The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Ugh!

Jeff looked through the glass and then at the clock. Nothing had changed in the past 30 seconds. There was one minute left.

"Why is it taking sooo long? I could do this faster with my sweaty armpits."

"That is both disgusting and untrue," assured Grandma. She was sweeping the floor. It was a Tuesday afternoon in mid-January.

Jeff looked at the clock again. 56 seconds. AAuugh! He told himself he could do it. He didn't have a choice. He would just have to stand there and the time would be up and he could go back to his movie and eat and be happy.

He tried to think about the movie he was watching. It was pretty good, but kind of boring at the same time. The bad guys were winning right now, but he didn't think it would stay that way. The good guys would figure out how to save the day. They always do. It'd be a pretty dumb movie if they didn't. Who wants to watch bad guys win?

It'd be like if he looked again and there was still no progress. He tiptoed towards the glass. There wasn't much difference from the last time. The bad guys were winning here, too.

Jeff was the good guy and he was being tortured by having to wait. He thought his body might explode if he didn't start seeing some explosions soon. But he was going to survive and win in the end.

49 seconds.

"Aaugh! When is something going to happen??"

"Relax, Jeffrey." Grandma kept sweeping. "Just be patient."

He put his hands on his head and grabbed a clump of hair in each fist. He wanted to yank it all out, but he figured that would hurt. He took a few steps away from the glass and did some jumping jacks.

He had recently discovered jumping jacks in PE, and they were his new favorite thing to do when he needed the clock to move faster, like during commercials of baseball games. And right now.

Bam! He heard it mid-jump and almost fell over as he landed. Finally! This was the greatest moment of his life. No, scoring that goal against Putnam was better. And getting the XBox last Christmas.

But it was the greatest moment of today. Well, no. Waking up and seeing the snow and learning that there was no school was the best thing to happen to him today. But this was awesome.

He thought he might explode in a good way this time. He could barely contain himself.

"Did you hear that, Grandma? It's happening!"

He scurried back to the glass to check on what was going on.

"Yes, dear," she replied.

Pop! Crack! It was cool watching the effects of the mini-explosions. As always. He just loved watching it.

He hoped he never grew tired of watching. He knew he'd grow out of some things the way all adults did. Every kid likes toys. Most adults don't.

Grandma didn't watch anymore, but she seemed to enjoy Jeff's enjoyment.

Then the smell kicked in. Subtle at first, but then it tunneled through his nostrils and tickled his brain. He just loved that smell. It always made him feel better. Feel like everything was going to be okay.

He didn't need comfort from that smell today. It was a good day, except for the agonizing waiting of the past couple of minutes, especially this last minute.

He looked at the clock. There were still 20 seconds left. The explosions were popping off left and right. He couldn't get enough. But he also wanted them to be over so he could enjoy the end result of all of this.

He watched excitedly as Grandma took out the bowls. His mouth watered. He could practically taste the salty goodness.

The clock ticked down to ten and he counted down the rest of the way with it.

"Ten, . . .

nine, . . .

eight,. . .

seven, . . .

six, . . .

five, . . .

four, . . .

three, . . .

two, . . .

POPCORN!

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