Today I’m five. Certainly, this was not my intent.
No, no, five was about the last thing I wanted to be. First off, it’s an odd number, and odd numbers are bad luck. You know it’s true. Just look at me. Secondly, the fact that I’m five means that there are FOUR others ahead of me. Four complete strangers and, I’m quite certain, utter brutes who’ll get to gobble up all the best stuff before it’s even my turn.
I know, I know, “They most likely won’t be after what you’re getting dear, and besides, I’m sure they’ve plenty in stock,” but we both know that that’s a whole lot of phooey. Of course they’ll want exactly what I want, and because they’re first, they’ll take ALL of it right out from underneath my nose, before I even get called upon, confound it!
Today I’m five. Tomorrow I’ll need to get here earlier.
•••
“Ever humble Marian Kent, writer at Runaway Sentence and owner of ALL CAPS PUBLISHING, chose Emma Donoghue’s Room, which begins with ‘Today I’m five.’”
as long as i'm singing 
I hate losing out on stuff because I’m too far back in the line. Nice take on the prompt, man.
Glad you enjoyed it Eric – thought I would try something other than my “usual schtick” this time.
My son collects Hot Wheels. Every few months a local Big Box store has a raffle-type grab for new cars. Collectors come hoping to get ones called “Treasure Hunts,” special editions that are rare and highly collectable. This reminded me of that. It’s always better to be among the first to get a better number draw.
Thanks for reading along and dropping in Tara =)
For my sons, it’s Lego minifigures. The catch? They come in opaque bags so you don’t know what you’re getting. The solution? (Me spending hours upon hours in the aisle while) the two of them feel their way through each little bag to ascertain what’s within before they purchase…
I love that you detoured from age and went for the ordinal number. Fun read!
Thanks Kim =)
Of course they’ll want what you want! I hate waiting in lines like that, where you can clearly see the people ahead of you taking your stuff :)
And they ALWAYS do! Kinda like they have mental telepathy or something… =)
crap, ALL the good donuts will be gone before they get to five!
also, please don’t perpetuate the myth that i am humble. i am SO not humble. ;)
“Assertive in your humility,” then perhaps?
resistant to competition, because i’m competitive, is the real answer.
I hate waiting in line to get stuff! I would even pay extra to not have to wait in line! I’m lazy…
Or, you could just show up first every time =)
Excellent take. Just for the record if you ever get the urge to write more than 150 words – I’d certainly read them. I like this.
Thanks much! And just for the record, if I ever do bump up my word count, I’ll be sure to let you know =)
Perfect. To sit and watch while everyone else gets to be first… I love your spin on this.
Thank you very much! I wonder if she ever gave any thought to poor old #6…
I like your take on it too. As an avid fantasy football player, drafting in 5th position for the 2013 season, I couldn’t help but nod my head as I know the very best players will be gobbled up in the first four draws. *sigh* (But I don’t want to lose to get first, so…draft pick trading it is! LOL)
Love it. It hit a cord with me. I have a five-year-old grandkid and I feel she strives harder to be heard and she IS a planner and a drama queen who knows how to get the PIE.
Ha ha, love it! I’ll keep my eye out for her next time I’m shopping for pie =)
T – Love you’re writing!…You had me feeling anxious and I didn’t even know what I was going to miss out on! But I do know I already have a plan to get up even earlier for a better number!!!!Hahaha
Not if I get there first… =)
Thanks Lotta!
YES…I am like this a lot. I loved this, because it’s exactly how most of us feel about not being 1st..or even 2nd. 5 is such an arbitrary number, not one of my favorites..you made it clear why.
Hahaha! Sounds like you’ll need to go earlier then as well next time!