didn’t improve. In math class, I discovered a glob of jelly on my shirt, so I kept my sweatshirt on. Damon Wentworth corrected my homework assignment and showed Kenneth’s rainbow scribble to everyone in our group.

“Look, Gabriella drew a psychedelic spider!” he whispered.

“Just correct it and skip the commentary,” I hissed, and Mr. Collins stared at me.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

I shook my head, and my face turned redder than an overripe tomato.

My bad luck stuck like velcro. At lunchtime, my locker jammed, so I hurried into the office for help.

“The janitor, Mr. White, can fix it,” said the secretary.

Ten minutes later, Mr. White finally pried my locker open.

“I’ll replace the lock this afternoon,” he promised.

“Thanks,” I said, grabbing my lunch. I only had ten minutes to eat.

In the lunchroom, my friend Tessa was sitting with Federica. Federica dresses like a teenage fashion model.

“Where were you?” Tessa greeted me.

“My locker jammed,” I explained, plopping down and opening my bag.

“Aren’t you soo-o-o hot in that sweatshirt?” Federica asked, wrinkling her nose.

I shook my head and took a big bite of my sandwich. Federica’s not my favorite person.

“I’m going to check my English paper,” Federica said. “Do you want to come over after school?” she asked Tessa, without inviting me.

“Sure,” Tessa agreed, standing up. “I have to check my paper,too. See you later,” she told me.

Federica and Tessa walked off, giggling together. I felt as popular as a wad of gum stuck on the bottom of someone’s shoe.

I didn’t make it to English class on time, and twenty-five pairs of eyes stared at me when I walked in late. In science class, my volcano burped instead of erupting. When the last bell rang, I couldn’t open my locker because Mr. White had replaced my lock. I scrambled to the office to get the new combination, but I still missed my bus.

When I called for a ride, my mom wasn’t home. I left a message and asked her to pick me up at Aunt Jen’s house. Aunt Jen only lives two blocks away, but as soon as I stepped outside, it started raining.

“Gabriella, what a nice surprise! The baby’s down for a nap, and I just baked a batch of cookies,” Aunt Jen said when she opened the door.

“I missed the bus,” I tried explaining, but my voice cracked. Aunt Jen opened her arms and when they wrapped around me, I burst into tears.

“Some days are like that,” Aunt Jen said after I told her everything. She gave me a dry sweatshirt, and we sat on her couch.

I sighed. “What do you do?”

“Sometimes, I have a good cry,” Aunt Jen agreed. “Then I adjust my lens.”

“On your camera?” I asked. Aunt Jen loves her photography.

“On my day,” Aunt Jen explained, handing me her camera. “Here. Look through the lens at my African violets.”

I squinted through the camera. “The violets look like purple blobs,” I said, “but the old chair behind them is crystal clear. I even see scratches in the wood.”

“Adjust the lens,” Aunt Jen said, showing me how to turn it. Right before my eyes, the blobs turned into lacy violets, and the scratches on the chair blurred into the background.

“You changed the focus,” Aunt Jen said. “The same objects are in your picture, but now the violets are the center of attention. I use the same trick with a bad day. I change the focus, so the picture of my day has something good in the center.”

“There aren’t any violets in my day,” I told Aunt Jen.

“Let’s fix that,” Aunt Jen said. “How about some of my famous oatmeal cookies?”

“Yes!” I agreed, following her into the kitchen.

Aunt Jen started telling me about her worst day as I bit into a cookie still warm from the oven. Before long, my mom and Kenneth came to get me.

“Gabriella!” Kenneth shouted, hugging me tight, like I’d been missing for ten years.

We told Aunt Jen thanks, and Kenneth held my hand as we walked out.

The rain had stopped, and an amazing double rainbow stretched across the sky.

“Look!” squealed Kenneth, tugging my arm. “Rainbows!”

“I see them,” I said. Then I stared up at the arches of color and let the gray clouds behind them fade into the background.

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