Eugene's Lucky Day
Eugene opened his eyes, the sunlight temporarily blinding him as it came in from his bedroom window. He sat up in his bed, his blue pajama hat bouncing as he rubbed his eyes. Yawning widely, he pushed off the covers and stretched his arms and legs. He jumped out of bed, taking no notice that he didn't fall when he landed. He grinned at the start of a new day, but today was going to be even better.
"Today is my 13th birthday!" cheered Eugene in his room, striking a pose as he danced around his room, narrowly avoiding injury as he ran, jumped, and danced around. He started singing from Eugene, Eugene as he selected his clothing from his closet.
"When life gives you lemons, dance! Dance like there's a muskrat in your pants!" sang Eugene as he pulled off his pajama pants. He threw them into a small basket in his closet and pulled on his jeans.
"When your toes are tapping, nothing bad can happen. When life gives you lemons, dance!" continued Eugene as he took off his pajama shirt and put on his white t-shirt. Eugene grabbed his backpack and ran out of his room to the front door. He put on his sandals and opened the door wide, seeing Sheena sitting on his stoop. She was reading a book while waiting for Eugene so they could go to the bus-stop, something Eugene was accustomed to by now.
"When life lays a lemon on your plate," picked up Eugene, causing Sheena to turn around in surprise, "Kick up your heels and celebrate!" Eugene sang as he grabbed Sheena's hands and spun around in a circle with her. Sheena laughed at Eugene's aloof behavior, but picked up the song.
"When you're caught in a downpour, with nothing to live for," sang Sheena lightly as she and Eugene continued to circle. She lifted Eugene on top of the rail of his stoop and he slid down it on his knees as Eugene and Sheena finished the last lines.
"Strike your most spirited stance! And dance! Dance! DANCE!" Eugene and Sheena stopped, breathing from their big finish of their song. Eugene jumped off his stoop and landed next to Sheena. They began to walk side-by-side as they headed toward the bus-stop.
"Good morning Sheena. Today is so nice, isn't it?" asked Eugene.
"Good morning Eugene," answered Sheena. "It is nice today, and you seem to really be happy, or happier than usual. Is it because today is your birthday?"
"Yes," said Eugene. "I have finally hit my teenage years. That means we get to do all the cool things a teenager can do, like stay up later,"
"Be more independent," added Sheena.
"Join more activities with the older kids," continued Eugene.
"And try out more clubs and sports for the school," finished Sheena.
"This year is going to be sweet!" cheered Eugene as he jumped into the air, right over an open manhole he was about to fall into. He landed just past it and continued walking. Sheena gasped in surprise. She started to tell Eugene about his apparent luck, but the bus rolled around the corner and stopped at their stop. Eugene and Sheena rushed to the doors and walked on board.
Immediately behind the bus driver was Rhonda and Nadine, Rhonda applying some make-up while Nadine read the newest issue of International Insects magazine. Gerald and Phoebe sat behind them, Phoebe resting her head on Gerald's shoulders while he laid his head on hers. They both had their eyes closed as if trying to grasp what little extra sleep they could on the way to school. To the right of Nadine across the walkway sat Thaddeus, simply content to stare at his enchantress from afar. Behind him was an empty seat, which was where Eugene and Sheena decided to sit so Eugene didn't get motion sickness from the back of the bus.
Sheena spoke up, "It's pretty lucky that we have a seat up front today, right Eugene?"
"Yeah. Today is going great," agreed Eugene. He turned his head out the window, humming When Life Give You Lemons to himself as the city passed by. The bus stopped outside the front steps of P.S 119 and let out the students, Eugene and Sheena being the first off the bus. Eugene waved good-bye to Sheena as they went off to class. Eugene entered the building and saw a shine outside of his eye. He turned and found a quarter on the ground. He smiled at his fortune and picked it up.
"I must be the luckiest kid in the world! I found a quarter!" said Eugene as he pocketed the coin and went to his first class, where the teacher was choosing who would get to be the one who left class early for the day. Eugene crossed his fingers and hoped it would be him. The teacher pulled out a piece of paper and called out Eugene's name. He grinned when he heard his name, almost bouncing in his seat from excitement. At the end of class, he proudly went through the classroom doors. He walked downstairs to the cafeteria, not tripping once down the steps as he skipped to lunch.
The bell rang to begin lunch, Eugene being the first in the cafeteria. He grabbed all of his favorite foods and piled them high onto his tray, carrying it to the lunch-lady, Amy. He stopped before her with his money in hand, his tray resting in his other arm.
