Paige

 My momma always told me life was like a game of bingo. You never know what you’re going to get or how lucky you will be. I’ve tried to use that advice all through my life and I’ve realized that I won't win a game of bingo until the day the Earth stops spinning. The first time I heard this advice, I was eight years old. The middle of July was roasting that year and I had just finished playing the last game of the season on our Mini Kickers soccer team. Savannah had scored the game winning goal and was now surrounded by adoring fans and parents. I began to boil with anger and, clenching my fists too hard, my juice box exploded all over my jersey. Attracting bees like honey, a swarm of yellow jackets attacked me with no time to anticipate. Stinging and burning all over, I screamed and shouted for help, only until my mouth was stuffed with bees. Finally, when the air had cleared, I sat crying on the sidewalk, welts covering my face, arms and legs. My parents didn’t think I was allergic to bee stings, but I just think they didn’t care enough to take me to the doctor. 20 minutes later and miles from the nearest doctor, however, my face was the size of Volkswagen Beetle. Purple, asthmatic and gasping for air, I collapsed into a deep coma for six years.

I finally awoke as a fourteen year old girl, practically a woman. Outside, to my astonishment, lay two and a half feet of snow. I read somewhere that “real women” sled the Welgos Slopes, so I set out to prove myself. A one thousand foot drop condensed within a half mile, it was a terrifying site. Shaking in my boots, I lost my balance and sped faster and faster to the bottom. I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me, so I screamed as loud as I could, hoping the other skiers would move out of my way. A bump here, a crack there, and BOOM! I came to a screeching holt in the center of a snow back the size of a school bus. Laughing and crying at the same time, I thought my luck had taken a turn for the better, when the Abominable Snowman lifted me from my episode. He took my to his cave in the near immaculate mountains, that no one had ever reached. I was confident life would end in the cave until I fell through a giant, gaping hole in the snow. I suppose it was a wormhole, because the other end reached to my backyard, two years later. We had two horses, one by the name of Pancake. Pancake was a short and fat miniature pony and the cutest pink nose I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, he was a mischievous horse and tried every trick in the book to escape. Knowing this, I should have been more careful when I opened the gate to feed him. He busted through the gate as fast as light and galloped away with not so much as a look back. About to call for help, I took a second look at him and couldn’t believe my own eyes. Galloping away was not a short, husky pony, but a handsome steed of a white stallion with a long beautiful white mane boasting a brown star on his forehead and the brownest eyes I have ever seen. He was gorgeous. Dismally, he kept running, as graceful as a ballerina, and never came back. Weeks later, I read an article in the Sunday newspaper that this beautiful white stallion was worth $1,000,000. I guess you could say I haven't had the best of luck throughout my life. Swarms of bees, giant snow monsters, workholes, and skipped opportunities seem to drown the optimism out of my life. But you never know, the Earth could stop spinning any day now.

[] (Abominable Snowman) [] (White Horse) [] (Girl Running) [] (Bees) [|http://www.clipartguide.com/_named_clipart_images/0511-0902-1720-] (Wormhole)