Duke Doki's Big Adventure

This is a story about a dog.  The greatest dog to ever live.  Standing knee-high, he was not too big and not too small.  Long, sleek and muscular.  Athletic and adorable.  Soft mink fur in wild patterns of black, brown, tan and white unlike any other dog.  Passionate about dog toys and playing fetch.  An aggressive snuggler.  And serious.  Always very serious.  Serious about snuggling.  Serious about playing fetch.  Life is not a game, and he gives it his all.  At the dog park, he MUST fetch the ball first, even if he was not invited.  He outruns the bigger dogs, and prances back quite full of himself.  He is a noble dog.  A royal.  gaining fans.  He is much more popular than I am, attracting attention everywhere he goes.  But I am proud to stand in his shadow.  He is my son.  My dog-son.
This dog went by many names... Duke, Jester, Doki Doki.   Some even call him Duke Doki of Doki-shire, recognizing his royalty.   While the events of his early chidlhood are unknown, we can only imagine what horrors he suffered.  Loss of family.  Hurricanes.  Separation.  Relocation.  Surely there is something in this story to explain why he is so serious, and why he has such anxiety about rain and cats.

He was born September 15th, 2007 in Gulfport, Mississippi, along with 9 of the cutest puppies ever to live.  He was named Duke, for he looked just like his dad, King.   King, was a full-blooded Catahoula Cur standing nearly waist high with thick leopard spotted fur, one blue eye, and one brown eye.  A large muscular hunting dog and respected leader of the pack.  Duke's mom, Sadie, was half-dachshund and half Catahoula Cur.  She was much smaller than King with a long sleek body and long dachshund pattern fur.  She was very loving and attentive, keeping track of all 10 of her children and making sure they were well fed.  Duke loved her very much.

Over the first months of his life, Duke's brothers and sisters began to mysteriously disappear.  One by one.  Strange humans would arrive, make a big fuss and suddenly one of the pack was gone.  But he got plenty of attention from his parents and humans.  His humans treated him well, but did not pay much attention to him.  They were too busy doing human things.

From the day he was born, the cats terrorized him.  At first he thought they were playing, but they would claw and bite him, drawing blood!  He had to hide close to momma or else one of the mini-tigers would pick on him.  All of his brothers and sisters had disappeared, and he was now an only pup.  No one to play with, and no one to watch his back.  He had to keep his guard up at all times.

Daddy King was Duke's biggest role model.  Duke dreamed of going out hunting in the swamp, chasing birds and treeing big animals of all types.  But the dangers were even greater than he realized.  One day, King went hunting with the humans... and did not come back.  Duke didn't understand why!  Where did he go?  Was he kidnapped like his siblings?  Or was he eaten by a giant animal?  Duke vowed to train hard, overcome the cats and become a big hunting dog like his dad.

When Duke was 11 months old, there was a great thunderstorm.  It started raining and it didn't stop.  Duke was put in the garage with his mom, Sadie, and they hid inside a box in the corner as the wind and thunder shook the building.  The wind was so bad, the roof was ripped off the house and part of the garage.  The noise was so loud, all Duke could do was hide in fear.

The garage began to fill with water there was so much rain, and yet all the doors were closed.  Nowhere to run or hide.  And so Duke and Sadie swam in circles, until the water reached the table and they had footing again.  But the water continued to rise, and lil puppy Duke swam and swam, back and forth, keeping his head above water.  With a crash, the wall of the garage fell apart and the two dogs were swept outside into the rain.  They found shelter under some fallen wood and waited.

Duke's neighborhood after the rain

In the morning the storm had subsided.  Duke and Sadie circled around what was left of the house... which was now an island covered in junk, trailers and boats.  Water and rubble surrounded them on all sides.  And there was no food.  Luckily, some nice humans arrived on a boat with some food.  But the food was a trap!  They actually wanted to capture the dogs, and soon Duke found himself in a cage, looking through the bars at his mother in the next cage.  He began whining and yelping, but to no avail.  He was trapped.

You've been rescued!  Now get in this tiny cage.

After riding in the boat for hours, Duke was unloaded into a big building full of barking dogs, meowing cats and squawking birds.  Looking around frantically, he realized his mom was no longer in sight.  He began barking and howling along with the rest, and he continued barking until he heard the tail-tell sound of his mom barking in return.  She was in another part of the building, but it comforted him to know she was nearby.

