Honourable mention in the 2009 Fortune Cookie Contest.

Simplicity and clarity should be your theme in dress

Yellow. I have to wear the yellow pants. (breathing. breathing.) yellow pants. (exhale.) yellow pants. (reach for them.) there are other colours. there are green pants and black pants. people always like the green pants. (stomach tightening.) I feel most comfortable in black. but I always revert to black. black is evil. people will think I’m depressed. I’m not depressed. if I keep wearing black I will become depressed. don’t do this. just take the yellow pants. just choose. if I can make it outside I’ll forget about this.

deodorant. left side. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 swipes.) right side. (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 swipes.) left side. (1 2 swipes.) balance. I’m going to have to buy new deodorant soon. I should write that down. I’m going to be late for the bus. if I don’t write it down I’m going to forget and run out of deodorant when I really need it. (open computer. open shopping list. type in deodorant. save document. close document. close computer.) that was unnecessary. I would have thought about it when I put on deodorant tomorrow. what if I didn’t think about it?

I’m going to be late for the bus. I don’t know when the next bus is coming. I should text 33333. the bus always comes at the same time. if I leave in 5 minutes, I can’t possibly be late for school. the next two buses can both get me there on time. what if I miss the first bus by 2 minutes, and then the next bus is late? I’ll be at least 3 minutes late for school. I can’t ­control traffic. I should text now. even if I do, the bus might not be on time.

I’m responsible to be on time for school. there are no excuses. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. 5 P’s. if I miss one class there will be a blank spot on the attendance sheet. there will be a row of dots with one blank spot. (stomach tightening.) it will be there for the whole semester. (turn off the light. close the door. walk down the hall. turn around. walk back. open the door. check the light. check the light. close the door. open the door. check the light. close the door. walk down the hall. go outside. lock the door. check the lock. check the lock. walk to the gate. open the gate. close the gate. walk down the alley.)

did I turn off the stove? I turned off the stove. I would have noticed if I didn’t. what if I didn’t notice? it will burn the house down. I always check the stove. keep moving. walk toward the bus stop. what if the bus goes by while I’m walking? I should run. I’m not going to run. I’ll start sweating. what if I miss the bus? I’ll be late for class.

someone’s walking toward me on the sidewalk. I’m wearing the yellow pants. I should have worn the black pants. (stomach tightening.)