Has This Ever Happened to You?

Star Michaels was a bright girl. She was the “perfect girl” who was bubbly, smart, kind, funny and beautiful. Everyone was her friend and everyone loved her. She was the great leader and fitfully led the school as President. She was the “Princess” and was on top of everything.

Star’s life at home was perfect too. She had too kind, fun parents, and a loving younger brother, Adam. They lived peacefully in a two story home and lived in a quiet, close-knit environment.

Star was a small girl. She had long, chestnut brown hair that curled in the right places, and bright blue eyes that made her seem almost angelic. Her cheeks were always rosy on her white skin and her lashes fluttered each time her lips changed into a beautiful smile over her perfect white teeth.

Star was a kind person who would always help those that need it. She did charity, helped the needy, did volunteer work and tried to do anything to change even a small part of the world. Most of the time, she would help those that ask her. She took time to sit down with those that ask her to and help them with problems, homework, or anything they ask of her. Each time, she felt the warm feeling of helping others and always worked harder to help more people, drunken from the feeling she got as a result.

School was a place of sanctuary for star. She felt her greatest here.

It was a chilly winter day and the snow was falling quietly down on Trinity High School. Inside, everyone was at a window, watching the first snow fall of the year. The students cheered out, settling into a seat at the window watching silently.

The teachers tried to get the students back into their seats but, when it seemed pointless, they joined the students at the windows, watching the white blanket cover the ground in a perfect cover.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, students ran to the door, sprinting out to dance freely in the snow. Some rolled snowballs up and threw them at others and at teachers, while others fell into the snow and made snow angels.

“Star, come here and help me build a snowman!” someone shrieked gleefully as Star was exiting the school into the fluffy snow. With a big smile, Star ran to her friends by the tree at the school’s front gate, and started to gather some snow to roll around on the ground for the snowman’s body.

They all laughed as their attempt at a snowman failed, their oddly shaped man crumbling to the ground.

“Star, what did you get on the English test?” a tall blonde girl asked.

“Why are you even asking? She probably got a perfect score again,” another girl implied, laughing as her snowball hit one of the teachers in the head. Star laughed as the teacher tripped, got up, rolled a snowball, and attempted to hit one of them as a counterattack.

“That’s not what I’m really worried about,” Star responded, packing another snowball as she continued, “the midterms are coming up and I don’t know if I’ll pass this time.”

“Oh, come on Star. You always say that but you pass anyways,” the blonde retorted. She watched as Star threw the snowball at a passing student, who returned it with a snowball of his own.

“I guess so,” Star sighed. “I guess I’ll just have to study and hope for the best.”

A snowball fight had broken out and everybody was screaming and throwing snowballs as they took cover. They all aimed at a group of teachers who had quickly made a snow fort behind the stairs and were strategically firing at the students surrounding them.

When Star got home, she rushed up the stairs to strip of the soaked clothes and hopped down the stairs into the kitchen where her mother was making some special hot chocolate and fresh cookies.

“Hey there my Shining Star,” her mother greeted as Star skipped into the kitchen, kissing her mother on the cheek before planting herself into an armchair by the heater.

“How about this snow, great weather to play in,” Star exclaimed as she stole a delicious cookie from the table. Her mother giggled as she passed a cup of hot chocolate to her daughter. “Mmmm,” Star sighed as she melted into the couch after a sip of her mother’s special hot chocolate.

“So what’s new?” her mother asked, settling down next to Star in the armchair. Her long slender legs draped over the side of the chair, her waist long, chestnut hair shining in the kitchen light.

“Midterms are coming up!” Star exclaimed, feigning excitement as she grumbled nervously into her cup.

“Oh, well I’m sure you’ll do fine honey,” she said kindly, sensing her daughter’s worry. She gave her a reassuring smile before going on. “Just breathe and you’ll be golden.”

“Let’s hope so,” Star prayed.

“Well then, go get ready. Your father will be home any minute and we’ll be going into battle before dinner,” her mother cheered.

Knowing exactly what was to happen, Star sprinted excitedly to her room and prepared for battle. When she went down to the living room, her father was already home and everyone was ready for battle. Star moved to her brother, joining in the stare down between her parents and her brother.

