Trevor's First Day

            Trevor stretched as he crawled out of bed.  He had never wakened in the complete dark before, but today was his first day of his very own paper route.  Quickly, he dressed and went into the kitchen to find his papers sitting in bundles on the kitchen table.  His dad was up, too.

            “Good morning,” said his dad cheerily.  “Grab some breakfast and then you need to insert the ads in the papers and roll them.”

            Suddenly, Trevor noticed different kinds of stacks.  He thought the papers would arrive ready to go.  He had no idea that HE would have to put the papers together and roll them.  This took some of his exuberance out of him, but still this was his first step to becoming the richest 10 year old on the block.  It was just a bump in the road.

            After grabbing a toasted pastry, he set to working on the business of inserting the ads.  His dad let him try it on his own for a little while, and then showed him how to do it in a way that was much faster.  Soon he had a rhythm going.  “This isn’t half bad,” he thought to himself.

            Before long he had the papers inserted.  Next, he had to roll all the throws and fold all the papers going into boxes.  He looked at his list.  He had 37 throws and 13 boxes.  As he counted out his throws and boxes, he noticed he had 2 extra papers.  He asked his dad, “What are the extras for?”

            “Those are in case you make mistakes or get one of your papers wet or dirty,” his dad replied.

            “Oh,” said Trevor.  That thought had never occurred to him.

            His mom had made him a canvas sling to put over his shoulders.  This would hold his throws.  His dad had attached a basket on the back of his bike.  This would hold the papers going into boxes. Trevor loaded up his sling and his basket, grabbed his list, and set off on his first day as a paper carrier.

            Trevor had memorized the first few stops on his list, but after that, he had to consult his list after every stop.  Before he left, he was convinced that it would only take him 30 minutes to finish a measly 50 papers.  Now it had been 30 minutes and he had only delivered 10 papers.  This might take a while.

            As he rounded a curve to start another street, his bike tire slipped on a stick in the road.  Trevor had been too busy trying to read his list to notice it.  His bike slid sideways throwing him off.  His papers spilled all over the street.  Trevor had worn a helmet, but not kneepads and elbow pads.  When he hit the street, his right elbow received a nasty skin.  His jeans saved his knees from more than bruises.  Trevor sat in the street watching red blood trickle down his right arm.  He needed a way to stop the bleeding and keep the blood from getting on his papers.  He decided to take off one of his socks and wrap it around his injury.  Then he picked up all his papers, dusted them off, placed them all back where they belonged, and set off once more.

            After delivering another 10 papers, a drop of water hit Trevor right in the middle of the forehead.  He only had 15 more papers to deliver, but it was starting to rain.  Frantically, he stuffed all his papers in his sling trying to save them from getting wet.  Then he peddled with all his might for home.  He needed an umbrella or something. 

            When he reached his house, he went into the garage and found all old umbrella and some duck tape.  He was trying to attach the umbrella to his handlebars when his dad walked out to him.

            “Son, what are doing?” his dad asked.

            “It’s starting to rain.  I need something to keep the papers dry,” explained Trevor as he worked furiously to attach the umbrella.

            “How are you going to keep them dry once you throw them?” asked his dad.

            Trevor stopped.  He hadn’t even considered how to keep them dry once he threw them.  He looked at his dad hopelessly and slumped to the ground.

            His dad walked over to a box in the corner and pulled out plastic bags.  “Fortunately, your boss did think of that.  These are for just such an occasion.  Let’s bag all the throws you have left, and I will help you finish your route in the car,” explained his dad.

            Trevor smiled and stood up.  In just a few minutes, Trevor and his dad had bagged all the rest of the papers.  In no time, the route was finished thanks to his dad and a car.

            When they came back into the house after they were done, Trevor’s mom properly bandaged his injured elbow, and gave them both cups of hot chocolate.  As he drank his hot chocolate Trevor thought about his first day as a route carrier.  This might be more work than he thought, but still it hadn’t been half bad.  Plus, he sure would have some story to tell his friends about the perils of having a job.