We all watched with shocked faces as it flew through the sky, spinning rapidly. I wondered what I was going to say to my teacher.

The sun shined its rays down as the sound of children’s laughter travelled across the playground. It was another day of my friends and I playing four square on the paved sidewalk, the ball bouncing back and forth between the squares. The ball had been hit so hard that it rolled away, so my friend ran to get it. We started doing high kicks, like the ones dancers do as they twirl onstage, as we were waiting for her to come back with the ball. It was a contest to see who could kick their leg the highest, and we all wanted to be the one to win.

That morning I had slipped on a pair of black ballet flats that happened to be a tad bit big on me, but I had shrugged it off. It was just the heel part of the shoe that was sort of loose. I figured nothing would happen, seeing as I only walked around school all day. I wasn’t too worried, until I was kicking my leg up in the air. My thinking was that if I didn’t kick my leg too hard, nothing would happen, so I continued trying to kick my leg the highest.

My friend was running back with the ball, so I wanted to be the one to get the last kick. I threw my leg up as hard as my little 4th grade legs could, and off went my shoe. It went flying through the air and I watched, astonished, as it spun in midair and landed on the roof of my school. I watched as my friends’ faces formed into faces of laughter as I stood there with a gaping hole for a mouth, looking down at my foot and up at the roof over and over again. The sound of my friends’ laughter rang in my ears as I realized that I would have to tell my teacher why I needed to get my shoe down from the roof.

I was quite a shy kid, so I grabbed my friend, Isabella, for moral support and walked up to my teacher. I began to explain how exactly my shoe had gotten up there, but I paused often because I was a little embarrassed. My voice got quieter and quieter as I explained to her what had happened. My teacher stood there with a face I can’t quite describe. She looked like she was trying not to laugh, but also looked like she thought I was completely stupid for doing this.

“Alright, I will go tell the janitor about this and hopefully they will be able to get your shoe down.” My teacher told me. I quietly told my teacher thanks and ran back to my friends, dragging Isabella with me.

The whistle soon rang, signaling it was time for us to go back into class. I was walking with my friends back to the classroom, and my classmates looked confused as to why I had only one shoe on. I sat down at my table and explained to my tablemates the story of how I had gotten my shoe on the roof. Their faces were priceless. They were half-judging me and half laughing at me. Later in class, the janitor stopped by and handed me my shoe back. I shyly thanked the janitor for getting my shoe back and quietly shuffled back to my table.

In all honesty, it wasn't a huge deal to me, but it taught me that I should always wear shoes that fit. Life goes on even after embarrassing moments, but still, I always make sure to not kick my shoe onto the roof.