Yesterday was... not a good day. Consequently, I struggled for a while to even think of anything to write, but then I thought: We all have bad days, now and then. So why not just write about that?!
If you would rather, you can click to give the podcast version of this story a listen!
If you would rather, you can click to give the podcast version of this story a listen!
A Bad Day For Denzil
From the moment he woke up, Denzil had a feeling it wasn't going to be the best day.
His alarm clock buzzed and wrenched him out of a brilliant dream. In his haste to stop the noise, Denzil bashed the clock so hard, it fell off his bedside table with a thud, knocking down a glass of water at the same time. When Denzil groaned and swung his legs over the side of his bed, his toes landed straight in the puddle the water had made on the floor.
And it didn't stop there. No matter what Denzil did, everything seemed to go wrong.
He dropped his toast and it landed upside down, leaving sticky strawberry jam all over the kitchen floor.
He couldn't find his PE shorts anywhere.
His hair kept sticking out at odd angles, no matter how much he tried to brush it flat.
Denzil hoped that once he left the house and headed off to school, things would improve.
But they didn't.
Denzil's favourite pencil snapped when he was trying to sharpen it.
His water bottle leaked all over the new comic he'd brought in to show his friends.
And when everyone went rushing out into the playground after lunch, Denzil slipped over and grazed his elbow and his knee on his right side, meaning he wasn't as good at football as he usually was.
In the afternoon, Denzil was determined that things would get better.
But they didn't.
He got four questions wrong in his maths test.
He accidentally leaned in wet paint whilst finishing off a picture he was working on, leaving a big, blue blob on his sleeve.
And as he finally started walking home, it began to rain.
That evening, as Denzil sat on the sofa, watching TV, he still felt glum.
"What's up?" Mum asked. She came over to sit beside him, with a worried look on her face.
Denzil let out a long, slow sigh. "I had a bad day," he confessed. "Everything went wrong."
Mum frowned. "Everything?" She cocked her head to one side. "Did anything really serious happen?"
Denzil pointed to his sleeve. "I got paint all over my school jumper. And my favourite pencil snapped. Plus, my comic is ruined and my knee and elbow hurt from falling down."
Mum nodded. "Okay, well... I can put your jumper in the wash. And this weekend, we can go into town and get you some cool new stationery to take to school. We'll try hanging the comic over the radiator to dry off and if that doesn't work, I'm sure we can replace it. As for your elbow and knee, they'll heal in time."
Denzil pulled a face. "None of that makes me feel better right now," he pouted. "It's still raining outside and I'm tired and fed up."
"That's alright," Mum replied. "You're allowed to be. Nobody likes having a bad day." She got up and closed the curtains. She switched on the lamp and made the room nice and cosy. "But you know, it's warm and dry indoors, even if it's wet and cold outside. And you're at home, safe and sound. This is the best place in the world to moan about your bad day, because it's also the number one place to make it all better, again."
Denzil stared back at her, thinking about her words. The sofa was ever so comfy. And his favourite TV show was going to come on, soon. Plus, he could smell his favourite dinner cooking in the oven...
Suddenly, he realised Mum was right. Nothing really serious had happened. Just lots of annoying things, one after the other. It was okay to be cross and grumpy, but it was also okay if he wanted to let go of those feelings and start to feel better.
"There's chocolate ice cream in the freezer for pudding," Mum smiled. "You know, just in case that helps turn your bad day around, a bit..."
A smile began to creep across Denzil's face. "Chocolate ice cream does make most things better..."
Mum gave him a hug and grinned. "Whatever happened today, it's over now," she told him. "Tomorrow, you can start again and hopefully it'll be a good day."
With that, she disappeared into the kitchen, to finish cooking dinner.
Denzil could feel his tummy rumbling as the smell of dinner wafted through the house. He sank deeper against the sofa cushions and curled his legs beneath him. His favourite TV show started. The smile on his face got a bit bigger.
Perhaps the day wasn't all bad.
But they didn't.
He got four questions wrong in his maths test.
He accidentally leaned in wet paint whilst finishing off a picture he was working on, leaving a big, blue blob on his sleeve.
And as he finally started walking home, it began to rain.
That evening, as Denzil sat on the sofa, watching TV, he still felt glum.
"What's up?" Mum asked. She came over to sit beside him, with a worried look on her face.
Denzil let out a long, slow sigh. "I had a bad day," he confessed. "Everything went wrong."
Mum frowned. "Everything?" She cocked her head to one side. "Did anything really serious happen?"
Denzil pointed to his sleeve. "I got paint all over my school jumper. And my favourite pencil snapped. Plus, my comic is ruined and my knee and elbow hurt from falling down."
Mum nodded. "Okay, well... I can put your jumper in the wash. And this weekend, we can go into town and get you some cool new stationery to take to school. We'll try hanging the comic over the radiator to dry off and if that doesn't work, I'm sure we can replace it. As for your elbow and knee, they'll heal in time."
Denzil pulled a face. "None of that makes me feel better right now," he pouted. "It's still raining outside and I'm tired and fed up."
"That's alright," Mum replied. "You're allowed to be. Nobody likes having a bad day." She got up and closed the curtains. She switched on the lamp and made the room nice and cosy. "But you know, it's warm and dry indoors, even if it's wet and cold outside. And you're at home, safe and sound. This is the best place in the world to moan about your bad day, because it's also the number one place to make it all better, again."
Denzil stared back at her, thinking about her words. The sofa was ever so comfy. And his favourite TV show was going to come on, soon. Plus, he could smell his favourite dinner cooking in the oven...
Suddenly, he realised Mum was right. Nothing really serious had happened. Just lots of annoying things, one after the other. It was okay to be cross and grumpy, but it was also okay if he wanted to let go of those feelings and start to feel better.
"There's chocolate ice cream in the freezer for pudding," Mum smiled. "You know, just in case that helps turn your bad day around, a bit..."
A smile began to creep across Denzil's face. "Chocolate ice cream does make most things better..."
Mum gave him a hug and grinned. "Whatever happened today, it's over now," she told him. "Tomorrow, you can start again and hopefully it'll be a good day."
With that, she disappeared into the kitchen, to finish cooking dinner.
Denzil could feel his tummy rumbling as the smell of dinner wafted through the house. He sank deeper against the sofa cushions and curled his legs beneath him. His favourite TV show started. The smile on his face got a bit bigger.
Perhaps the day wasn't all bad.
THE END
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