Duke was moved from his cage to a pen filled with small dogs.  He was sad that his mom was not part of this bunch, but the males and females had been separated.  Every day he barked and howled until his mom responded to console him.  The days passed, the pen got more crowded and the inmates were stressed to breaking point.

Caged up and shipped off

Several weeks passed just the same, until Duke found himself being caged and loaded onto a trailer.  And so began the longest trip of his life.  Looking out the cage bars, he could see the road passing by, and the voyage took an entire day and night.  He was very sad, and very confused.  His mom was not on the truck, and he had no idea where she was.

The next day, he was let out of his cage into a kennel full of small dogs.  Such annoying little dogs, yapping and causing a scene.  Duke did not like them, and spent most of his time in the corner.  For some reason, the humans were now calling him "Jester."  And lots of humans came to look at him, calling him Jester and acting like they knew him... but he didn't know these people!  All he wanted was his beautiful mom, Sadie.  So, everytime a human took him out of the kennel, he would lay down and ignore them.  All he wanted was to be left alone.

Weeks passed, and the kennel got less crowded as the days passed.  Now he was one of 6 dogs in the kennel.  He was much bigger than the others, but still too small to be in the big dog kennel.  Once again, he was taken out of the kennel and handed to a total stranger.  This one was a man with friendly brown eyes and a soft voice.  He smelled like food.  But Jester was still too shy.  Too scared.  And he laid down and ignored the human.  But this human wouldn't take no for an answer, and kept talking to Jester, petting him and consoling him.  They locked eyes, and immediately Jester felt a kinship.  There was something different about this human.  Before he knew it, he was sitting in the front seat of a car with wind in his hair as exciting music played.

Jester (Doki) and his first toy Neptune, first day home.

They stopped at a big store filled with dog toys.  Jester was too confused and shy to look around much, but he did like one toy that was offered him.  A merdog with a crown.  It reminded him of his dad, King.  And for the first time in many months, he had something of his own.  The next place they stopped, a human gave them food.  He was offered a Wendy's burger, but it smelled awful so Jester didn't touch it.  And their last stop was a house, where there was a bowl of dog food and water and a whole couch just for him!  He had a big window view of giant mountains, and he had his new dog toy, that the humans named Neptune.

Doki Doki

The new human said he didn't like the name Jester.  Duke didn't like it either, and refused to respond to it.  So the human started yelling names at Duke.  "Jack!  Bob!  Killer?  Cujo!  Zepp?  Fernando?"  Duke didn't like any of those names, and did not respond, but the human kept yelling out names.  "Steve!  Doolittle!  Zeffer!  Hotdog!  Leopardo!"  Still none of the names appealed to Duke.  The human left for a few hours, and came back with a list in his hand.  Again, names were randomly called out... until suddenly Duke thought he heard his name... "Doki doki!"  He looked up at the human, twisting his head.  "Doki doki!  Doki doki!"  Hey, this is exciting!  The human said "Doki Doki" is Japanese for heart-throb.  Jester was officially named Doki Doki.  Duke Doki of Doki-shire.

Doki at the summit of Raspberry Mountain

The years that followed were filled with adventure.  Climbing mountains.  Going for runs.  Eating homecooked human food.  Meeting lots of nice humans, and making friends with their dogs.  But most of all, Doki loved his human.  His human threw his ball every day.  His human loved cuddles.  And his human made the best food.  He became very good at treeing animals, too, just like his dad.  He treed squirrels, cats and even a bear!

He still warred with the cats.  They taunt him, with their swishy swishy tails and meowing sounds.  Constantly trying to steal attention from the humans.  So Duke Doki makes sure the cats know, HE is the one that will do the terrorizing.  And the cats know it!  He won't kill them, but he'll rip out a tuft of fur if he can!  Whenever it rains, Doki finds his human and sticks by his side like glue.  Never again was he going to get left alone in a storm!  And every day, Doki misses his momma Sadie.  Where is his mom today?  Living a happy spoiled life, I'm sure!

Doki and his dog-best-friends (in Christmas sweaters)

Do Not Enter

A few weeks ago I had an idea for a story inspired from my dreams, and also from the series "Virtual Mode" by Piers Anthony.  So climb into my mind and enjoy the ride!

"Do Not Enter"

I wake up in the middle of the night to the sounds of breaking glass.  Or was it just my imagination?

No, I definitely hear footsteps downstairs.  An intruder!

I race to put on my clothes, and search for a weapon.  Hmm, nothing in sight.  I guess a shoe will work.

