Tough Break | Teen Ink

Tough Break

May 1, 2024
By Anonymous

If someone told me a decade ago that I would be at the forefront of the science community, I would tell them they were insane. Maybe due to the fact that ten years ago I would have been 7. Ok, woah, let me give you a bit of context before we continue on. My name is Owen Dross, a 17 year old male from a little town called Petoskey Michigan. My family has been here for generations, our house has been built, rebuilt, and remodeled so many times, yet the house still keeps its old allure. 

Anyway, back to me being the youngest and most successful scientist there ever was. When I was little my parents would always read to me before I went to sleep each night. Not unusual in the slightest, many families do. What was strange were the stories, I never read any Dr. Seuse, I had never even seen a picture book until I went to school for the first time. My parents would read from diaries, written in a language unknown to everyone but the Dross family. I just thought we had made up, that we made up a way to communicate just for the fun of it. Unfortunately this is where I am very wrong. Our language was the key to the universe. Once I was old enough to understand this concept my mother had a very serious talk with me. For thousands of years the Dross family has been the keepers of the universe and all its secrets. We knew everything that had been, that is, and what is to come. This weighed very heavily on the shoulders of a 10 year old but somehow I understood. Now I want to show you the very first mistake I made with my knowledge of the universe. 

“Jane, wait up!!” I managed to get out despite how winded I was. I had run all the way from AP Physics class with Mr. Hon, one of my favorite teachers. 

Jane turned in the hall to see where the call had been from. “Oh… Hey Owen.” she said. Owen could tell she was stressed about something.

“Hey, what's up?” I asked when I caught up to her side. She was carrying around the Physics test review and was trying to cram as much of it into her head as she could in the short time between classes. 

“You know some of us actually have to study for tests, Owen.” She said abrasively. “I’ve never seen you study for anything yet you still have perfect grades. I don’t understand it.” As we passed her classroom she disappeared into it. Sometimes she got annoyed with me for not having to try in school. I mean, I already knew everything in the universe, the only reason I go to school is to blend in with my peers so I can live a semi-normal life. So I decided to just walk to my 6th hour.

Technically my 6th hour is AP Bio, but I’ve gotten so good at Bio that usually Mrs. Ruff lets me do whatever I want in the back. These past few weeks I have been meddling with an experiment that can cure any disease. Mrs. Ruff doesn’t know this of course, but I’m so close to reaching it. You might think that I should just know it from the future, but nobody ever creates it. I’m only doing this because in 2 years Jane contracts a virus that will almost instantly kill anyone it comes in contact with.

My mind buzzed with knowledge that lay ahead, this experiment had the ability to not only alter that course of Jane’s life, but countless others. Quietly, so as not to disturb the lecture going on about the advanced water ecosystems, I opened the notebook that held the potential breakthrough in science. Each calculation was meticulously thought out, each image drawn with such precision, and every last atom was accounted for. Today was the day I could feel it. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I realized that I had done it, the perfect equation for healing any ailment was at my fingertips. 

“Excuse me Mrs. Ruff, can I  go to the bathroom?” I said in a hurry.

“Of course you can Owen, just grab the pass.” She replied.

I raced out of the classroom to the bathroom, now I just need something to test it on. It could be anything really, from a common cold to cancer, I just needed something that would work. Suddenly a boy burst into the bathroom, his right hand was covered in blood and his left was gripped tightly to his nose. When I say there couldn’t have been anything more perfectly timed.

“Woah, hey are you okay?” I asked politely.

“Yeah I get these stupid things all the time?” The boy replied, obviously annoyed. 

“Okay this is going to sound very weird but I might have the perfect solution to your little predicament.” I say with a smile. “All you have to do is trust me, put this in your mouth and wait until you feel it dissolve.”

“Umm ok, if it stops this stupid bloody nose I’ll take it.” He said as he took the tablet and placed it in his mouth. 

Suddenly his eyes turned red, his face bulged to a size so large it looked like a balloon. Then all I heard before I blacked out was a deafening POP. It turns out I might not have been exactly right…


The author's comments:

This piece was created for an assignment in my 6th hour writing class. The writing is a little bit rushed, but I think it is a little funny and ends in a wacky way. 


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