Auslly One Shots

If Today Was Your Last Day

by butraura 

Austin was guilty of not exactly being the best listener in class. Especially on days like today where it was Friday afternoon and he had a gig Sunday night at a Heat game. He was excited and could care less about what the teacher was saying. He wanted to meet Dez and Ally at their English class, pick up Trish from Art and go back to Sonic Boom and write a new song. But he couldn't because there were still twenty minutes left of his class until the end of the day.

The teacher droned on and on. At one point, something she said did peak his interest. "Imagine tomorrow was your last day on Earth. What are some things you'd do?"

One kid raised his hand immediately. "Rob a bank!" Austin laughed with the class.

"Okay," the teacher said, chuckling. "And why?"

"Because there'd be no consequences," he explains. "I wouldn't get in trouble."

"Okay, what else?" she asks generically.

"I'd tell the boy I like that I like him," a girl says.

"Right, and why?"

"Well because if he didn't like me back, I wouldn't have to live with the embarrassment," she says matter-of-factly.

"Right," the teacher says again. Austin was listening intently. "Most people, if they knew they only had one day to live and were able to do things, would take advantage of the opportunity and go crazy. But even then, there are consequences. For example, Stephen Hawking. He's lived many, many years with a disease that should have killed him after ten. If he was physically capable of taking risks and being fearless, do you think he would have the day before the mark of his tenth year?"

"Of course," Austin says. "If he thought he was going to die. But he didn't, so if he could have done those things and he did rob a bank-" he looks pointedly at the kid who suggested this, "or jumped off a cliff or killed someone, he would have been stuck with the consequences that come from the law."

"Right. But the idea is exciting, isn't it? Having all the power in the world for a single day because you knew you couldn't get in trouble?" The class nods unanimously. "Take a minute to think about it. What's something you'd do?"

Austin leans back and thinks. He's always wanted to climb a mountain and sing really loudly just to hear the natural echo. He's always wanted to see if he could win a pancake eating contest. Maybe learn to play every instrument in the world. There are still a few he hasn't touched yet. He wants to go on a trip with his friends to Hawaii and surf the waves and have late nights. Lots of things he has wanted to do before he has accomplished. He's very lucky that way. He wanted to be an overnight Internet sensation – did that. He wanted to play Times Square on New Year's Eve – did that. He wanted to go on tour – did that. He wanted to kiss Ally – did that. He wanted to perform at a Heat game – doing that.

He was lucky. He resented when people called him spoiled, because to him spoiled meant that he got everything he wanted because he wanted it. That wasn't the case. He worked for what he has.

"Thought about it?" the teacher asks the class. Austin nods, though he was more conflicted now than when he started. "How many of your ideas involved breaking the law?" A couple hands rose and she laughed. "It's okay, I'm not about to admit you to the police or tell your parents. If I had my way, I would do illegal things too." A couple more hands rose. "Exactly. It's a universal human condition to want things we can't have, meaning it's perfectly normal." She turns to face the chalkboard and messily writes 'If Today Was Your Last Day'. She looks to the analog clock above the door and to the anxious faces of the class. "Okay. Your homework for the weekend is simple: I want you to spend tomorrow – not Sunday, because you'll be tired Monday – having fun. I want you to act like tomorrow is your last day on Earth. You can't break the law, though, okay? Don't." Chuckles erupt from the class. "From 12 am to 12 am Sunday, you have to be reckless and spontaneous and do something you'd do on your last day. On Monday, you'll write a two-page personal essay about what you did in the full twenty four hours. Remember, you can sleep, but try to have fun!"