The Fall

Describe an embarrassing moment. In reality I did not want to put any of my own embarrassing moments on the internet, so I decided to create a character who had his own embarrassing moment.

Oliver was always clumsy. But he somehow never seemed to fall over. He would stub his toes. Swing his hands into objects. Run into tables and chairs and even ran straight into a wall once. Though even though all that he always stayed steadily upright.

He found all this hilarious about himself. So, it was easy to laugh all of it off along with anyone who had witnessed each clumsy moment.

That was until the day he finally landed on all fours, and a group of his friends were all present to see it happen.

Maybe he was being a little too arrogant. He couldn’t help himself as a teenager. Maybe it was karma for laughing at his younger sister this morning when she spilled her cereal. Maybe his slice of humble pie was overdue. Whatever the case maybe he was absolutely mortified for the first time in his life.

Oliver and his friends were walking through the mall on a Saturday afternoon. It was getting close to Christmas time. So, there were people everywhere. It happened in a rare short stretch of space that seemed to be clear of people. Michelle was laughing at a joke Robert had made while Oliver was walking ahead of the small group.

There was nothing on the ground. Oliver wasn’t distracted, completely paying attention to where he was going. His shoelaces were tied properly. He was lifting his feet correctly with each step. He could not give any reasonable explanation for how he managed to trip.

Oliver felt himself falling before he could react. He barely managed to throw his arms out in front of him. His kneecaps landed first followed by his hands and finally his shoulders. Everything and everyone around him stopped for the longest breath imaginable. Just long enough for Oliver to do a quick assessment and realize that nothing felt broken. He managed to let out a small strained “I’m okay” before time started moving again.

His friends were by his side in a flash, but they couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up uncontrollably. Oliver could feel his face turning red hot, but he stood up for once not laughing along with his friends. Looking around he could see the other mall goers returning to their own shopping with amused grins on their faces.

Oliver knew that this would forever be the most embarrassing moment of his life. Though with time he would be able to laugh at himself as well.