Oops, I did it again

Chapter One: Time Slip or Just Tripping

Jamie always knew Monday mornings were a recipe for disaster. But she'd expected a normal disaster—the kind where you snooze your alarm one too many times, throw on the nearest hoodie, and dash to class with a granola bar in hand. What she hadn't expected was today's lineup of horror: an embarrassing stumble, a tragically spilled coffee, and—oh, why not—a crash course in humiliation with none other than Alex Martin watching it all.

It was 8:07 a.m., and Jamie was over it. The day was only an hour old, but that didn't stop her from wishing she could rewind it all and start fresh. Or better yet, skip to Friday.

She tugged her hoodie strings tight around her face, casting one last death glare at her coffee cup—the real culprit in this morning's disaster—and trudged toward her first class. The hallways buzzed with the usual high school chaos: people weaving between lockers, friends shouting over each other, and Jamie's personal favorite, the constant clatter of gum-smacking and laughter.

Just as Jamie reached her locker, the familiar flicker of dark hair caught her eye. Alex Martin, in all his effortlessly-cool, jean-jacket-and-sneakers glory, was leaning against the locker across the hall, laughing at something one of his friends had said. Alex's laugh was like... sunshine in audio form. Not that Jamie would ever admit that out loud.

Focus, Jamie. Locker. Textbooks. Science homework you totally finished last night. Right.

But then—just as Jamie was about to look away—Alex glanced up. Direct eye contact. Jamie's mind went blank.

"Hey, Jamie!" Alex called, waving.

Oh, no. Nope. Not ready for this.

Jamie's first instinct was to wave back. Her second instinct was to panic as she felt her grip on the coffee cup slip. Time seemed to slow as the cup tumbled from her fingers, spiraling in a graceful arc... straight toward the floor.

Smack. The coffee cup exploded on impact, spraying her shoes—and, worse, the hem of Alex's jeans—with brown streaks.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Jamie's voice came out three octaves higher than intended. "I didn't mean—"

Alex laughed, taking a step back to inspect the damage. "Hey, no worries. Monday, right?" He shrugged, that same easygoing smile lighting up his face.

Jamie's cheeks were officially on fire. Please, universe, just let me disappear right now.

"Oh... yeah, totally. Mondays." Jamie's voice trailed off as she struggled for words, her brain still replaying the coffee disaster in slow motion. Would this memory haunt her forever? Likely.

For the rest of the morning, Jamie was plagued with a single, relentless thought: Why couldn't I just rewind and fix it?

The bell rang at the end of second period, snapping Jamie out of a half-hearted attempt at calculus. She gathered up her things, making a beeline for the door when a strange dizziness washed over her. The hallway swirled, voices blending together in a messy hum. Jamie's vision blurred, then tunneled, then—

Pop. She blinked, and everything... reset.

It was 8:07 a.m. again.

Jamie found herself back in the hallway, coffee cup in hand, hoodie strings pulled tight. She was at the exact same spot she'd been in just before The Great Coffee Debacle.

"What the..." Jamie looked around, feeling a strange mix of confusion and déjà vu. Her gaze slid down to her spotless shoes, then over to Alex, who was still laughing with friends at his locker across the hall, blissfully unaware of the upcoming coffee disaster. None of it had happened—yet.

"Am I... tripping?" Jamie muttered, glancing down at her coffee cup. She squeezed it, testing if this was some sort of caffeine-induced hallucination. The cup was solid, very real, and still full of coffee.

A wild thought crossed her mind: Could I actually fix this?

Steeling herself, Jamie took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and put on her most casual, coffee-spill-free expression. She approached her locker, trying to act as natural as possible.

This time, as Jamie closed her locker door and heard Alex's voice calling, "Hey, Jamie!" she was ready.

Carefully setting her coffee on the floor, Jamie turned and offered a wave. "Hey, Alex," she said, feeling the slight rush of victory at avoiding a second disaster.

But, of course, fate has a sense of humor.

The bell rang. Jamie reached down to grab the coffee cup in one smooth motion—too smooth. In a tragic twist of irony, her foot slipped on a stray notebook, sending her tumbling backward, coffee flying yet again.

This time, the spill missed Alex entirely, but Jamie wasn't so lucky. The hot liquid splashed across her own hoodie and jeans, and the entire hallway erupted in laughter.

Yep. Today was definitely going to haunt her forever.

As Jamie dragged herself to class, mortified, one thought stuck with her:

Rewind? Really? Because I'm going to need a lot more practice at this.