• He was only a child. 9 years of age. he stood at the end of the hall, swallowing hard, knowing what was at the end of that hall. his heart pounded. heat overcame his face. his legs wobbled beneath him. Dread consumed his mind. Slowly, he lifted his leg, bending at the knee slightly to take his first step. his foot hit the ground in front of him. it was a light, halfhearted step, but it made him want to drop to the floor. his other leg swung next, and landed in line with the other one. 3 steps left.

    If he were to die at that moment, he would be okay with it. perhaps a tree would fall outside, directly onto him. Dying would only take a second. If it were to all end now, there would be no door to walk through. Yes. He wanted to die. He took a moment, as if talking to god in his mind. "Please. If it ends now, I promise I will be good in heaven." he closed his eyes, and took another step forward.

    A thin yellow paper shook in his hand. Written upon it were 3 failing grades. Math, Science, and Social Studies. "An education is the most important thing" he rehearsed to himself, as he had heard from his father all of those times before. He could barely think. Those teachers hated him. Numbers confused him. The Science teacher was crazy. He sat next to his best friend in Social Studies. No matter how much he wanted to blame it on his teachers, he knew it was his fault. He took another step, accepting the responsibility for his actions.

    He thought back to what he told god. No, he really did not want to die. Surely there were better things to come in his life. Perhaps he was making a big deal over something relatively small. He wasn't stupid, just a bit lazy. Whatever was about to happen would be over in 8 hours. It was a motto that he lived by. In 8 hours exactly, he would be sleeping in his bed, and he knew that..tomorrow would be a new day, and he would surely focus in school. there were three terms left to make up for his failing grades. This comforted him. he took a deep breath and opened the door in front of him. His father was sitting on the bed, with a happy grin on his face. he took the last step into the bedroom, knowing that the grin would soon be replaced by disappointment. But it would not last forever. he stepped into the bedroom, and shut the door behind him.