The Day the Rain Won | Teen Ink

The Day the Rain Won MAG

By Anonymous

     The sky didn’t look rainy. It was hot and sunny with just a few clouds. But none looked threatening. Looking back, I know that those conniving clouds were wearing a disguise, and under that façade they wore the grin of a mischievous student waiting for his teacher to sit on a discreetly placed whoopie cushion.

My girlfriend, Jocelyn, was at her brother’s baseball game, and I wanted to surprise her. So that’s what I set out to do. At 15, I had only one means of conveyance: my silver bicycle. I began my ride to the baseball field that was about 10 minutes away. As I pedaled the sky remained a cool blue, still with just a few looming clouds.

I passed my elementary school, then the Steak ’n Shake, crossed the bridge, and was just a block from the baseball diamond. But my eagerness to surprise Jocelyn must have dulled my awareness of the outside world, and I didn’t realize that the sky had turned death-black and was ready to put a crushing end to my love crusade. With a cruel, taunting boom of thunder, the sky laughed as a bully would at his cowering victim, and released an unholy torrent of rain. I hadn’t planned for rain.

The storm ended the baseball game. In the downpour I searched for Jocelyn’s mother’s SUV while I soaked up the rain like a sponge - a very unwilling sponge. My eyes scanned the parking lot of spectators and players, all frantically fleeing as if the rain might melt their sweet beings. I was not able to find my love or the car. Sopping wet, defeated, and slightly agitated, I mounted my aluminum steed and began the horrendous trip home.

I pedaled with furious vigor. As I rode I could imagine each little drop, plummeting through the air with a tiny smirk across its non-existent face, with one target in mind. The back tire of my bike slung more water onto my back. With the wind rushing past me, I began to feel a chill. I felt most unpleasant by this point, and still was not close to home.

The rain decided to lighten up a bit when I was less than a block away, extremely cold and severely frustrated. Shivering, I stepped into my house and changed my clothes. I even used my mom’s blow-dryer to warm up a bit. Once I had recovered (physically at least) I dialed the all-too-familiar seven digits to reach Jocelyn. Her voice was welcoming. I was convinced she would appreciate my story.

Wrong.

Jocelyn hadn’t witnessed just how absolutely drenched I was. She hadn’t seen me shake my hair out of my face like a wet Golden Retriever trying to see as I rode home. And she wasn’t expecting me to come see her. So she had little appreciation for the absolute misery I had endured for her.

So there I sat on the floor of my room, shivering in my pajama pants and mismatched shirt, with a blow-dryer in hand. My hair was still wet, and my morale was low. I, Icarus, had flown too close to the sun. I took a shot at spontaneity, at being romantic, but my success was against the will of the gods. That day the rain won, but I want a rematch.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 4 comments.


i love this so much!

Beila BRONZE said...
on Apr. 12 2015 at 3:11 pm
Beila BRONZE, Palo Alto, California
3 articles 0 photos 516 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." -Mark Twain

Short and sweet in the best possible way. Your imagery is so, so, so excellent! I love the ending, too, not to mention the perfectly done Icarus reference! Perfect. :)

HopkinsJANIS said...
on Aug. 25 2013 at 7:49 pm
I will recommend not to hold back until you get enough amount of cash to order goods! You should get the loans or college loan and feel comfortable

on Mar. 23 2010 at 10:39 pm
Snikerdoodle PLATINUM, Leander, Texas
21 articles 2 photos 18 comments
This is an adorable and fantastic piece of writing. I loved reading a little glimpse of your life, in your own words. And it was very well characterized. Great work! Keep writing!!