Fairies Aren't Real

Chapter 1- The Date with Destiny

Sitting in the small family restaurant, Opal enjoyed the buzz of conversation going on around her. She normally ate at work with her leftovers from home. She got tired of eating Monday night's dinner for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday lunch, when she would have to eat it one day if the test of her family ate Monday night's dinner for Tuesday lunch and it be all gone. It was easier for her not to get upset with her siblings during the school year, because they had to take cold cut sandwiches or PB&Js. She really wished someone was rich enough to donate some microwaves to the school so kids could bring things that needed to be heated. But during the summer, her siblings probably slept to 12pm then ate cereal for breakfast/lunch, then snacked on snack foods in between lunch and dinner, then they wanted me to get home from work at 3:30 or even 5:30, depending on the day, and make a whole new meal for us to have leftovers that we will end up throwing away.

The reason Opal was eating out today was because she finally had enough cash from two months' paychecks. She also had a coupon and was enjoying her footlong meal of teriyaki chicken and provolone cheese with a 16 ounce cup and a cookie that was 3 inches in diameter for only $2.14. 'Tis a big cookie. The best part is that Opal can only eat one-half of the sub and cookie. So she can put her leftovers in the office's fridge for tomorrow. Coupons are wonderful.

While she was enjoying her meal, she was trying to work on her newest story idea while inadvertently listening in on a couple on a date sitting in the booth behind her. Luckily, it wasn't a gross couple. They were apparently super nerdy. They were talking about their favorite Marvel heroes and who would win in a one-on-one battle. Opal could not help but think there might be hope for society yet. Here was a wonderful couple that not only could date respectively, but could also have a real conversation about something important and yet not important.

Opal felt like a weird third wheel. She did not know this couple at all, but she wished she could join their conversation. She had her own opinions on which hero would beat who. Marvel was not her favorite superhero franchise --DC all the way-- but she did enjoy the action and story. Opal wished she could afford to buy the comic books, but there were too many with too many different universes that she knew would take her a lifetime to get to Marvel after DC.

Opal looked at her watch and saw it was time to head back to work. She went to the drink fountain and refilled with cherry Pepsi --no Coke. Sad face-- , grabbed up my sandwich and cookie and headed to my antique car. On her way out she was able to see the couple. *sigh* all the hot nerds were already taken. Her car was a gift from a fellow softball player's family, the Melendezs from Opal's Junior year in high school. Opal's Melendez teammate's name was Carla. She had apparently informed her mother and and grandfather that Opal was having to be late to practices because she had to leave school to take her siblings fifteen minutes to home, then go fifteen minutes back to basically the school's neighboring softball fields to be twenty-five minutes late to practice every practice. Her great grandfather requested that they give his car to someone in need. Great Granddad Melendez died in early summer after Opal's junior year.

The Melendez's gave Opal's family the 1990 Buick. It was a wonderful blessing because in the middle of the summer, the school contacted Opal's mother saying they would not welcome their family back next year. The reason they gave was that Opal had been rude and out of line when addressing a problem she had with something the was doing. Opal had written to the school that the school was making her hate reading because they were forcing her to read for a grade. She also pointed out that those who did not like to read would wait until the end of summer, skim the book and then write their reports based on the synopsis on the back of the book and what they skimmed, defeating the purpose of a summer reading assignment. Opal said that if they still wanted to do a summer reading, that they should make it count as extra credit. She also so told them, "just because public schools do this does not mean this school should as well." She did not write, but wishes she did, that the "public schools" that did summer reading assignments were not getting significantly better test scores to schools that did not do summer reading assignments.

With it being so late in the summer, Opal was unable to enroll in a high school located on the local college's campus, so she duel enrolled as a homeschooler. After a year of straight A college classes, she enjoyed her first summer out of school with a job. When she tried to sign up for college classes in the fall, it was revealed that the county had been negligent and did not even register Opal her senior year. After a different chapter's worth of events happened, Opal is now having to pay for college, because the county messed up and she is unable to qualify for any scholarship except for being "first generation graduating" meaning neither of her parents have their college degree.

Opal still has not been able to apply for the Pell Grant because she does not like going to the college to try, because none of the staff know what they, the students nor their fellow staff members are doing.

Thinking about needing to go to the college at some point super soon, Opal was extremely lucky herself being on autopilot did not end with her getting into a crash and arrived back to work safe and sound.