PROSE If anyone was tasked with writing an autobiography for every human being on Earth, they would forget Nicholas Morello before the ink on the story of his life had even dried. He was a lanky fifteen year old, born only a few years before the twenty first century, and named by his parents after a childhood friend. And while he did grow from a chubby baby to a tall teenager, he did not grow into greatness as his parents had hoped. Despite having played a variety of sports in his life, he had never accomplished anything of note. He sat smack dab in the middle of most of his classes, and to date no teacher had ever remembered his name for either notorious or excellent deeds. As any high schooler would, he had started a club, though not even his mother or father could name it. And despite this lifetime of obscurity, and in some cases mediocrity, Nicholas Morello knew that anything he wanted in life would be granted to him, for he had been blessed with miracles. At this point, it is a reasonable assumption to make that fairies or wizards or some other sort of nonsense is going to fill these next few pages. Nicholas himself had believed as much in his youth, and would have continued believing so if he had not been in the right place at the right time, and heard a conversation he was never meant to hear. The story began on a cold winter day when Nick (as he will be referred to, because Nicholas is a whopping eight letters) was nine years old, and accidentally stumbled onto a figurative gold mine. When most high schoolers reminisce about elementary school, they remember a paradise free of stress and the happiest time of their life. When most elementary schoolers think about their experience, they feel that they are already in the thick of the rat race. Nick was no exception to this experience, and had tragically found himself at the extreme bottom of his school’s social hierarchy with a few select friends. While he could handle bullying, one day he was the victim of a particularly harsh joke about his mother. This slam was so brutal, and uttered so publically, it almost drove the poor boy to tears.
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for he had been blessed with miracles He had run home and locked himself in his room, despite his parents and others repeatedly trying to coax him out. And right before he went to sleep, he decided to write a letter and put it underneath his pillow case. If there was a tooth fairy to collect teeth from under one’s bed when they fell out, surely other fairies would check his note as well. He had explained what happened, and added frowny faces where he believed they were appropriate. And with all the subtlety of a ten year old, he had asked for Edward Summers to receive a due punishment for his unkind words. He slept peacefully that night, not knowing he had set events in motion that would be critical to the rest of his life. In less than a week, both of Edward’s parents lost their jobs, and his family was forced to move to an area with a lower cost of living.
When he had heard the news, Nick had initially been elated, then confused. He had not expected his wish to come to fruition this quickly or effectively. Never one to let an opportunity go to waste, he wrote a similar note that day about how a large amount of his candy had gone missing, although the culprit was his stomach. When he awoke the next morning, he saw the note had been looked at, but no mountain of candy appeared for another month. He had tried again and again, with different
IT’S A
MIRACLE!
