Gyoza, oil, and failure

Why was everything so quiet?

The smoke vanished into the ceiling

And left a pile of ash in its place

I felt my face getting hot

Failure feels hot

And it burns

Why did no one offer me a coat?

Outside waiting for the firetruck

In Chicago winter

I am a zoo animal

In my glass cage

My kitchenless, glass cage

I will never live this down

Every christmas, every thanksgiving, every easter

The embarrassment will last longer then the smoke stains

On what's left of my ceiling

Why did 4 minutes and 37 seconds feel so long?

I will never do this again

I will never do this ever again

Did you know that water doesn’t put out an oil fire?

No one had ever told me that before

I had never heard it more than in the two weeks after

How could I have not known that?

Coatless on my porch

The firefighters leave my house

One by one

Through misty eyes

The last firefighter asks me how my potstickers were

Did he really just say that?

I stared at the ground

Thinking of ways to break this news

And laughing

What’s the point?

Of giving up

When it could be funny instead.

By: Who: Evie Irvine

Year: Senior

Fun Fact: once burnt my kitchen down

From: Ravenswood, Chicago, IL

Keywords: Educational, Inciting, Flammable