Cautiously, they moved slowly to the backyard, entering the battlefield. For hours they fought, trampling over each other’s pride.

When they all surrendered to the house’s warm embrace, they all settled by the fire in the living room, laughing as they roasted marshmallows for their freshly made cups of hot chocolate.

“Did you see how Dad flipped over on his back and then rolled into the tree?” Adam exclaimed, everyone howling with laughter as their dad turned red. As the laughter died down and everyone was wiping away tears, they all calmed down into a peaceful silence.

“Dinner’s in two hours,” their mother said after a moment of bliss. Her husband leaned over, planting a kiss on her reddened cheek. He nuzzled her neck, laughing as the kids sprinted up the stairs gagging.

Upstairs, Star and Adam fought for the bathroom, erupting into a battle of tickles.

When Star settled into her bed, clean and warm, she pulled out her books, determined to get some studying done before dinner. She sighed as she hovered over her notes.

For days, she clung to her notes, not lifting her nose from her books for anything. She tried to help her friends as much as she could; laboring over books as they all pushed each other to pass the exams.

The night before the exam, Star locked herself in her room; refusing to go down stairs for fear that something could fall on her head and make her forget everything. Ready to study for what she believed was the test of her life, Star pulled out a large water bottle, some healthy snacks, her IPod and a sweatband for any sweat that could fall into her eyes and cause her to go blind before the test.

In the midst of her vigorous reading, a knocking interrupted her trance. Her head snapped up, meeting her brother’s pleading eyes. He held his notebook as a shield to his chest, watching his sister as she moved toward him.

“I’m sorry Star, but could you help me? I asked Mom and Dad but they couldn’t help me. It’ll be really quick. I promise,” Adam muttered nervously, pleading his sister desperately. Star’s eyes softened, her lips stretching into an understanding smile.

“Sure,” she sighed. Adam’s eyes gleamed, scurrying into the room, opening his notebook showing his sister what he did not understand.

At first, he really did only have one question but one question led to the next and soon it was eleven, Star’s set time for bed. Realizing what time it was, Adam apologized numerous times, feeling guilty that he had taken time from her studying. Star brushed the apology away with a smile, reassuring him that she would be fine. Inside however, Star could not shake the feelings of anxiety and nervousness.

The next day, Star woke up early, feeling on top of the world. She happily skipped down the stairs, forgetting the feelings of nervousness from the night before.

As she was taking her seat at the table, pulling her flash cards out, her brother rushed into the kitchen, worry on his face. Concerned, she watched as he stuffed his papers into his bag, his hair still uncombed.

“Adam, what’s wrong?” his mother asked worriedly.

“I stayed up late studying and fell asleep at my desk. When I woke up, I felt like I forgot everything,” Adam sighed, taking his seat and pulling the cereal box towards him. As he ate, he tried to read over his notes, apparent worry in his eyes.

“Do you need help Adam?” Star offered. Adam’s eyes snapped up at his sister, hoping gleaming brightly through them. Although hesitant, Adam quickly moved over to his sister, pushing away his cereal as he asked multiple quick questions before it was time to get to the bus.

At school, Adam asked last minute questions before splitting ways with his sister. Before running to his exam room, he thanked his sister and apologized after realizing he had taken more of her time.

When Star settled into a desk by the window, she encouraged herself to do her best and to stay calm no matter what. She felt confident and reassured herself that it would be easy.

A small part of her mind whispered that she would be a failure. She pushed the voice away, nerves starting to build on the thought.

The instructor began to walk around, passing out the midterm exams. Many students groaned or whimpered quietly as they looked at the large booklet. When Star got her booklet, she slowly breathed before opening the exam. When she opened the booklet, she let out a small shriek.

She looked around the room. Everyone had already started so that would mean that she had not gotten the wrong test. She could not remember any of the questions on the test. She quickly flipped through the pages, looking for something she recognized but found nothing. She became anxious. She tried to look through her brain to look for something remotely similar to the questions but instead found herself getting more nervous. Throughout the exam, Star sat in her seat, frozen with fear as she racked her brain for answers.

Regardless, the school was surprised when they saw who had been the last one on the score sheet the next day.