Holding my shoe up ready to beat someone with it, I creep down the hallway and down the stairs.  It's so dark I can hardly see, but I hear someone causing a racket in the kitchen.

Peeking around the corner I see two large men rummaging through the cupboards!  Robbers!!  I turn around and run to grab my cellphone, and stumble in the dark and trip over the coffeetable!  "Ow!" I yelp in pain as I fall to the ground.

Suddenly, light blinds me from the kitchen.  I look back and see the two flashlights pointing at me.

A gruff voice yells, "What the hell!?  The owner is away on vacation!  Who are you??"

"I'm a f-f-friend!  House... uh... house-sitting!"

My eyes gradually adjust and I see the two men are wearing biker masks painted to look like skulls.  I look over at my cellphone plugged into the wall.  As I jump up and run to grab it, a gunshot rings out completely deafening me.  I look back and see one of the men holding a smoking gun, and that they had shot my cellphone.

"My cellphone!  Damn!  You bastards.  That costed me a months pay!"

"And it's about to cost you your life!  Sit still.  Our gang is coming, and if you're lucky, we will let you live."

I widen my eyes with fear, and try to think fast.

"You already broke a window and set off the silent alarm.  Police will be here any minute."

"Oh?  Is that so?  Well, then disarm it!"  The taller thug shakes his gun at me.

"Ok, ok.  The control panel is near the front door."

"Lead the way."

We walk down the hallway through the living room to the front door.

"Hmm... I don't see the control panel.  It must be by the front door on the porch."  I open the door, slam it, open the porch door and run as fast as I can towards my car.

There was no alarm system... but thankfully my bluff had worked.

I hear the front door slam behind me as my pursuers chase after me.  About 20 feet from my car, I hear the roar of motorcycles turn down the driveway.  I'll never make it to my car in time!  I veer right, and I run behind the house, then across the field and into some woods.  I stop to catch my breath and listen if I'm being followed.

Sure enough, I hear yelling and footsteps chasing after me.  I jump up and continue running through the woods.  I'm not really familiar with this area and have no idea where I to go, so I just keep running.

I come to a clearing in the woods and find a run-down mansion with rotted out wooden steps.  I carefully climb up the steps, walk through the broken front door and I hide around the corner and wait.

But they're still chasing me!  By the sounds of it, the entire gang is on my trail now.

"He must have ran inside that house!  Everyone circle around it so he doesn't escape, and two of us will go inside after him."

Shoot!  Now I'm trapped!  I look around the house for an escape.

The floorboards looked old and rotten just like the front steps, and the remnants of a stairway leading up to the second floor.  I see the main zig-zag beams that held the stairs are still there, but the boards are gone.  I figure the bikers would not expect me to make such a dangerous climb, so I carefully make my way up the beam, using the wall for balance until I reach the second floor.

At the top of the stairs is a large wooden door.  It appears there are words carved on the door but are so worn I can barely make them out...  "Do not enter."  Strange.  I push the door open and run through.

It's bright and noisy.  My eyes struggle to adjust.  I look around and discover I am on a busy street in broad daylight, and it smells awful.  How can this be?  I look back and see I just came out of a run-down building that looked nothing like the mansion I was just at.  Where am I?  I look around and see street vendors selling fruit, fish and other wares and dirty people in rags everywhere.  Am I in another country?  These people don't look American!  I yell to a passerby and ask "Where am I?"  They frown at me, and say something in a language I don't understand.  So I walk down the street, hoping to find someone that speaks English.

I spot a sign written in English that says "Coffee."  A coffeeshop!  Perfect!  Someone surely speaks English there!  I walk through the door...

And I step into snow.  Snow?

I look around, and I'm on a mountaintop!  What in the world?  This doesn't make any sense.  I look back and see a hut behind me, with the door wide open.  Inside I see a bed and a stove and it looks inviting, but it doesn't make sense.  Where is the street market I just came from?  A blast of cold wind hits me and I don't see any other buildings in sight, so I go back inside the hut for shelter...

Except inside was not a hut, but a construction yard!  Men in hard hats are all around me working on a huge skyscraper.  Cranes moving huge beams over my head and welding sparks raining down from high up above.

"Hey, you!  What are you doing here??"  A man in a white hard-hat comes running up, still yelling.  At least he spoke English!  "What are you doing here?  Where is your hard-hat?"

"Um, I'm lost," I reply.

"This is a restricted area!  Didn't you see the signs?"

"No... sorry.  I just came out of..." I look back and see the door to the foreman's trailer behind me.  The door!  Before the man can say another word, I turn around and run through the door.

