Aaron lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t decide whether to go back to sleep or get ready for school. What day is it? He wasn’t sure. Aaron knew it wasn’t Sunday, but it wasn’t Tuesday either. Something felt different. Something felt wrong. Maybe his mom would know. Aaron begrudgingly got out of bed, shivering when his bare feet hit the cold floor. “Mom!” He yelled, walking into the kitchen. “Hey, mom! Is today a school day? I… I’m not sure.”

Aaron’s mother wandered into the kitchen, still in her pajamas. “I’m not sure either. I can’t remember what day it is. It feels like I should go to work, but I know it’s not Tuesday. I don’t know what to do.” She sat down at the table and stared off into space.

Aaron felt like he was walking through fog. Maybe if he concentrated enough, he could figure it out. Aaron stepped outside and looked around. All over the neighborhood, people wandered around like they didn’t know where they were or what was happening. He called over to his neighbor. “Mike! Mike! What is everyone doing? What’s happening? What day is it today?”

The other boy burst into tears and fell to his knees. “Aaron, I don’t know. Look at me. I’m half in my school uniform and half in weekend clothes. My parents are sitting in their car but haven’t left yet. They don’t know if they have work today or not.”

Aaron returned to his house and thought about everything he’d seen. The fog in his brain began to thin. Aaron went to his room and sat at his desk. Aaron opened his laptop and searched Google for “How many days are there in a week?” He found “7.” Aaron searched for the names of the days of the week. He came up with “Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday,” but that was only six. Aaron knew yesterday was Sunday. He searched for “What day comes after Sunday?” and got an error message saying that Google could not find that internet page. He researched several variations on that same question, and suddenly, his laptop screen cracked, and his laptop caught fire. Aaron ran to the kitchen for the fire extinguisher. Now, he knew something was wrong.

Aaron walked back into the kitchen. “Mom, I think there was a day between Sunday and Tuesday, but I can’t remember what it’s called. Does that sound familiar to you?”

“No! There’s nothing between… nothing… between…. nothing…nothing…” Aaron’s mother slid out of her chair onto the floor, drool dripping out of her mouth. Before he could help his mother, Aaron found himself somewhere else entirely. He wasn’t in his kitchen anymore. Aaron was in a long room, completely white, with no window or door. In front of him stood two tall, grey-skinned creatures. They looked just like pictures of aliens. Tall, slender bodies, silver almond-shaped eyes, and long fingers. Aaron stood there staring at them, unsure of what to do. One of the aliens spoke.

“Why are all you humans so displeased. We have studied you for centuries, and the most common complaint we have heard is about this day called “Monday.” We, Overlords, decided to remove Monday to see if overall human happiness improved. Your entire species fell into chaos and confusion within hours. You seem to grasp what we have done. Have you an explanation for our results?”

“Wait… what? Monday? Oh yeah! Monday! That’s it!” Aaron remembered everything now and looked up at the Overlords. “You removed Monday? I can’t even begin to understand how that’s possible or how you are possible! But if this is real and not some crazy dream, I think I may have an answer for you. You removed an entire day of the week but didn’t replace it with anything. You didn’t even move Tuesday up to fill the gap, so we all woke up, and it felt like something was missing… something was wrong. We didn’t understand. There was no Monday, but there was nothing in its place. We felt empty. We didn’t know what to do.” He spread his hands and looked at them. “You left us in an empty void of nothing.”

The Overlords considered this for a moment. “You are correct. Would it be better to move Tuesday into its place and banish Monday from your brains?”

Aaron shook his head. “No. It’s not exactly Monday that we hate; it’s just the end of the weekend. The end of fun. If Tuesday were there, we’d begin to hate Tuesday the same as we hated Monday. Just put Monday back where it belongs.”

The Overlords conferred with each other and then spoke to Aaron. “You are correct. We never considered this possibility. You are a complex species that requires much more study. The Overlord’s silver eyes flashed, and Aaron returned to his kitchen.

His mom sat at the table eating breakfast. “There you are, Aaron. Go get ready for school. I don’t know about you. Every Monday, you almost miss the bus. Hurry up. It’s an early workday for me, and I won’t be able to drive you to school. I hate Monday, too, but I have to go to work, and you have to go to school.”

Aaron smiled to himself. Everything was back to normal. His mother didn’t remember anything weird. Aaron wondered if he was the only one who would have memories of this crazy morning. “Ok, mom. I’m going. Mondays do suck, but you’re right. They’re a necessary evil.” Aaron laughed and got ready for school.