Maybe It'll Never Happen

Chapter 24

Maybe it'll never happen kind of controlled me for the next few days. I furiously began doing whatever I could. I ended up with twenty-three poems and nothing to show. So I decided to take a break and head home to clear my mind.

And my Aunt Hannah was very happy to see me.

   "Why didn't you call?" she asked.

   "Don't know. Been busy with school and stuff." I answered.

   "Those aren't excuses."

   "That's why I'm visiting you personally."

   "Fine. Now eat your grilled cheese and finish your apple juice. I have some news to tell you when you're done."

   "Okay, Aunt Hannah." I said, taking a bite of grilled cheese. I gulped down my apple juice and finished my sandwich after a gulp. I took my plate to the sink and washed it. I placed it in the drying rack and dusted off my shirt. Then, I went into the living room to hear the news.

   "Are you ready?" she asked.

   "Good news or bad news?"

   "Great news."

   "That's a first for me."

   "Don't be a sour granny. Now you know how I've been working three jobs lately?" she asked. I nodded my head in agreement.

   "Well, I've been accepted to the Nursing Academy in New York. We're going to New York! All expense paid trip for four years of training!"

   "Wow, okay." I reacted. Almost every event I could think of flashed by my eyes. We were going to New York. We were going to New York?!

   "When, exactly?" I asked.

   "When you finish school is in about a week so...three weeks maybe?"

   "Wow. That's great Aunt Hannah." I gave her a hug.

   "Now, umm...I've got tons of homework, so I'll be in my room, so yeah."

   "Homework on the last week?" she asked.

   "School is a marathon, not a sprint." I said scurrying to my room. I shut the door and locked it. I leaned back on my door and took a deep breath.

   "You can do this James." I said to myself. I sat on my bed and stared at the wall.

Ten minutes later, I was crying into my pillow.

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I awoke to the scent of pizza. When you know Aunt Hannah, you know where that pizza came from.

I checked my watch Four thirteen. I still had time. I pulled out a folder from my backpack and opened it up. There sat twenty three poems, all hand written, all purely made up. I began to read one about math. Why? Because I like math.

Math = Love © By: James Ignis All Rights Reserved

Do you know how to do it?

Do you know how to say?

You're every minute

of my everday?

So you take three sixty five

Multiply by twenty four

To a number greater than the bees in a hive

or the number of one kid's chores.

That makes three thousand

seven hundred plus sixty

plus another five thousand

Isn't that pretty nifty?

So you multiply again

by sixty this time.

To a number less than an army of men

But greater than the cents of a dime.

Yes, your math is right

You did it to win it

Five hundred twenty five

thousand six hundred minutes.

And now you know how to do it

You know how to say

You're every minute

of my everyday.

I looked at the piece of paper and read the title again. And then again. Then I read it five more times. Then I took the piece of paper and slipped it back in the folder. Then I placed the folder on my desk and took out another piece of paper and began to write:

365 (days p/yr.) × 24 (hrs. p/day) = 8760 (hrs. p/yr.) × 60 (min. p/hr.) = 525600 (min. p/yr.)

Then, I took the new piece of paper and crumpled it into a ball and opened the window. I set the piece of five ablaze and put it on my windowsill to burn to ashes. Then, I left for dinner.