(INTRO- A short story written for a defunct project named "Kitabi Keeda", where hobbyist teens came together to submit a children's short story each which would then be collated into a book for publication.) Here goes-
Today was as ordinary of a Thursday as it has always been. The children of class 6-A were busy learning about the various battles during their history lessons, while trying to remember the various dates for the coups and heists. Ring- Ring- Ring!! the school bell rang. As all the rest of the children ran towards the empty playground outside their building, tiffins clenched in one hand, and water bottles in another. All the children, except for Raj that is.
Raj, with his inquisitive big brown eyes, his dark unkempt hair made his appearance seem as a child woken up from his slumber by the recess bell.
It was exactly 5 Thursdays ago, when Raj first entered Bishop's high. Raj’s father was in the army, which required him to transfer cities every few years or so. Due to frequent travelling, Raj never had the opportunities to make friends easily since it took him a long time to open up, and by the time he did, he was transferred again. So, with lack of friends, Raj spent his break in class reading a book, eating his tiffin, or sleeping.
But this Thursday, recess would be different. Raj stood up from his corner bench on the last row, walked out his classroom door towards the bathroom. On the way Raj encountered children wrestling each other , some playing hide and seek, and a few others observing other children playing.
Raj passed by many classes, Art class, the principal's office, music class (his favourite) and finally, the science Lab. Today, Raj noticed something different in the science Lab. There were different coloured liquids, with funny smells and smoke coming from them. Red , Blue, Green, bubbling like witches potions.
Suddenly, Raj didn't feel like going to the toilet anymore. His curiosity rose, and he entered the science Lab, towards the ‘witches potions’. He went in, closer and closer towards the chemicals , when he heard a sound from behind. ‘’Be careful with the yellow one. That's Sulfuric acid, melt your skin off, that will.”
“wicked cool!” Raj thought while he maintained some distance from the chemicals. The man was Mr. Iyer, Raj’s science teacher. They looked at the yellow, green, blue and red liquid bubbling in their beakers. There was a funny soapy smell coming from within. After a long time of standing there, the recess bell finally rang, signaling the recess to have ended. Raj thanked Mr. Iyer, and proceeded to leave the Lab when Mr Iyer said,” You like science ? Come to class at the same time tomorrow, I want to show you something.
Raj’s eyes lit up, he couldn't wait for today to end and tomorrow to begin,”What will Mr. Iyer show me tomorrow? ”Raj couldn't control his excitement. He jumped and skipped towards his classroom, waiting for tomorrow to come. Minutes turned into hours, periods came and went; art, geography, mathematics, finally it was time to go home.
Raj went home, said hugged to his mother, ate his food and completed his homework just like all good kids do. In the evening, Raj went swimming with his mummy, it was his favourite thing to do.
At night before sleeping, Raj prayed to the creator, thankful for the day, and kissed his parents goodnight. He tried sleeping, but couldn't stop thinking about what new he would see in the science Lab tomorrow.
The next morning, Raj eagerly went to school, with each passing hour increasing his excitement. At last, the recess bell rang, and Raj wolfed down the sandwiches his mother packed for him in the tiffin box. After devouring his tiffin box, hurried down to the science Lab, and as he entered the Lab he saw a machine half his height, with a tube coming out the top. “A microscope!” Raj exclaimed. He had seen a microscope only in his science textbooks before.
“ There are living organisms everywhere on this planet. Everywhere you can imagine, there are bacteria and organisms”, said Mr. Iyer. Raj could not believe it. “ everywhere? Even between my eyebrows? And my smelly toes?” “definitely,” he said, chuckling.
Mr. Iyer set up the microscope and lowered its height so Raj could see into it. Raj was surprised to see small microbes moving into it. They were so tiny, even tinier than a grain of sand. All of different shapes, some short, some long, some round, some shapeless. Each bacteria was so unique, so different in the way it moved and looked.
Raj could look at it for hours, he never got bored of watching them. “ Just like how each and every bacteria is unique, so are you, and your classmates, and your mummy and daddy and everyone else. We are made up of experiences that shape us and each and everyone is dealt a different group of life experiences. Hence no one is the same.” said Mr. Iyer. Raj thought to himself for a whie, then chuckled, "oh yes, there are different kind of boys in my class too. Some round, and some small, some tall and all kinds of shapes."
Raj could understand science in a new light because of Mr. Iyer, and loved spending time at the science Lab. Everyday during lunchtime, Raj would go to the science Lab after hogging down his tiffin to watch the tiny bacteria move around in his giant microscope. Then one day, he realized that many bacteria were interacting with each other. On bacteria eating the leftover remains of a particle that was previously being consumed by another. Raj had never seen this before.
“All bacteria need each other's help to survive. One bacteria's waste is another's food, and without each other's help all bacteria will die. Just like these bacteria, us humans are social animals, and it's very important for you to talk to more people because if you don't, you'll feel alone and lonely, and that's no good. All of us need each other.”
It was hard for Raj to do it, because just like playing the guitar or painting, talking to new people was a skill that improves with practice. So, like a brave warrior going out into war, Raj picked up his courage, and went out of the science lab out into the playground, determined to find a group of friends he could fit in; all thanks to Mr. Iyer.
End.
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