Anything But Ordinary

Anything But Ordinary

Kody Thomas

Published by Kody Thomas at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 Kody Thomas

Chapter One

I have always taken pride in just being an average Joe. I am average height, average weight, have brown hair, and brown eyes. I have a comfortable job, I'm in college, and I spend my free time watching and playing sports. There isn't anything too exciting about being me, but I enjoy my boring life. So when I rolled out of bed this morning, I had no reason to believe the day wouldn't be the same as always, ordinary.

I head straight to the restroom after getting out of bed. I have had to go for a bit but have been delaying getting out of bed because I really don't want the day to start. Would rather have slept in all day. But I splash some water on my face and that helps get me going.

My dog Jack attacks me as I leave the restroom. I need to take him outside but the heat of the summer is not appealing. Jack is a Shih Tzu so his obsession for a game of fetch allows me to distract him for a few minutes before he realizes he has to go to the bathroom.

When I open the door, the humid air hits me like a brick wall. It isn't usually triple digits in O'Fallon, Missouri, so it is hard to adjust to the extreme heat. Even Jack isn't handling the heat well. He usually likes to take his time outside and smell everything once or twice, but today he does his business and races back into the air conditioning. I hurriedly follow him in.

Once we are back inside, the daily routine begins. I get on the elliptical and do my daily cardio. After my workout, I head to the kitchen for some cereal. After eating breakfast quickly, I head off to take a shower and get ready for class.

Finding something to wear is putting me behind schedule. I'm not too picky about clothes but it has been quite a while since I've done laundry. After miraculously finding a semi clean outfit, I'm off to class.

I put the key into the ignition and am happy when the car starts. I have been driving this car forever and am riding it out until it completely falls apart. And it is almost to that point. The air conditioner has been broken for a while but I cross my fingers and try it to no avail. It just blows out warm air. It's going to be a long hot drive.

I'm running late since traffic is backed up two exits before mine. Now I'm not only dripping in sweat but a little cranky too. I hate when I'm late to class. The teacher is not very happy about having their lecture interrupted and all the students just stare at you. Always an uncomfortable feeling.

I finally arrive and get parked at Maryville University at the same time class is starting inside Reid Hall. I power walk/jog as I hurry towards the building. I speed walk once inside the building and get to class five minutes late. It could have been worse but I can tell Dr. Lin is not very happy about it as she glares at me as I head towards my desk. My phone vibrates as I sit down in my desk.

"Nice of you to join us, Jake" says the text from Ryan, my best friend and classmate.

"I hate traffic. But better late than never." I answer back.

Dr. Lin has been a great teacher the last four years but there are only three more classes until the end of the semester and the end of my time in college. This has caused me to pretty much sleep walk through class the last few weeks and today is no different in my Statistical Modeling class.

My degree will be in Actuarial Science though no one knows what that is when I tell them. It is a pretty obscure major but great degree for people who enjoy statistics, which I do. I just tell people it is what Ben Stiller's character does in "Along Came Polly".