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Drops of sweat started to run down my neck as the substitute teacher reiterated the question, ?What mistakes have you made in your life??. Absolutely nothing came, I couldn't think of a single thing. I felt slightly embarrassed and foolish. The other students looked at me with a sceptical look. I was sure some of them thought I was nothing but a pretentious liar and I was certain I had lost my invitation to half the class's birthday bashes.
There was always the time I may have cheated on my math exam by lurking over Nerdy Nelly's exam paper, but I would hardly call that a mistake, particularly because, I, admirably and successfully, got away with it. Apart from that, I had to admit, my life, up until today and for the past 16 years and 3 months, had been pretty dull.
Others had tried to question or even denounce me for hovering my way through life. My mother even liked to call me, her undecided little hummingbird, that was simply waiting for the right flower to explore. ?My child is a ?perfectionist?, she said. She was, of course, wrong. In fact, I was never the patient type. The truth was, very little upset me and even less thrilled me.
Wednesday's ?Life class? always put me in a questionable mood. All these questions that never got answered and all these random discussions she pulled out of her magic hat. No one ever left her class having learned anything they didn't already know before or without a splitting headache. But as everything else, I believed this class must have been taught for a reason. Various after-school activities and chores usually followed. I had given them all a fair trial but, much to my mother's dismay, neither water kung fu nor bubble sculpting agreed with me.
I usually spent Wednesday afternoons, walking down the river, often ending up at the local Cafe, owned by my aunt Clara. On Wednesdays, she was usually off rock crawling, which made it all the more enjoyable for me. She had a nasty habit of questioning the unquestionable. ?Why don't you bring your little friends??, was her official ringtone. At this hour, the place was usually half empty and you could only hear gurgling milk noise, slightly covering the snores of sleepy Tom, the ageing copper. I ordered my usual hazelnut hot chocolate and went to sit at my favourite corner table, fenced off by a small window on the left and an empty wooden bookcase on the right. I sat comfortably and looked through the window at the thick and silvery fog.
It was not love but I will remember her forever. The first time I saw her, I didn't see her. She entered the cafe, sat near the door and probably ordered her usual mint frappuccino. She wasn't from here. Still daydreaming and only halfway through my drink, I cannot recall why, of all people, she decided to charge straight for my table and for my own sanity, I will never attempt to do so. She had a velvety voice and turbulent manners. I knew from the moment I met her, she was someone who would never bother with ?life class? and that made her, despite all odds, terribly intriguing.
From then on, we met every Wednesday, behind my aunt's back. She never asked me questions and I never brought up her terrible tastes in refreshment. I never asked where she came from and what she was doing here. It seemed a little tedious compared to the stories she told. They were as engaging as they were improbable. I didn't care. The others' criticism and my mother's fancy expectations didn't linger so much in my mind anymore. She took all the space. I never imagined us walking out in the sunset together, this was never what it was. I felt fantastically at ease in her presence.
Which is why when she asked me to steal my aunt's cash, I didn't so much see it as a felony but more as a courtesy to someone who had asked for so little of me and given me so much. `She was clearly in real difficulties, I didn't give it much thought. I never asked my aunt for anything and even paid for all my drinks but it never occurred to me that others would not have been so generous.
Ironically, even to that, I couldn't commit. Things all went horribly wrong when sleepy Tom, suddenly stopped snoring and caught me with my hand on the teal. Golden Girls had vanished like the heroes of her stories. I was putting my hand away, I shouted but it was no use. Sleepy Tom was well-rested and going strong. My aunt was nowhere around so he dragged me to the police station and locked me up in a sad little cell. He had been waiting for me his whole life, he kept saying. I couldn't understand it, it seemed to me, sleepy Tom had, like me, slumbered his way through life.
Hooked to a chair and facing two bizarrely similar officers, my first instinct was to defend myself. After all, I didn't actually do anything. Having never felt so passionate about anything else in my life, I was fully inexperienced in the whole thing. I tried to explain it to these two but they seemed to have a knack for the obvious. ?There was no other kid?, they repeated. They had asked around and concluded I was quite the eccentric type. They decided I was the greedy type too.
