Too Much

By Olivia Migliorisi

 Jason has magic. And it is great. Right? A week ago, he did not want to go shopping, and the shop ended up closing early. Yesterday he had not wanted to order the Greek Food like his parents had wanted, and the restaurant was all sold out. Today, he did not want to go to school.

“I won’t start school tomorrow!” Jason told his mom. “I just won’t!”

“But you have to!”

“But maybe not!”

“Of course you have to! There is no alternative!”

“But maybe there is!”

And with that, Jason ran off to his room.   Once he was settled in his window seat, he took a deep breath and said, “I don’t want to go to school on Monday.” And snapped his fingers.

“Good morning sweetheart.” Jason’s mom, Emily said soberly as she shook him awake. Groaning, Jason turned back over and stuffed his face in his pillow. “I have some bad news.” “Really?  Tell me!” Jason exclaimed sitting up, suddenly exited.

“Well dear, there is this new virus called Covid-19, and well, I don’t really want you going to school today. We will see about it in a few days. Get dressed so we can go to the school and get your work. And bring your homework when you come down!”  And with that, Jason’s mom walked out the door leaving Jason alone with his thoughts. ‘It worked! Like it always does!’

Just then, Jasons little sister, Lily, came in. “Can you check my homework Jason? Mom says I have to hand it in!” she said.  “I have to write my name five whole times. It was hard work!” “Fine.” Jason replied grumpily as he ripped the sheet from her hands.

“Thank you, Jason!” As soon as Jason looked at the paper, he shouted, “I can’t even read this!”

“What is wrong with it?”

“It’s too messy!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

“Fine! I will read it over. Happy?”

“Thank you, Jason!”

“But I need you to leave!”

“Ok!  Bye!” Lily yelled to Jason as she ran out the door.

“Ugh!” Jason groaned. The paper was full of doodles. And was that… slobber?

Jason took one look and then headed over to the open window. He got comfy, said to himself, “I don’t want to check Lily’s homework. And snapped his fingers.

Suddenly there was a gust of wind that blew Lily’s paper right out of Jason’s hands.  When Jason’s mom came in, she told Jason that they were not going anywhere, because   Hurricane James was right in their area. “The Government has issued a warning,” she said. “They said for everyone to leave their homes and get to the college as quickly as they can. It is strong. Get dressed and come downstairs.” Jason could hear her trying to hide her fear.

As he got dressed he asked himself if he had caused the hurricane but as he thought about it some more, he knew he had magic, but not enough to cause a hurricane.

Jason and Lily hurried down the stairs to their car but their mom said it was safer to walk. Jason was not sure, but the college was not very far. What was the worst that could happen? “Hold on one minute! I have to get my shoes!” Jason told his mom as he raced up the stairs. How he hated that college! It was so big and intimidating. He remembered going there as a kindergartener when his mom worked there as a speech teacher. He was small for his age, and all of the college kids had teased him about it. He went to his window and said, “I do not want to go to the college!”  And snapped his fingers just as his mom called up to him. “Coming!” Replied Jason as he hurried downstairs.

A few minutes after they started walking, Jason stopped for a minute to catch his breath. When he was ready to keep walking, he turned around but his mom and Lily were gone.

Actually, no. He was gone. Jason was in… A forest? No. A jungle? No. He was in a backyard- his backyard. And the hurricane was right there. In his town. There. He had no idea where he had gone or what had happened. He had just seen a flash of white light and a dizzy feeling. A tingly feeling.  Then, he was there. Then he realized he could use his magic again. He just needed to get into his room. Jason waded through the muddy water to get to the front door of his house. He went inside.

With every step he took, Jason could hear the floorboards creaking beneath him. “How long,” He wondered. “Before the floor gives in?” He walked up the stairs and into his room. The roof of his house was blown off and his stuff was thrown all over the place. He went over to his window seat, and tried getting comfortable. The only problem? The seat was torn up. After all, all it was was was some leather over some cushions! He continued to try but he could not get settled.

Back at the collage, Jason’s mom was hysterical. She did not know where her son was in the middle of a hurricane. She went over to one of the police officers and said between sobs, “My little boy- Jason. He’s missing. Help me find him please! He was with me when we left our house but now…” Her voice trailed off.

“Don’t worry. We will find your son.”

“Oh really? Thank you so much!”

“Of course. Now is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, sir. Thank you.”

Suddenly, “CRASH!” The roof fell down. Jason jumped out of the way just in time. Then, the rain started pouring. After a while, the whole house was flooded with at least three inches of water on the top floor in Jason’s room. The fallen roof had blocked the door. Jason was devastated. He did not know what to do, so he just sat down on the window seat and started crying.

“I don’t want to be trapped here! Why did this have to happen to me?” Then he fell and landed in a snapping position.

He accidentally had used his magic. He saw a flash of white and felt a tingling in his body. Then, he was outside. “No!” He screamed. He needed to get back to his mom and sister, but he did not know how to get to the collage. Everyone was already taking shelter, and even if they were not, They would focus on themselves. Not a little kid that claimed to have super powers! Then he remembered something. There was a tree on the side of the house that led strait to his window! Taking a deep breath, he began to climb. He climbed higher and higher until there were no more branches for a while. Only some smaller ones, but he was not up yet, and he was too scared to climb back down. So, he stepped on one of the smaller branches even though he knew he shouldn’t have. The branch snapped with his weight and Jason lost his balance. He stood on nothing, and only held on to a branch. That branch was slowly breaking. “Crick. Crack. Crack…” He tried swinging his legs up to another branch but that only made the branch break quicker. Then all of the sudden, it snapped. Jason plunged to the ground. He fell on his arm. It was broken. He knew he could not climb the tree now, and he kicked the wall in frustration. He did not know what to do. Then he noticed a hole in the all where he had kicked it. Kicking did not use hands! So, Jason, once again, went inside the house. Then, when he got to the fallen roof he kicked it. But the roof was not a wall. Jason would need something stronger. He spied his baseball bat floating on the stairs.

He ran as fast as he could to it through the 10 inches of water. He went back over to the fallen roof and swung the bat as hard as he could. He did it again and again until there was a boy-sized hole in the it. He went in and sat down on his window seat and said, “I don’t want this day to have happened!” And he snapped his fingers.

Then, everything was back to normal. Jason’s mom came in to his room. “Oh. You are already awake!” She said. “Hurry up! Get dressed! We are late for school!” He looked at his calendar. It was Monday morning again. His first day of school. Jason decided his magic was too much. After all, he caused a hurricane. Right? So, he got ready for school, but before he went downstairs, he got all comfy cozy on his window seat and said, “I do not want powers!” And he snapped his fingers.