By Salome
I am woken up by the sound of my alarm, birds tweeting aggressively. I open my eyes and I realise that I accidentally left in my contacts from the day before. While attempting to remove them, I turn off the annoying alarm and put my old contact lenses in the bin. Standing up in the morning often gives me a faint dizzy feeling, so standing up, the world sways slightly and I am forced to sit back down on the bed. I pull my small blanket around my shoulders and stagger slowly towards my clothes I had lain out the previous evening. My foot catches on a cupboard and I stub my toe. Ow.
I pull my clothes into my arms and walk back to my bed. Unfortunately, the radiators hadn’t been set to turn on that morning so my clothes are pretty cold. I pull off my pyjamas and put on the freezing cold jeans and top. I get dressed while still wrapped up in my favourite soft blanket. Then, I stand up and walk down my hallway and my living room to get to the kitchen. I grab a box of chocolate flavoured cereal and put it on the table, then a bowl and spoon, then the milk. The milk is new and full and very heavy. I struggle to lift it out of the fridge door, then put it on the table. My blanket is still wrapped around me and begins to slip off. I pull it back over my shoulders and sit down at the kitchen table. Pouring the cereal in the bowl, it spills a little bit and I groan. Having to pick up all of the cereal and put it back in the bowl is NOT my favourite hobby. After I have finished picking up the cereal one by one, I pour the milk into the bowl. I am sitting down reading “interesting facts about ants” on the back of the cereal packet and I remember that I unfortunately have to do a piano lesson after school. I get up and walk to the bathroom, dropping the blanket on to the chair that I was sitting on. As I walk by the sink, I put the used bowl and spoon next to it. I also pick up the heavy milk and thrust it into the fridge door, struggling not to absolutely bust the door off of its hinges. I get into the bathroom and lock the door behind me. Then, I open a fresh packet of contact lenses and put them in, brush my teeth and wash my face as quickly as I can. I speed-walk back up to my bedroom and pull my comfiest shoes on, and shout at my dad to ask if my schoolbag and lunchbox is ready. I put my coat on over a hoodie and pull my school bag over my shoulders. Its time to go to school.
A vignette of everyday life which is skilfully captured with a modicum of description. It conveys a real sense of the thought process involved, yet also the effect each action has on the senses. The action is nicely paced as the observational focus builds to the end.