"Hi Amy. How are you today?" asked Eugene politely, as he did everyday to her. She smiled to Eugene.
"I'm good today, Eugene. Thank you."
"Today is my birthday," informed Eugene while he stood up straight in pride.
"Really? Happy Birthday," congratulated Amy. She looked around her, checking to make sure the coast was clear, and then threw Eugene an extra treat. "It's on the house, for your birthday." She winked slyly to him.
Eugene's face lit up at her gift. "Thank you so much." He grabbed his tray and walked over to his table, waiting for Sheena to arrive. He had just started eating when she sat down and gasped at his tower of food.
"Are you going to eat all that Eugene? It doesn't look very healthy," inquired Sheena, her lunch resting in front of her.
"Uh-huh," answered Eugene past a mouthful of cookie. He swallowed and held out a treat to Sheena, "You want to share?"
"I'm good with my apple, sandwich and juice, but thank you Eugene," said Sheena. "How did you pay for that?"
"Well, Amy said I could have it for free since it's my birthday," said Eugene. He shrugged, "I guess today is just my lucky day."
"Have you been hurt all day today?" asked Sheena. "You didn't trip off the bus earlier, you didn't get motion sickness, and you got a free cookie…"
"And I got to leave class early too," finished Eugene. He paused, "I guess I haven't been hurt today."
Just then, someone yelled out "FOOD FIGHT!" and the cafeteria erupted into a food mania. Cookies, puddings, salads, and lunches of all other types flew across the cafeteria. Eugene and Sheena ducked under the table and crawled toward the doors.
"Oh gosh, I can't believe a food fight started. Students really shouldn't be hitting others with food," said Sheena nervously, her hand sinking into splattered pudding on the floor. Eugene ducked as a sandwich flew over his head; the pandemonium causing confusion from the lunch-ladies and teachers. Eugene reached the cafeteria door and pulled Sheena quickly through it, a juice box exploding on the door where Eugene had just stood. They ran for to find someone to stop the food fight, but no one was anywhere in the school. They stopped and checked over themselves for any food, luckily not finding anything on them.
"We're clean," proclaimed Eugene. He laughed a little, "Of course, with today going so well, I thought we would."
"You should head to class Eugene before you're late. I'll see you later," said Sheena as she left to class. She stopped a few feet away and said, "And Eugene… I'm glad you're not hurt from today."
Eugene smiled at Sheena and said, "Thanks Sheena. I'm glad you're not hurt either. I would hate to see something bad happen to you." Sheena blushed darkly and giggled. She took a step backwards and hit the wall, making her blush darker from embarrassment. She rounded the corner, not looking at Eugene. Eugene watched her, losing his thoughts in how she giggled and blushed. He snapped out of it as students bumped into him in the hall, making him remember to go to his next class.
The day flew by pretty quickly for Eugene, capping off one of the best days of his life. He got A's on all his tests, won a prize from a question he answered correctly, and a student had a birthday, which meant the class got candy and cake. He headed to the bus with a plate of cake in his hand, eating the frosting off as he boarded. He sat down in the seat beside Helga's, who seemed to be reading a letter or paper to herself, her face frowning. Eugene tapped her shoulder, making her twist and scowl at him.
"What do you want, Eugene?" snapped Helga.
"I was just wondering if you wanted some candy Helga. I have some extra and I would offer Sheena, but I know she wouldn't want any. Would you like some?" asked Eugene
"Why would I want any of YOUR candy, bucko?" Helga asked curtly, and she turned around again. Eugene sat down, grabbing a handful from his pocket.
"Okay, Helga," said Eugene as he shrugged. He looked around, but didn't see many other people other than Rhonda and Nadine sitting a few seats behind him and Brainy in the seat behind Helga, smiling. Eugene finished his cake when Sheena walked onto the bus. He slid over so she could sit next to him, which she did. She smiled at him, which made Eugene feel really good, even more so than having cake or being so lucky.
"Do you have any homework Eugene?" asked Sheena, pulling out a textbook.
"Yeah, but I think I might head out to the arcade for a little while. Do you want to come?" asked Eugene.
"I have to do my homework. Maybe you should too Eugene. It isn't good to put it off," Sheena said disapprovingly.
"But maybe I can win a new high score on Runaway Bus, or play air-hockey, or anything. Nothing bad could happen," said Eugene.
"Eugene, I think you should do your work first. If today was a regular day, you wouldn't go out and play. You would study with me and then we would practice our leap and dance, and then we would do something together," explained Sheena. "You wouldn't do that if you were unlucky again."
