The Day When Everything Went Wrong

This Story goes back 20 years; I don't remember the temperature, date, or month, what I do remember very vividly were the events that took place that day. It is etched in my memory forever. I was about to learn a very important law in life known as ‘Murphy’s Law’, for those who don’t know what this means, you will have to read on...

As a child, I was very well organized, I would ensure that my bag was packed according to the time table, my shoes polished, and my uniform ironed. Everything had to be in order. After checking if everything was in order, I set my alarm for 6am and tucked myself in to sleep. I had no idea what destiny had in store for me.

  

Beep, Beep Beep, Beep, Beep Beep, Beep... No it's not the sound of a truck backing up, It was the sound of my alarm; I had got a digital watch as a present from my uncle. I woke up feeling fresh as the morning daisy that had been struck by lighting the previous night.

  

I stretched, yawned and dragged myself out of bed, it was unusually bright at 6am, I thought nothing of it and ambled to the wash basin. After brushing my teeth and showering. I made myself a cup of coffee and started to get dressed for school.

  

I glanced at the clock on the wall, and my jaw dropped, it was 7:15am, school was about to start in the next 15mins and I was now as alert as a little kid with a sugar overdose.

I scrambled to my feet and dressed within seconds, in the confusion I forgot a certain law of nature; coffee doesn’t cool faster if you are in a hurry. So I took a big sip, only to burn my tongue, I spewed coffee across the dining table and some of it on my clean crisp white shirt that I had so meticulously ironed the previous night.

I had no time to change, I used a cloth and some soap to wipe away the spots, but it just made it look worse. Time was running out and it seemed like the seconds were ticking twice as fast, as if to mock me.

I dressed and rushed out of the house, I got on my cycle and sped to school, at 20kmph, I’m guessing that’s supposed to be quick. I live pretty close to the school, it would take about 3mins by cycle, or 10mins if I walked. So a minute into my race to school, the chain snapped, however the momentum took me within 200 meters of my destination. I ran the rest of the way, wheeling my bike along.

As I approached the school, I could see the gates close, so close but so far. I was late.

7:31am, 1 min late, 60 seconds. I was going to be marked late and I was going to get a negative remark in my calendar. So I accepted the reality and reached into my bag to get my calendar. It was not there, I was confused, I clearly remember packing my bag.

I had the ‘Oh Sh*t’ moment like a marquee bar run across my forehead, I picked up the wrong bag. I had 2 bags one black and one brown, same design and same brand, as you can see I like variety.

So I did not have my calendar, and for obvious reasons I did not have any of my relevant books for the day. Unlike other students who would lug their entire education curriculum with them, I was one of the very few who would only pack what I needed.

So now I would get 2 remarks, lucky me, I was yelled at and reminded how irresponsible I was by one of the professors who just loved me to pieces, If you dont get it, Im being sarcastic.

So I went to class and what do you know, a surprise test, right off the bat. WOW, I thought to myself, was this for real, so I pinched myself just hoping that this was a cruel dream, but it was not I just landed up with a sore arm. My next class was science, and my very dear professor who just loved me to pieces just happened to be the teacher of that class. Lucky me, really???

So with a smug look on his face, he entered the class and decided to check the homework he assigned. He usually never does it, however I guess he just wanted to epitomize the phrase of ‘Murphy’s Law’, a law I will never forget. So remark no 3 was on its way.

The next couple of classes, followed the same suite, I guess every teacher got up in the morning and decided it was important to check homework on that very specific day.

During recess, I decided to get something to eat, so I checked my pockets to see if I had any money, but as luck would have it I didn’t have any. I had left my daily allowance on the dresser. So nothing to eat, I was absolutely famished but I just had to wait until I got home.

 The next class was Marathi, my most favorite subject in the whole wide world, again I’m being sarcastic. There were 63 students in the class and out of all of them; I was singled out to read. Now for those who don’t know me, my Marathi is as good as my Chinese if you get the drift. So I struggled to read or comprehend what was written in that book, the professor didn’t seem very pleased with my fluency in the language and decided to give me a remark. I was getting used to this.

So with remarks queuing up like a car pile up on a busy intersection on a foggy day, I had accepted this cruel reality and was glad the day was almost over.

I lugged myself to the entrance of the school to collect my cycle, low and behold, it was not there. Could this day get any better?

So I walked home, It felt like an hour, I was trying to figure out if I done anything to piss God off or had he just decided to pick me to amuse himself.

I reached home to find the door locked, my mum was not home from school and my dad was at work. So I waited out in my balcony for 4hours until my mum was scheduled to get home, But Murphy had to make his point crystal clear, although I had clearly understood what his law stated by the 3rd period.

That day out of all the 365days we had that year, she was late, apparently she had a PTA meeting she had to attend, and my neighbors were also out of town. So after waiting for a total of 6hours, my mother came home.

I can’t tell you how glad I was to see her, my eyes swelled with tears as I ran towards her. All my adversities I had faced the entire day vanished in a second with her embrace. I described my entire day to her over a cup of hot chocolate and that when I learned that I had a Murphy day.

‘Anything that can go wrong will go wrong’

What I also learned was that a simple hug from someone who loves you can wipe away the most horrible day in a second.

I've had a few Murphy days in my life, and I've got through them...