Moments of Magic

Rocket Science

"Oh, no." I said one Wednesday afternoon. I was in my apartment, trying everything to make my science project work. This surely wasn't a repeat of the cabbage experiment, but rather, a horrible mistake on my part.

It's surely not a good idea to put off a big project until the day before it's due, and I certainly was a victim of this. Ethan kept lecturing me on how I could've done it earlier, but how could I with all the moving stuff going on, basketball, and an incompetent teacher who doesn't give us the due dates?

The next morning didn't go very well. The original teacher was absent, so they had a substitute step in. During our science period, Brittany and Kirsten were being very productive while I was having such a hard time. The sub wasn't very helpful, either.

"Well, Mia, you're really good at art and you want people to check out your project. I have an idea." The sub began.

"Let's hear it."

"Draw your balloon rocket car and add in some sort of explosion effect in the background."

I tried half-heartedly to draw the balloon rocket car and the explosion effect that went BAM! but failed miserably. I thought the sub's idea was REALLY stupid, but I only had two days to complete this project, so I went along with it. I needed to get this thing done on time, or my mom will kill me!

"There! Then when people see BAM!, then they'll wanna flock over to your project." The sub beamed with optimism. What was she thinking? The whole thing looked really shitty. Who'd wanna flock over to my project when they see this horrible balloon rocket car? And on top of that, it was the worst project I've ever done. A first grader could do better. What will the judges think when they see this? I'll get a D for sure, and my mom will be all over my neck. I knew I had to quell my anger, but I couldn't take it.

"Okay, I give up!" I shrieked before storming out the door. Ms. H greeted me in the hallway.

"What's wrong, Mia?" She asked.

"My project's gonna be a disaster. I haven't had time to work on it with all the moving and basketball, and I wasn't aware of the due dates!"

"Tell you what, I'll talk to Ms. C and you can spend your math period working on your poster. Did you check online for the due dates?"

That gave me an idea. All of our homework is posted online. Why didn't I think of that? Of course, I was used to writing things in my planner and checking it. I went online to check the due dates and there they were. I mentally slapped myself for being so stupid. All this time, I was blaming other things for my dilemma when in fact, I was partly guilty of the crime. Shit.

So math period came and I made my way over to Ms. H's office. She had gotten supplies from the lower school teachers beforehand, we got down to work. By the time math period was up, my poster board was halfway done. I heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that I was being really productive.

Friday rolled around, and the regular teacher, Dr. N, was back. I demonstrated my experiment in front of her, which involved sending the balloon rocket car blasting its way across a container filled with frozen water.

"So that's your experiment? You don't have a legitimate hypothesis, Mia." Dr. N said.

That got me thinking. I spent half of the class period trying to rework my hypothesis and indirectly, my whole experiment. Finally, I got it. But that meant having to undo the hard work Ms. H and I have done the previous day. I didn't mind. I stayed after school to finish the project, and finally did it. Now, I didn't have to worry about getting it done over the weekend.

Before I knew it, I had to present my project in the MPR, as it was every year. I had full confidence that I was going to get an A, or maybe a B. Loads of people came to check out my project, and certainly no one ran away in disgust.

After the whole thing was over, I was relieved. I didn't have to deal with that garbage any more. Now all I had to do was wait for Dr. N's final verdict. It came the following week, and my face fell when I saw my results. I had walked off with a C. Dr. N also wrote that my project was way too simple for someone of my age and skill. I tore it up into pieces and chucked the remains the recycling bin.

That Snape of a teacher! Who the hell does she think I am, Bill Nye? Just because I am good at math DOES NOT MEAN that I am good at science. Sure, the two of them are related somehow, but Dr. N didn't need to set her expectations so high. How does she expect me to do well when she doesn't even know what my strengths are?

I take back my outburst. Sure, Dr. N probably saw my potential and knew that I could do more, but I couldn't due to my stupid mistake. I forgave myself for that and I promised myself to never procrastinate ever again.

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Author's Note: Phew, got this over with! Now, back to basketball!