Persistent Pencils Outlive Picky Pens



by N. W., Topsham, ME
"Come on, you dumb pen," I muttered under my breath as I shook it vigorously. Meanwhile, the teacher, Ms. Carlton, droned on and on about all the notes we needed to copy for the final exam. All my other friends were writing furiously and concentrating on the notes. I looked with disdain at my pen and exhaled noisily. On exam note-taking day I had forgotten my pencil and grabbed a pen by mistake. This had never happened to me, except for today, of course.
"Psst," I whispered, "may I borrow a pen or pencil, Nikki?" She shook her head no slowly and wrote faster. "Amber," I whispered, "may I borrow ...," but I never got a chance to finish my sentence because Ms. Carlton turned around.
"Marla, no talking and why aren't you writing? Didn't you bring a pencil or a pen to class?" I looked up guiltily. "No pen or pencil? Marla, you know the rule if you come to my class unprepared, you take a zero."
"But ..."
"No buts, Marla, you've heard the rule and above all you're interrupting my class by making me give another lecture on why we must come to class prepared."
"Ms. Carlton, I have a pen, it just ran out of ink."
"Well, in that case it's different. I'll lend you a pencil. I always say they're more reliable anyway." She smiled and handed me the pencil. I sat there stunned as she went on with the lecture. I looked down at my notes and at the pencil I held in my hand. I smiled at Ms. Carlton and began copying notes furiously, too fast because my pencil point broke. I was back to normal at least for today.