It started like any other Monday. I hit snooze three times, got yelled at by Mom twice, and finally dragged myself out of bed. But when I reached for my phone to check my messages, nothing. No WiFi. No service. Just a spinning circle and a message: No internet connection.
At first, I figured it was just our router acting up again. So I rebooted it, just like Dad had taught me. Still nothing. I went into the kitchen.
“Mom, is the internet out?”
She looked up from her book, totally calm. “Yes. The whole town’s down. Some big outage or something.”
“No. NO! This cannot be happening! My socials. My messages. My life! My Snapchattttt!”
Panic. Real Panic. No internet meant no games, no videos, no group chat. How were we supposed to survive the day?
At school, it got worse. No one could check their phones. Our teacher, Mr. Garcia, had to rewrite his whole lesson because it was supposed to be online. He looked like he was about to cry.
By lunch, the cafeteria buzzed like a beehive. Everyone was talking to each other. Like, really talking. No phones. No earbuds. Just people being … social. It was weird. Kinda cool, but mostly weird.
Then someone brought out a deck of cards. Actual, physical cards. We played a game called “Egyptian Rat Slap.” I had no idea what I was doing, but I laughed so hard I nearly spilled my juice. We ended up trading snacks and telling jokes. One kid even tried to start a conga line.
After school. I walked home with my neighbor Jaya. Usually, we’d just stare at our phones and maybe say a word or two. But this time, we talked the whole way. About space, and favorite animals, and how creepy old Mr. Henson’s house looked now that we actually noticed it.
That night, I ate dinner with my family at the table. No one was scrolling. My little brother showed us how to fold a paper frog. Mom told a funny story from when she was our age. We laughed so much we didn’t even notice the lights flicker when the internet came back.
Yeah. It came back.
I found out later that a huge cable underground had snapped, cutting off service for miles. It was all fixed by 8 PM. My phone blew up with alerts, missed messages, and videos from people freaking out.
But here’s the thing: I didn’t rush back to my screen. I just turned it off and made another paper frog.
The next day, things mostly went back to normal. Heads down. Thumbs tapping. Silence in the halls.
But not all the way. I noticed more people talking. More smiles. And when someone said, “Hey, is anyone up for cards at lunch?” A whole group nodded.
The internet went down for one day. But it changed something. Just a little.
And honestly? I’m glad it did.