Suddenly, I'm overwhelmed with loud music.  So loud, I can feel my bones rattling to the beat.  It appears I am now in a dark club filled with dancing people silhouetted by strobe lights and laser beams.  It smells of sweat and alcohol.  I look behind me, and see the entrance to the club with a line of people at the door getting checked by the bouncers.  At least the music was good!

I walk up to the bar and go to order a beer, but realize I don't have my wallet.. nor my cellphone... nor any keys!  The three things I always carry on me.  I was really in a bind.  So, instead of a beer I ask for a glass of water and watch the people on the dance floor.

"Do you want to dance?"

I look over and see a tall beautiful brunette batting her big brown eyes at me.

"Why yes!  A dance would be great.  I've had a such horrible night."

She grabs my hand and drags me out onto the dance floor.  "I'll make it better."

What luck!  And what a dancer she was!  I lurch around awkwardly in what I consider dancing, while she sways and floats around like a swan princess on a cloud of air.  I pull her closer, her body continuing to wiggle against mine as we dance together.  She's sexy, curvy and smells sweet like candy... completely overwhelming my senses.  She begins grinding against me and kissing my ear, and then she whispers, "Want to come home with me?"   I nod excitedly, and she leads me towards the exit.  Arm in arm we walk out of the club.

And I find myself standing alone on a beach in broad daylight again.  Looking around, I see that I am on a small island with nothing on it except a small lean-to made of drift wood and a single palm tree.  The sun is hot and the water is endless.  I must be somewhere in the Pacific Ocean!

I decide to sit down and rest a bit, still trying to process what was going on.  I remembered being chased, running to the house and through the door that said "Do not enter."  Ever since then, I have no idea what is going on.  At least I am someplace nice, now.  The sun feels good, the sand feels soft and I really didn't sleep much last night... and I drift off to sleep.

I dreamed of travelling, beautiful women and sunny beaches.  I dreamed of places I had never been to, and people that I had never met.  But then my dreams turned darker, and I dreamed of running in the dark, cold and wet.  Rain beat down and lightning flashed overhead, and I could not find shelter.  What a horrible dream!  I ran and ran, but could find no escape from the rain...

And then I woke up to the sound of thunder.

The waves were crashing against the beach violently, and it really WAS raining.  I look up at the palm tree and see it swaying in the wind.  This tree wouldn't provide any cover.

I get up, wipe the sand off myself the best I can and walk towards the lean-to... but it was gone!  The wind must have blown it away!  I look around and see boards scattered across the beach, and some floating in the water.  There truly was no place to hide from the storm!!

I decide to huddle up against the tree as best as I can, and I tuck my head inside of my shirt to hide from the wind and the rain, and at the same time warm myself with my breath.  I was freezing!

And then it dawned on me... I'm trapped!  There weren't any doors on this island!  And most of the driftwood from the lean-to was gone so I couldn't build a door.  I'm trapped on a deserted island.  Well, I thought, there are worst places to be!

The Glowing Man

When someone gets hit by lightning, do their bones light up like in the cartoons?  That would be cool to see. And scary. And gruesome.  Hmm... maybe I DON'T want to see that.   But if you make your bones light up, that WOULD be a fun super power.  Maybe not the most useful super power.  But it would be fun.

"The Glowing Man"

Something strange was hanging from the 4th street bridge.  A giant of translucent purple pod pulsed and oozed bloody slime.  Nobody had noticed.  And nobody noticed the slimy hand that suddenly punched out of the sac to tear open a hole.  A horrible creature emerged and fell to the ground 15 feet below.  With a gasp it took it's first breath of air.  Covered in slime like a newborn baby it screamed an unnatural cry that echoed across the land.

It looked vaguely human, although stood over six feet tall and had large faceted eyes, antennae, a long pointy nose and wet wings unfurling from furry body.  The creature stood up, stretched out arms and wings, and shook off the thick bloody slime.  As it looked towards the rising sun, it felt the hunger take hold.  Weak and soaking wet, it could hardly stand.  Wobbling on new-legs, the monster fell face forward into the dirt where it slept throughout the day.  The wet wings dried and hardened in the sun.

 The creature awoke to dark clouds boiling overhead and the first raindrops of the coming storm.  The hunger burned within him.  He needed something.  But it couldn't afford to get wet.  Quickly, the beast scrambled for cover under the bridge as the rain began to pour down.  