Miserably freezing on the floor of my cell, I waited and wondered where did it all really start to go wrong for me. Was it just bad luck or had life finally played a dirty trick on me? I was given no charge but a very persistent record. I resisted telling my mother that I had finally found something worth exploring.
I never saw or heard of Golden Girl again. She had disappeared from my life, leaving nothing but a thin trail of contempt. I could never go back to that foggy afternoon and undo our meeting, the same way I could never go back to that wretched ?life class? and correct my answer.
When I entered the poorly lighted interview room, I knew my past would probably cost me that job too. Seated on the cold metal chair, I took out my briefcase and laid out my stitched-up resume. When Golden Girl made a cheeky appearance in the form of a particularly awful cup of coffee, it finally came to me why she simply had to come into my life. I firmly held on to the memories of my actions, my decisions and my doubts. I finally cared. I cared about it all.
It was a regular day in my school. Everyone was playing with paper balls as usual.
The goal was to hit everyone in the room in their face, especially the ones that were doing something productive Our teachers used to ask,? Why?? when the sweepers complain that we are noisy. It was all to see the expression in their face when they were hit by a dirty paper ball right in their face. You couldn't feel the fun until you see it and they start throwing back.
And so they started throwing back. ?Duck!? I screamed. It seemed as though Damian thought that I meant the other duck and got hit by a plastic pen cap in his face.
?Why are you using pen caps?? I asked
?It's an upgrade,? Friz said, ? Its aerodynamic design makes it faster than paper balls.?
?And also dangerous.? Maeve said.
?She is right,? I insisted ,? Let's stick with paper balls.?
After the talk I looked back and Damian's face looked as though he was waiting for me to ask
him if he was alright, but yeah I knew he would be so I didn't care.
?You should learn to react fast.? I advised Damian ,? You see what happens if you don't.?
The relation between me and Damian was considered to be the best example of friendship in the whole school. But for the past few weeks there were tensions in our friendship. He didn't like me going and spending time with Maeve and her friends. He thought I was avoiding him, yeah I actually did avoid him by doing so because I thought that spending time with many people will be fun, that's what our principal said on our last week morning speech.
But still I can't give up on him, I planned for a revenge on the person who hit the pen cap, Sean. It was the time when our teacher would come, so I couldn't attack him now, so I quietly helped cleaning the mess we created. The teacher came and we all stood up like good students and exchanged good morning with him. After some time he started teaching and writing on board. Josh sitting in front of us asked me for a sharpener. The look I gave made him regret it and Damian gave him what he asked.
When our teacher was busy writing, I took a rubber band in my hand and made it a deadly weapon. I took paper from my desk space and made it to bits.
?What are you doing?? my partner Damian silently asked.
?Wait and see,? I smiled. I quickly fired a mini paper ball onto Sean's head. He noticed and examined the back of his head with his hand and looked back for a second and started writing again.
?Wow! Perfect shot!? Damian exclaimed
?Shhhh? I whispered by keeping my index finger near my mouth in the way they keep while saying, ? Shhh.?
Luckily there was a much louder noise that caught everyone's attention. The sound was from the Loudspeaker of a truck selling vegetables. I sighed. I told Damian to whisper, and not to shout and not to look at my face after the object we throw hit someone. Damian nodded.
?Ok, now your turn.? I gave him the rubber band. He quickly got ready and threw an eraser that almost hit Maeve. I stared at his eyes with anger. ?Why did you throw on her??
?By mistake, I missed Sean,? he whispered with a broken voice.
?Maeve is literally sitting in the other end,? I whispered back,? Don't make me angry again.?
?I am sorry,? Damian apologised.
?Don't behave like you are still 7 years old, We are adolescents now.?
?You are being rude to me nowadays.?
?No, I am just being like a man.?
Damian didn't say anything for that.
?Here is your sharpener.? Josh turned back and kept on the desk.
?Now, see and learn,? I said before I aimed and prepared to fire the broken sharpener on Sean's head.
But unfortunately it's weird shape made it deviate from its path and gain a upward lift and misfired on our teacher's head. He screamed in pain and turned back. We all stood up. Well, it was obvious that it should be the job of back benchers.
