There's No Such Thing as Bad Luck

Abby is the bravest girl in her town. Her older brother, Freddy, had always been incredibly superstitious. He spent most of his time wandering about and tiptoeing in around in the shadows of their small house on Cratzbury Street, trying to scare Abby right out of her skin. Over the years, he had gotten away with it so many times that Abby didn’t even know what it was to be scared anymore. Freddy had just about done it all. Abby knew the secrets to all of his pranks. Rubber worms in her peanut butter sandwich; she had seen it. Fake tarantulas tangled up in her hair; Abby had been there. She had heard just about all of the craziest sayings there were to hear.

That morning, the Monday of the week of Halloween, Freddy had told Abby his superstitious saying for the week of Halloween that year. Just another one of his oddball ways that everyone in Abby’s family had to deal with. With his goofy smile of excitement, Freddy read the saying aloud off of a torn piece of paper with his chicken scratch for handwriting scribbled all over it. Abby simply pretended to listen.

“Beware, for bad luck shall dwell on your every doing if a black cat crosses your path,” he read in his best spooky voice.

Abby laughed so hard she nearly spat chocolate milk out of her mouth. Catching her breath, she looked over to her brother, who was wondering what she had found so funny, and asked with an eyebrow raised, “A black cat? Please, Freddy. That’s the best you could come up with this year? Everyone’s heard of that saying before.”

“It’s a well-known superstition, and a world renown one at that. I don’t see how that can be funny.” Freddy answered with a frown.

Getting up from her place at the table, Abby pushed in her chair, and swung her backpack over her shoulder, “Grow up, Freddy. Everyone knows there’s no such thing as bad luck.”

After heading out the door and down the block, Abby met her friend Jenna at the bus stop. During the ride to school, she told Jenna all about her insane brother’s warning. Abby chuckled after the words had left her mouth. Jenna, usually very perky and happy in the morning, did not join in with her best friend’s laughter. Jenna merely sat still in her seat twiddling her thumbs as she stared down at her shoes. Abby stopped laughing the moment she realized that she was the only one that seemed amused.

She tilted her head in misunderstanding, and asked, “Jenna, what’s the matter? You don’t actually think that what Freddy said was true, do you?”

Jenna raised her head a bit, and only managed to mutter, “Well,”

“Well?” Abby exclaimed. “There is nothing to think about here. Freddy just loaded me up with a heap of mumbo jumbo and you’re actually going to tell me that you’re considering that what my crazy brother said was true?”

“Abby, you never know what can happen. You can’t always have good luck, you know,” Jenna replied as the bright yellow school bus came to a stop.

The two grabbed their book bags, and held their textbooks in their arms.

“No, I don’t know.” Abby retorted as they began shuffling their way towards the front of the bus. “I don’t know because I don’t believe in luck, regardless of whether it’s good or bad. And I’m not chicken to admit it.”

As they stepped off of the bus, Abby tripped and dropped her books. Frustrated, she told Jenna to go ahead of her, and began gathering her things. Once she had gathered all of her books, she stood up, only to see a gaunt, yellow-eyed, black as night cat standing right before her. The cat looked into Abby’s eyes, let out a high-pitched meow, and continued on its way.

A little shudder went through Abby’s shoulders, but she just shook it off and walked over to her class. During the bus ride home, Jenna listened to Abby’s story, with her eyes widened a bit in surprise. The situation that morning certainly was not one to happen everyday.

Abby shrugged her shoulders, and replied nonchalantly, “It was no big deal. Just a weird coincidence.”

Jenna shook her head as the bus doors were flung open. “That’s just the thing, Abby. It was a weird coincidence. Maybe you shouldn’t be so ignorant about this one.”

The two hopped off the steps, and the doors closed behind them.
“Jenna, I’m telling you. It’s all in your head. A black cat crossed my path this morning and nothing bad has happened to me all day.”

Just as those words had left Abby’s mouth, the school bus fired up its engine, and took off over a puddle beside the sidewalk where Abby and Jenna had been dropped off. Mucky rainwater splashed all over Abby’s new clothes, leaving her soaking wet. Jenna stood behind her, dry as a deserter. She was biting her lip, stuggling to hold back her laughter. Before Jenna could speak, Abby simply held up her own hand, and muttered, “Not a word.”