Forks of lightning ripped across the sky.  Some struck the ground.  The clouds had been pushed down by the heavy winds causing a thick fog along the shoreline.  Matt Silverton raced up the stairs as fast as he could.  The storm had been so sudden.  The weather service said it would be sunny today, but if a ship ran into the rocky shoreline it would be his fault.  He had to hurry!

Tripping on the top step he threw his hand out to break his fall.  He ignored the pain shooting up his arm.  Hopefully, it was just a sprain, but he didn't have to worry that now.  It was pitch black, but the lightning continued to flash outside like a strobe light gone wild.  Opening the metal box on the wall, he pulled the big red switch.  A soft light began to glow in the middle of the circular room.  Motors started grinding.  The glowing orb began to spin, growing brighter with each turn until the bright spotlight shined out the lighthouse across the water.

Matt shielded his eyes and looked out the circular windows at the shoreline below.  Thankfully there wasn't any signs of ships.  It would be terrifying to be out in this storm.  It was the worst he had seen in years!  

Lightning danced across the clouds, back and forth.  Suddenly, a lightning bold struck the lighthouse itself, electrifying the entire building.  Matt's screamed as 1.21 gigawatts of electricity burned through his body.  The lightbulb exploded in a shower of glass and filling the room with toxic gases.  The air crackled for a moment before a second blast sent Matt flying out the window to the ground below.  His body laying continued to spark as he hit the grass below the tower.  Bloodied and broken, somehow he still clung to life.  "How did I survive!" he thought.

His body continuing to glow as he crawled across the ground.  His eyes burned.  Everything was blurry.  He had to get help!  Somehow!   There was a gas station just down the road, and thankfully the rain had stopped.  Matt slowly stood up, feeling every part of his body burning in pain.  He stumbled down the road towards the blurry dim lights of the sign ahead.  Just a little bit further...

His ears started to ring.  Wait, that's not ringing... it's humming.  The humming grew louder and louder.  He looked up into the sky where the sound was coming from, and something heavy crashed into him!  He fell to the ground in a heap, the humming deafening in his ears and something heavy continually bashing into his glowing body.  Matt rubbed his eyes and focuses on the blur.  Giant eyes stared back at him.  He tried to stand up, but was knocked to the ground again.  Each time he stood up he was knocked over.  The giant moth man continually bashing into the glowing man tumbling him up the street.  It was practically humping him!

Bright headlights flooded the scene as a car passed by.  The moth looked up, suddenly distracted, and Matt scrambled into the parking lot of the gas station.  As he ran past the gas pumps, he is suddenly slammed to the ground again.  That damn giant moth!  A fury of wings beat around him as pulled himself up, using the gas pump for support.  He saw people running away screaming.  Tires peeled out as cars raced away from the monster that was attacking him.  The gas pump!

Matt struggled to pull his wallet out of his pocket as he is bashed and bashed again.  Why?  Why was it attacking him?  Matt then noticed his hand glowing brightly.  Not just glowing... his skin was shining brighter than the street lights!  He barely managed to pull out his debit card when a wing knocked everything out of his hands.  He dove after his card and was overwhelmed by the heavy body of the moth man pushing him to the ground.  He rolled across the ground, and jumped to his feet.  The moth zeroed in and flew directly at Matt, who threw himself to the ground narrowly dodging the beast.

Matt jumped up, ran over to the pump and slid his card into the slot.  The humming sound of the moth came closer.  The gas pump beeped, and the LCD screen flashed "Are you a rewards member?"  He desperately punches the No button.  "Do you want a carwash?"  He screamed at the screen "NO!  I DON'T WANT A CAR WASH!" and punched the button a second time.  "Select octane" the screen read.  He hit the cheapest one and reached for the handle of the pump.   The moth slammed into him.  Again and again, it banged him up against the metal gas pump.  With a desperate grab, Matt yanked the handle out of the gas pump and pulled the trigger.  Gas shot out of the nozzle, covering the moth from head to toe.  Matt shoved his hand in his pockets and grabbed his lighter, and flicks it in the face of the moth.  Moth Man bursts into flames screaming, and flailed to the ground.  The fire quickly spread across the ground, igniting Matt's gas-soaked clothes.  Matt felt such incredible pain.  "What a horrible day," he thought.  

BOOM!!  The entire gas pump explodes sending rubble and body parts everywhere.

It's unknown how many casualties there were.  There was no sign of man or moth, and only a few eye witnesses.

Some say that Matt escaped and went into hiding.  There have been reports of a glowing man walking along the shoreline late at night surrounded by swarms of gnats and moths.  But no proof.

