I don't anything.

I only had to endure one more day of missing the bus, one more day of trudging to school on foot, and one more day of being late. I couldn't even handle one more day. It was the morning of my sixteenth birthday, and I was supposed to be fated to get my license that day, but of course it had to be the day of the annual standardized testing. The day that will determine if you can graduate to junior year and if you're a worthwhile human being and all that jazz, so there no chance in the world I could miss it, even though I had been planning this day for as long as I could remember. Getting your license on your sixteenth birthday is the ultimate symbol of being cool, right? It was if the school district gave me a birthday present, but it was a bag of crap that said April Fools!

I already knew I was going to be late, so what was the point? The school bus and I could never agree on our morning schedules, so I missed it a lot. It wasn't that bad of a walk to school though, and it saved me from the awkward and painful game of "please don't make eye contact with me because I don't want you to sit with me." Since it was my last time trekking to school, I must've been too caught up in enjoying the scenery and not watching where I was putting my feet, because I smashed down on a huge ant pile. Not even an ant pile, an ant mountain. Ants went everywhere, scattering about, dazed and confused, on the sidewalk, in the grass, and some even had the nerve to crawl up my pants. Feeling an intense barrage of stinging on my legs, I broke out into a run.

I arrived at school much faster than usual, but still late. I sheepishly ducked into my classroom and felt a little nauseous and dizzy, but I assumed that was a side effect of the running. The teacher tried to chew me out for being late but saw how out of breath I was and decided to take pity and not give me detention. She scowled and handed me my test.

Okay, Cody. Sixty questions and two essays. Four hours. You can do this.

Time ticked by ever so slowly as the thirty-some sophomores in the room concentrated on the test. I sat gathering my thoughts for a minute. I tried to calm my beating heart, but it seemed as if it were getting harder to catch my breath. I had a side cramp that wouldn't go away, and the ant bites were becoming so itchy. I decided to ignore my physical weaknesses and start.

Alright, question one: what is a thematic statement? What is a thematic statement? Why can't I remember?

I suddenly felt very light-headed. I got up and asked to use the restroom to try to wake myself back up.

"You can't leave now, you just got here! Late! Sit back down and do your test," the room monitor snapped.

I complied and tried to go back to my seat, but I found I couldn't walk straight because the room was spinning, spiraling downwards, until I felt myself hit the floor.

The school nurse pricked me in the butt. Not the best way to come into consciousness. It was only for a few fleeting moments, enough for me to see my legs covered in hives and feel like throwing up. Soon, the blackness overtook my field of vision again, maybe for the better.

The next thing I remember is a vivid image of a balloon sporting a too cheerful "happy birthday" against a white background, making the colors kind of painful to the eyes. It took me a few beats to remember what had happened, and come to the conclusion that I was in the hospital. I was promptly informed, to my surprise, that I am allergic to ants. I had received exactly sixteen ant bites, sending me into anaphylactic shock and nearly killing me. All on my birthday, too. What a lucky guy I must be.

The next few hours blurred together, as they tested me for several other insect allergies, me testing positive on quite a few. They thought if I were to ever slip into anaphylactic shock again, it might actually kill me. My brain was a bit foggy for most of this, but eventually they let my parents take me home. After I settled into my room again, everyone left and a striking silence entered, and it all hit me, like a truck. This was just adding to the list of things that make me unpopular, as if I needed a few more. I could only imagine the rumors spreading about me right now, because of people witnessing my embarrassing medical issues. This will obstruct me from getting friends somehow, and this is officially the worst birthday ever. What am I supposed to tell people if they ask how I spent my sixteenth birthday? A completely unreasonable amount of worry bombarded me and I felt like throwing in the towel.

To distract my spiraling mind, I flipped on the television and started surfing until something caught my eye: an advertisement for a televised summer camp for teenagers. That's just what I need, I thought. A summer away from here, and a chance to make a completely new group of friends.

On a whim, I searched for the application online. DUE APRIL FIRST, it strikingly told me. My fingers raced to fill it out, an eager excitement flooding me. Before I could even think about the disastrous mistake I was about to make, I sent it in.

What did you do this summer? I imagined people asking me.

To which I would answer, Who, me? Oh, did you not see? I was on that show, yeah, Total Drama Island. I won.

Wow, Cody, that's so cool.

I know.

I did minimal research on allergic reactions, so sorry if I screwed some things up. Happy Cody Day, everyone!