I flopped onto the trampoline in our backyard, book in hand. The sun was blazing overhead, but instead of bouncing, I sprawled out flat and groaned.
“Ugh,” I muttered. “This has to be the dullest day ever.”
“You’re dramatic, you know that?” a voice called over the fence.
I looked up to see Jax leaning on the railing. She was home from college for the summer, her hair pulled back in a messy bun like she hadn’t bothered with a brush. Jax had been my neighbor since forever, and when we were little, she used to let me tag along on bike rides. Now she was older, cooler, and—at least today—annoyingly smug.
“You wouldn’t get it,” I said. “Everything’s boring.”
“Everything?” She raised an eyebrow. “That’s a big claim.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Almost everything.”
Jax swung one leg over the fence and dropped into our yard. “Okay then,” she said, pulling out her phone. “Let’s test this theory. Pretend these are your choices for today.”
She scrolled a second and then held out three pictures. The first was a cozy photo of a blanket and hot chocolate by a rainy window. The next was a dramatic shot of a stage lit by bright white spotlights. The last was a picture of fireworks exploding in every color.
“Pick one,” she said.
I frowned at the screen. “What am I picking?”
“Your mood. Your day. Whatever you want it to be.”
The cozy picture looked nice, but it felt too lazy. The stage was exciting, but also kind of intense. My eyes kept drifting back to the fireworks—messy, colorful, impossible to ignore.
“This one,” I said, tapping it. “It feels alive. Like anything could happen.”
Jax pocketed her phone. “Good answer. That’s today. You just have to decide what you’re going to do with it.”
I blinked at her. “You make it sound like some motivational poster.”
She grinned. “Maybe. But hey, it beats moping on a trampoline, right?”
I laughed despite myself. “So what do I do with my ‘fireworks day,’ wise one?”
She shrugged. “That’s the point. You figure it out. Start small. Make something happen. You don’t have to wait around for excitement to drop out of the sky.”
Her words stuck in my head longer than I wanted to admit. I watched as she climbed back over the fence, waving before heading inside her house.
I sat there for a minute, chewing on her advice. Then I jumped up, grabbed my bike from the garage, and pedaled down the street. My best friend, Zoey, lived three blocks away.
By the time I rang her doorbell, I already had a plan. “Grab your sneakers,” I said when she answered. “We’re going to the park. It’s too nice a day to waste.”
Her face lit up. “Finally! I thought you were going to spend all summer moping.”
We ended up playing one-on-one basketball until we were sweaty and laughing too hard to shoot straight. It wasn’t fireworks exactly, but it was loud, bright, and alive—and it was definitely better than sulking on a trampoline.
“A Spark in the Ordinary” by Nina D. Smith. Published by Bright Bunny Books © 2025. Retelling of “The Best Day” from Fireside Stories for Girls in Their Teens by Margaret W. Eggleston, originally published in 1921.
“A Spark in the Ordinary” is best suited for students in grades 6–8, since it explores everyday boredom, decision-making, and self-discovery in a way that’s relatable to middle schoolers while encouraging them to see how small choices can shift their perspective.
Here are three discussion questions you could use with this story:
- Lila’s day changes when she decides to act instead of staying bored. What are some small choices you’ve made that turned an ordinary day into something memorable?
- The “fireworks” in the story are a metaphor. What do you think they represent, and why do you think the author used them instead of writing about actual fireworks?
- Jax helps Lila see her day differently. How can advice from others (friends, family, mentors) influence the way we handle tough or boring situations?
This content is provided under fair use for educational purposes only. Commercial use is strictly prohibited by the creator.
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