?Who did it!!!? he shouted.
Obviously there was no response. In our class there is an unwritten rule. We can hit each other or break somebody's neck but nothing should reach the teacher's ears.
?Whoever did it come out themselves!!? he shouted again. Damian looked at me.
I stamped his feet whispering him to look straight and so he did.
?Fine, if the person that did this doesn't come out, all of you will be punished!!?
After shouting this he walked out of the class. Everyone sat down and started speaking, they all knew he was going to the principal room. It was deep trouble.
?Someone threw something on my head too,? Sean was telling to Friz ,?And I think I know who it is,? he looked at the backbenchers.
?What are we going to do now?? Damian asked me in a low voice.
?I am going to lie,?
?What??
Before we could continue anything Principal madam came inside the class. Everyone stood up again.
She was angry, her face told us. She asked us, ?Who threw it on him?? This time we had to speak
something, because we were prepared to speak and it was the principal that asked us. But nobody
spoke, it was fear.
?I know who did it, it would be decent for them to accept it themselves.? she said.
We responded with silence.
?Fine, I will give you half an hour time to think. But if you stand like this even then, you will see my other face.?
She left the classroom taking all the anger with her. And we started speaking again.
?Let's go and tell her.? Damian insisted me on telling the truth.
?Do you have the slightest idea what it will lead to??
?She knows is the backbenchers.?
Yeah he was right. She knows. What I was planning was the only way to save us.
Actually speaking Damian didn't do it, but whenever he spoke, he spoke as though
we both did it together. The eraser he threw did not even hit anybody, He couldn't even be blamed for anything. But he still was in my side.
?Well, I am happy that you are caring for me, but the truth alone can't save us.?
?What? So how is a lie going to save us??
?It can't save us either.?
Damian gave a confused look.
?We need both of them to save us. I am going to lie and you are going to say the truth.?
?Explain.?
?Here's how it works...? I whispered in his ears.
?Well... you really have changed a lot.?
Damian agreed to my plan and we both decided that Damian would tell the truth and I would lie.
The half an hour time principal gave was over and she entered the class again.
?Right. So have you decided yet?? she asked looking at everybody.
?Mam,? I stood up,? I have something to tell you.?
?Proceed.?
?Josh threw the sharpener. I saw it with my eyes.?
?NO! MAM HE IS LYING!? Josh shouted at the top of his voice.
?Sit down Josh. Let him speak first.?
?Since he was my friend I hesitated to tell you mam when you asked first. But after thinking
I understood this was the right thing?
Josh's face was so angry and annoyed. He was as angry as an old woman with a broken window.
?Also, I have eye witness mam. You can ask Damian about it.?
?Yes mam, Josh borrowed the sharpener from me. I didn't know what he did with it.?
?I remember giving it back! Why are you lying?? Josh yelled at us.
?Quiet. Josh did you borrow the sharpener?? principal mam asked.
?Yes mam, but I gave it back!?
?Mam, yesterday math's teacher humiliated Josh in front of class for not completing home work.?
Sid who was Josh's partner said, ?He told me that he will take revenge.?
?Mam, I said it just to sound cool. I could never have the courage to do something like that.?
Sid was a jackpot for us. He hated sitting with Josh because he thought he was stinky. Sid was
very studious and got good marks and he never liked sitting with someone who failed often.
Well we didn't like Sid for that. But anyway we couldn't avoid such a help.
?Also Josh always disturbs me while studying mam. I couldn't focus on what the teacher teaches.?
Principal mam made her decision. 3 vs 1 was easy to decide. And so Josh was suspended from
school for a week and was scolded heavily by Principal mam.
?But what about his parents?? Damian asked me as we were waiting for our apple juice.
?I heard that Josh often fights with his parents and lies to them too. So they won't believe him.? I
was confident.
?Hmm. Parents can easily find out if their child is lying or not.? Damian said.
?We will take care of it when they get to know,? I said , ?But for now, we won!?
?Yeah,? Damian replied and we both did a cheers when the apple juice came to our table.
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