With Luck and Timing

David stood frozen before Ms. Myers like a deer caught in the headlights, unable to think of an escape from this situation without telling some kind of lie, which he desperately wanted to avoid for fear of accidentally triggering his curse.

His panicked silence only made things worse as Ms. Myers loomed over him, ready to unleash a verbal **** that would make Satan blush. She was just waiting for David's pointless half-thought excuse so she could crush him under her tirade.

Unfortunately, all David could manage was a meek "sorry". The pressure of trying not to trigger the curse combined with Ms. Myers' withering stare proved too much. His single-word response was like pouring gasoline on a house fire as her face turned various shades of pink and red before settling into a color best described as that of a demon sunbathing on a red giant.

Ms. Myers radiated fury, enough to make even a hardened soldier shrink back like a scolded puppy. David did his best to withstand her **** glare, waiting for the lecture he knew was coming, but no words came. What David didn't realize was that Ms. Myers was so enraged she'd temporarily lost the ability to speak.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, David took this brief respite and began thinking of a way out of the mess. After what felt like nearly half an hour (but in reality was only two minutes), he decided using his curse might not make things worse. Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing himself for potential changes, David opened his mouth just as Ms. Myers recovered.

Before she could begin her tirade, David blurted out: "You are not angry with me; you only called me back here to genuinely ask how I am doing because I'm your favorite student." The tension in the room vanished so quickly it felt like David's ears popped from the sudden vacuum left behind. Looking up at Ms. Myers' face, he saw a kind grandmotherly expression of concern replacing her anger.

"I know you were distracted in class today," she said gently. "Would you tell me what's going on so I can help?" David felt his legs turn to jelly as all tension left his body; he only remained standing by leaning against Ms. Myers' desk, suppressing a massive sigh of relief.

He tried to brush off her question with a vague answer but Ms. Myers was insistent: "I am not letting you get away with saying 'it's personal', especially since it is affecting your performance in my class. So be honest with me." David knew he couldn't avoid the truth forever, but how could he possibly explain his situation to her?