By: Peyton Grebinar ’27
After finishing Kafka’s classic novella The Metamorphosis, World Literature students were asked to reimagine the iconic opening sentence. Peyton Grebinar’s humorous take on Kafka’s dilemma resonates with every Hebron student struggling to wake up early and make it to class on time!
When Peyton woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, she found herself changed in her bed into a monstrous tortoise. After waking up to this new form, Peyton was extremely startled. Most people would freak out and call 911, but she could not because she did not have fingers. Instead of freaking out, Peyton climbed onto her bedside table, then onto her desk, then took a leap of faith onto the ground, landing with a thud. Being a giant tortoise meant moving a lot slower than normal, but it also saved a lot of time. As a giant reptile, you do not need to spend time doing your hair, makeup, or picking out an outfit. Peyton decided the smartest thing to do would be to get an early start to her day, so she had the idea of leaving to go to class at 7:45. Just as she began her crawl to the door, her roommate Beccy woke up from her sleep. Beccy climbed out of bed, eyes still not fully open. She grabbed her toothbrush and headed towards the door when she caught her foot on a large solid object, and BOOM! Down went beccy.
After getting up and pulling herself together, Becy gasped as she looked at what Peyton had become. She started laughing out loud uncontrollably for at least five minutes. Once the hysterics were over, Beccy realized Peyton couldn’t do anything on her own, so she grabbed Peytons bag and put it around her large turtle shell, opening the door for Peyton. Beccy watched Peyton waddle her way to the stairs, and begin her walk. While making her time down the stairs, Peyton felt determined to have a good day even though she was now an animal.
By the time she made it to the last step of the dorm, and out the door, Peyton was famished. To this she decided to stop and grab a bite to eat. She found the most beautiful, scrumptions, tasty looking grass! When she got to the grass she began to nibble, and ate until her belly was full. She then carried on and made it to the sidewalk. At the side walk there were many cars zooming by, but none of them could see little Peyton, only a few inches off the ground waiting to safely cross the road. After a little while there was a break in the line of cars. Peyton decided to be brave and cross quickly. She stepped into the crosswalk and made it about half way when all of a sudden, a giant eighteen wheeler came barreling down the road. In this moment she went into sheer panic mode, wondering whether she should turn back and try to make it back where she started, or to get across to the other side. In all of this time she wasted thinking, the truck had gotten up to her, and she hasn’t moved an inch. What Peyton forgot was that she was now a tortoise. A tortoise with a big strong shell on her back. She used her shell, hiding her body into it and shut her eyes, hoping for the best.
Peyton waited a moment before sticking her neck back out to check if she was safe. When she looked, she saw the coast was clear, so she wasted no time and quickly crossed. Peyton now began to hurry on her way, still frazzled from what had just happened. She walked across the mile long senior path, smiling at everyone she passed, until she finally made it to the school building. She waited for a group of students to walk out, slipping in the door behind them. Once inside the building, Peyton looked up and saw her arch nemesis: The stairs in the school building. She bravely began her trip up the stairs, looking up as if looking up towards the top of a mountain. When she made it to the landing she stopped just until she caught her breath, then she carried on. She climbed for what felt like forever, passing by many of her fellow friends and teachers. She looked up and realized she had made it up all of the stairs. She hobbled towards Ms. Watermans door, only to realize it was shut and all of the lights were off. Peyton also realized the building was extremely quiet. She pushed open the door to the fire escape only to see the moon smiling back at her. Peyton then heard the bells of the clocktower ring. One ring, Two rings, Three rings, Four rings, on and on until she counted ten rings. TEN RINGS!? That was when Peyton realized how long it took her, and that she had missed her entire day of school because she was turned into a tortoise.
At this point, all that Peyton could think of was how she was going to explain this to Ms. Teske, and the attendance office. Peyton was in big trouble but hey, at least she got to be a tortois for a day!