“Are you a motorist Alex Li?” asked Mr. Freed as I strolled into class ready for my daily dose of AP Microeconomics.

“Um. Yes?” I hesitantly responded, unknowing where he was going with this.

“Well I put your name in the Academic Excellence Parking Spot thing, so, yeah,” he finally told me.

Surprisingly, I actually got the spot, and now my shiny, black stallion has the privilege of parking in the white, outlined “SS” spot right at the close end of the student lot. Wonderful.

Not.

It’s made me weak. I am a shell of my former self. I’ve become complacent. This is truly a fall from grace.

I used to arrive at school at a comfortable time where I could finish some homework or study a little before I had to make the freezing trek down to campus. Now I’m impressed with myself if I walk into AP Art History before the bell rings.

The root of the problem lies in my AE spot. The now–infamous SS spot has crippled me. I no longer feel pressured to leave early and snag a good spot, because I know I’ll always have a parking spot—a great spot for that matter.

Once November comes, the excitement of falling leaves and anticipation of stuffed turkeys aside, I’m going to be miserable every day. I will never be on time to first period. I will never get a good parking spot. I will never feel the wonders that October has brought me ever again.

But maybe October was just the anomaly. Maybe I was never meant to be on time to first period. Maybe I was never meant to receive my AE spot.

There are certain things in life that are definite. Water is wet. October is spooky. Alex Li is late to first period.