It is six thirty in the morning when I wake up.

Though many people wake up feeling refreshed, I wake up feeling heavy.

Heavy from only having a few hours of sleep.

Heavy from the many hours spent awake the night before.

though it was not really just the day before that I was awake, but it was today.

Today at 4:03 am, I was still awake.

The day before had come and gone within the blink of an eye,

so had the day before that, and the week before that.

Yesterday had left me, and now all I have is today

Today is the day, and for me it will end not at the stroke of midnight tonight,

but it will end at precisely 8:01 am, only one hour, thirty minutes, and fifty nine seconds away.

Time is running out, and there is still much to do.

In a rush all my senses come back to me, and now I’m running on pure determination.

In a few swift moves I have my laptop in my lap, breakfast by my side, and begin to work.

When I review my work from the night before and this morning, I  can see I am almost done.

My fingers move as if they were on fire, trying to capture each idea that comes to my mind

Only one hour, five minutes, and twenty seven seconds left.

I have only three hundred words to go.

What else, what else can I write!...Then it comes to me

My fingers start to strain as I reach my last sentence, but then it is done.

With one last keystroke I am done!

But I still need to print my paper…

now there is only forty five minutes, and thirty eight seconds left

With great desperation I will the printer to spit out my paper as fast as possible.

When I receive my masterpiece I realize that I had forgot  to put my name on it!

How? How could I be so stupid? 

With great speed I fix my error, and return to the printer.

But what is this? My paper will not print!

Only thirty nine minutes, and twenty five seconds left

I try to will myself to stay calm, as I try to figure out what the problem is.

Oh! How could I missed that?

The printer is out of paper

I rush to put the paper into the printer.

Within thirty seconds I now have ten perfect copies of my paper

Only thirty five minutes, and fifty four seconds, the clock is screaming at me!

I rapidly wiggle into some decent clothes, grab my paper, and dash out the front door.

I run to my car and struggle to unlock the door, then the door finally opens.

My destination is thirty minutes away, but there is only twenty seven minutes left!

If I drive fast I can make it, I know I can.

As I drive a tiny sense of panic starts to set in.

But then there is hope, so far no red lights and no cops.

I can do this!

Then I am there, I am at my destination.

Only one minute, and twelve seconds left.

The room I need to get to is just around the corner. I find that I am now running to the room.

When I walk through the door of the room a sense of calmness comes over me.

I made it. It is time, 8:01 and my paper is due.

My english teacher gestures for the students to turn in their research papers, and be seated.

I am already at the teacher’s desk, eager to turn in all my hard work.

The paper that has cursed me for the past twenty four hours, will no longer weigh me down.

I set my paper down on the teacher’s desk, and quickly walk back to my seat.

I sit down, and it is done.

The teacher gathers the papers, and takes her place at the front of the class.

As I sit there in class, I start to feel that I am forgetting something

That is when I realized it.

Today at 8:00 am was also due date, and time, to take the final test for my Biology class.