Odds

Chelsea was the smartest person I'd ever met. She always calculated the odds of doing something that wasn't exactly safe. More than once, she'd saved my life by telling me not to do something because the odds were against it. I always listened to her. My brother Thomas didn't always listen. He broke his right arm twice and twisted his left ankle once. I wished that he'd listen to her. He was always doing reckless stunts on dares. He once climbed the tallest tree in the forest on a dare. He made it down safely, but the odds were against it. I didn't know how Chelsea could tell what the odds were going to be. I figured she'd just read a bunch of books on probability. Although, I didn't know how she could tell the chances of the ice cream that my mom bought would be strawberry. I didn't know how she could tell the chances of who was going to win an argument between Thomas and me. She wasn't always right, but then again, probabilities weren't always what actually happened.

It was my birthday. I was turning 18. When I woke up that day, I lay awake for a moment and wondered if I'd forgotten something. Then I remembered that it was my birthday. I lept out of bed and rushed to get ready for the day. I put on my favorite dress, the one with the music notes on it, and went downstairs to the kitchen. I sat down at the table.

"Happy Birthday, Mandy!" My mom greeted me, pouring the mixture of chocolate chip waffles into the waffle maker.

"Thanks!" I replied.

Chocolate chip waffles were my favorite breakfast in the world. I could only eat them on my birthday and special occasions because Mom wanted to keep healthy. Thomas came over to the table and sat down.

"Good morning," I greeted him.

"Good morning," He replied.

He looked at what Mom was making.

"Chocolate chip waffles?" He asked, looking at the waffle maker in surprise.
"What's the occasion?"

Mom rolled her eyes.

"It's Mandy's birthday," She told him, taking one of the waffles out of the waffle maker and placing it on a plate.

"Oh, right. Happy Birthday, Mandy."

Mom finished making the waffles and put them on our plates. She took out the syrup and placed it in the middle of the table. She sat down and we began to eat. My phone rang.

"What did I tell you about having phones at the table?" Mom asked.

"Not to," I replied. "But it's my birthday and Chelsea is probably calling."

"Okay, but take it away from the table."

I got up, walked over to the living room, and answered the call.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, Mandy!" Chelsea answered. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks. What's up?"

"I need to warn you."

"About what?"

"You have a thirty percent chance of dying today."