Eugene scoffed, "I'm not unlucky. I get to do what I want because it's my birthday, and you don't need to tell me what to do." He grabbed his backpack as the bus stopped at the first stop, letting Nadine go home. Eugene got off and headed to the arcade, not seeing Sheena's sad and disappointed face against the window as the bus drove away.
Eugene turned a corner, muttering to himself along the way.
"She can't tell me what I should or should not do. It's my birthday, I get to do what I waaAAAAHHHHH!" cried Eugene as he fell into a manhole, landing in some sewer water.
"I'm okay," he called out to no one. He climbed out of the manhole and nursed a bruise on his leg, the injury already turning red. He got up and continued walking, his hair dripping from the water still in it. He reached the arcade and kicked open the doors, but as he walked inside, the doors swung again to close and knocked Eugene over.
"I'm okay," he groaned. He held his head as he stood, dizzy from the hit. He began to dig into his pocket for change, but he saw that the games were out-of-order. Every game in the arcade, which made him frown. He opened the door to the arcade, but he tripped on the curb, spilling out his money onto the street.
"NO!" he cried as it rolled down into the gutter a few feet away. He began to walk home when the sky grew dark around the city. A thunder-clap was heard, and then it began to rain. Soon Eugene was soaked to the bone as he walked depressingly back home. He felt bad about yelling at Sheena, especially since he had known she was trying to tell him the right thing to do, but he hadn't listened. He had been an awful friend to her.
His day of being lucky had been great and all, but without Sheena to celebrate with him, it really didn't matter. He missed being with Sheena. It was like a part of him was missing. He felt empty. He resolved to call her when he got home.
He smiled to himself as he said, "At least I'm almost there." He saw his house and ran to it, but he slipped in the rain on the street and fell. He tried to get up and noticed his backpack was off. He turned and saw it slide with the rain as the straps slid ahead of it. He ran after it, diving for it as it almost dropped into a gutter. He stood up and realized that he was outside Sheena's house. He sighed and walked up her stoop, tripping on the last step. He banged his head into the door and dropped, moaning as the door opened to show Sheena. She gasped in concern for Eugene.
"I'm okay," moaned Eugene as he lifted his head a little.
"Come on Eugene, I can get you some ice," sighed Sheena. She bent down and pulled Eugene to his feet, not facing him as she walked inside. Eugene entered and took off his shoes, trying to keep from getting water all over the entryway. Sheena came back with an ice pack, frowning a little. Eugene felt bad again as he remembered what he had said to her. He bowed his head so he looked at his shoes.
"Sheena, I'm sorry about earlier. I let my luck get to my head, and you were right," Eugene said shamefully. He couldn't look at her, not knowing what she would say. Sheena took a step forward and lifted his head, his eyes resting in her eyes. She was smiling to him, which made him happy again. She gave him a hug, which made Eugene return it to her. They stayed like that for a moment, and then Sheena separated from him.
"When life gives you lemons, dance," started Sheena in a whisper. Eugene grinned widely at her.
"Dance like there's a muskrat in your pants," continued Eugene. Sheena pulled on her shoes and grabbed Eugene's hand, dragging him outside again as the rain continued to pour. She twirled with him as they continued their song again.
"When your toes are tapping, nothing bad can happen. When life gives you lemons, dance!" sang Sheena as her hair grew soaking. Eugene laughed as she span him around and pulled him close to her.
"When life lays a lemon on your plate," sang Eugene.
"Kick up your heels and celebrate!" said Sheena as she lifted Eugene into the air and down again. Eugene and Sheena shook their hands by their sides, each staring at the other as the rain lightened on them. Sheena pulled Eugene closer to her as he sang the next lines.
"When you're caught in a downpour, with nothing to live for."
"Strike your most spirited stance!" sang Sheena. Eugene looked at Sheena, grinning at her as she dipped him back a little bit.
"And dance! Dance!" Eugene sang, but he whispered the last part to Sheena. "Dance."
Sheena leaned Eugene back up and pulled him closer, kissing him on his lips. Eugene's eyes popped open in surprise, but then closed them as he kissed Sheena back. The rain stopped and the clouds parted in the sky. They pulled apart, but held each others wet hands as the sun shone down, the day already looking better.
They both blushed darkly at what had happened, but Sheena offered, "You want to come inside to warm up?"
Eugene grinned, "Sure Sheena." They walked inside, still holding each other's hands. And this time, despite the ground being wet, Eugene didn't trip or fall once.