As for me?  I don't believe a word of it.  It sounds like a hair-brained story that someone just made up.  Although... there is a statue of the Moth Man in Point Pleasant, West Virginia...

Bathroom Disaster

There I sat, fidgeting in my school desk wishing I hadn't drank so much water that morning.  Class was boring and the teacher was strict.  I sat watching the door, waiting for my classmate to return with the bathroom pass.  The 3rd grade teacher let us go to the bathroom whenever we wanted, but in 4th grade we HAD to use the bathroom pass.  I waved my hands in the air until the teacher called on me.  "Can I PLEASE go to the bathroom??  I can barely hold it in!"  The teacher responded "No, you have to wait for Jimmy to return."  My teeth were floating!!  Floating!

As Jimmy walks back into the classroom, I jump up and grab the pass like I was in a relay race.  Darting down the hallway, I run into the bathroom.  Strange... I didn't see any urinals.  What the heck?  Did they remove them over the weekend?  My bladder couldn't wait to figure it out... I run into the stall and finally find relief.

I hear the bathroom door open followed by two voices... FEMALE voices!  What are THEY doing in the men's bathroom??  I peek through the crack in the stall, and see two TEACHERS!  Oh no... I must be in the WOMEN'S bathroom!  Oh no!!  Quickly I jump up onto the toilet to hide my feet, and try to breathe as quietly as possible.

"I am soo ready for the weekend!" the first voice says.

"Oh?  Do you have big plans?"

"Not really.  I'm just ready for the week to be over.  I already had 3 parents in my class room this week complaining about SOMETHING.  It's been an exhausting week."

"It HAS been an exhausting week.  This morning, someone in the 4th grade music class put a whoopie cushion on my chair.  The class wouldn't stop laughing and making jokes about my musical instrument.  I never did figure out who did it, but I have my suspicions."

I gasp... I was the one who put the whoopie cushion on her seat.  And though for sure my classmates would tattle on me.  I guess it was too funny for them to give me up.  That's when my foot slipped... and with a splash I fall into the toilet.

"What was that?!" the music teacher said.  "Hello?  Is someone in here?"

Holding my breath, I slowly lift my foot out of the toilet.  Desperately trying to think of an excuse, or some way to get out of this mess.

The other teacher said "Check the stalls."

Ack!  And I'm in the FIRST stall!  Panicking, I grab the edge of the stall, and leap over the top of the wall into the 2nd stall.  As my feet land on the toilet seat, I hear the first stall door open.

"Nobody in this stall."

"Hmm, I was sure I heard a sound too.  Check the other stalls."

Like a ninja, I leap over the wall and onto the next toilet, and then the next.  The sound of stall doors opening just seconds behind me kept me jumping.  Until... I reached the last stall.  I can't jump through a brick wall!  My eyes go wide and I do my best to quiet my heavy breathing.  What to do?  What to do??  As I hear the stall door next to me open and shut, I throw myself over the wall back the other direction.  Crouched with my feet on the toilet seat, I shiver in fear.  I've already been in too much trouble this year.  Surely I will get detention if I get caught!

"Nobody here.  Hmm... maybe we just heard a sound from the boy's room next door.  I'll go get a male teacher to check it out."

I hear the bathroom door squeak open followed by heels clicking out into the hallway.  But there were two teachers... did they BOTH leave?  I hear the stall next to me open, and the sounds of clothes being taken off.  I hold my breath.  My heart is beating so hard it sounds like a drum beating against my chest.  I hear tinkling sounds go on far too long, and I feel like I'm turning purple from holding my breath so long.

The stall door opens, and I hear the sink turned on and turned off.  *th-thump!  th-thump!  th-thump!*  My heart beat was deafening in my ears.  Finally, I hear the bathroom door open and close.  I wait a few more seconds to confirm that the bathroom is quiet and empty before gasping for air.

I race out of the bathroom as fast as I could run, and sprinted all the way back to class.  I'll never make THAT mistake again!!



This is not a true story... but a drama piece that I did for competition in high school.  And no, I wasn't actually in a bathroom.  Each round of competitions was held in a class room with about 8 other teen actors and 3 adult judges.  I had 6 chairs lined up, and was jumping from one to the next miming the invisible walls to the bathroom stalls.  It was dangerous.  I fell a few times.  I ruined lines by laughing in the middle of my piece... but in the end, I made it to State Semi-Finals.  I didn't get a medal, but I got my picture in the paper and had a blast!