While everyone was in their crisp, pristine white uniform, I was left wearing my lucky, faded blue frock.
It was my first day in class 4, and you wouldn't have to be an absolute genius to figure out that I was terrified. All these new faces, and not one who glanced towards me. If Rimlie ma'am hadn't felt sad for me, I would've ended up beside some weird guy.
Nope. She, being a kind lady, plunked me down beside her.
I cast a furtive look towards my not-yet-but-soon acquaintance. My first friend.Short, deep set face, fair, big eyes just like me so I hoped she wouldn't tease me. Hers were pretty and I was a renowned toad.
Best of all, she wore this deeply comforting, everything's-gonna-be-just-fine kinda smile.
While I hopelessly struggled with my simplification, she helped me out. Did I mention she asked my name and told me hers? What, I was tongue tied. Thinking about that time still does that to me.
Months kept flowing by. The Blue Lantern, Beaks,Claws and Feathers, Robinson Crusoe. Making fun of Friday's name, exchanging life-altering secrets and arguing and fighting and what not.
Here was the best part : DPS was the only school which actually allowed us to use COLORS. Can you believe it?
You probably can, sorry.
She had these color pencils, the common Faber Castle bi-color ones, but they were new to me, and the quality was fantastic. I loved illustrating my copies with lanterns and autumn shading, and the day Rimlie Ma'am gave me a "good!" for it, there was no stopping me. I used to grab her color pencils all the time and draw with them, much to her annoyance. We have had so many fights about her missing color pencils, and somehow she was always at fault in the end. (Or was she? ;) )
I still haven't given her pink and blue color pencil back. I mentioned it and apologized for it, and she forgave me like the dear she is, but that was only because I apologized 4 YEARS LATER.
Then there was the drawing competition.
We had some theme, I think summer or spring or some godforsaken season. Winning a drawing competition was pretty huge in class 4, we had come with full planning of spoils and cheats and loads of colors to outdo our competitors. For those who were more mature, it was POWER NAP TIME!!
Somehow me and her had the same idea. To draw flowers painted in rainbow colors. We shot each other evil looks, lost our own colors and accused the other (Okay, that was probably just me) and grumbled all the time about how all the other knew was just to copy.
We both "Hmmph!"ed.
"I don't copy!" "Neither do I!"
And we both decided to work on something more original.
After 40 minutes of brainstorming, we shot the other an evil grin and started working on the flowers with our new ideas.
At the end of the period, we faced each other to gloat.
And froze.
The order of the rainbow was VIBGYOR as we had been taught. We had both come up with the same idea- to reverse the order of the colors to ROYGBIV.
Having had enough, we laughed so much that my tummy started yo ache.
We've met so many times after that! In the corridors, when she writes me fan mail for my blog (She overrates me), when we made weird science projects for some competition. Each time has been so much fun. And we always have so much to talk about.
If I could turn back time and relive my first day again, I probably won't do it. Because you want to relive those days which you feel were incomplete, or you wanted to do something more. Diotima, yes that's her name, made every second worth it. There is nothing I want to add or change. I used to wake up, scared, "A new day again?!" and sigh with relief. Diotima's there,toh. No worries.
I wrote this on your birthday because I have an excellent memory and I had a feeling you wouldn't have remembered any of this. This is your trip down the memory lane, because you deserve one as pretty as Alice's Wonderland,Dorothy's Oz or Augustus Water's eyes.
You've always been lucky to me in childhood, and I hope you're so lucky and amazing in life, that you find a rainbow of your own to walk on. Hop, jump, thread your way into the colors, relish every moment, reach the end, and then reverse it, like you had all those years ago.
Because then in front of you, will be a pot full of memories.
A pot full of gold.
It was my first day in class 4, and you wouldn't have to be an absolute genius to figure out that I was terrified. All these new faces, and not one who glanced towards me. If Rimlie ma'am hadn't felt sad for me, I would've ended up beside some weird guy.
Nope. She, being a kind lady, plunked me down beside her.
I cast a furtive look towards my not-yet-but-soon acquaintance. My first friend.Short, deep set face, fair, big eyes just like me so I hoped she wouldn't tease me. Hers were pretty and I was a renowned toad.
Best of all, she wore this deeply comforting, everything's-gonna-be-just-fine kinda smile.
While I hopelessly struggled with my simplification, she helped me out. Did I mention she asked my name and told me hers? What, I was tongue tied. Thinking about that time still does that to me.
Months kept flowing by. The Blue Lantern, Beaks,Claws and Feathers, Robinson Crusoe. Making fun of Friday's name, exchanging life-altering secrets and arguing and fighting and what not.
Here was the best part : DPS was the only school which actually allowed us to use COLORS. Can you believe it?
You probably can, sorry.
She had these color pencils, the common Faber Castle bi-color ones, but they were new to me, and the quality was fantastic. I loved illustrating my copies with lanterns and autumn shading, and the day Rimlie Ma'am gave me a "good!" for it, there was no stopping me. I used to grab her color pencils all the time and draw with them, much to her annoyance. We have had so many fights about her missing color pencils, and somehow she was always at fault in the end. (Or was she? ;) )
I still haven't given her pink and blue color pencil back. I mentioned it and apologized for it, and she forgave me like the dear she is, but that was only because I apologized 4 YEARS LATER.
Then there was the drawing competition.
We had some theme, I think summer or spring or some godforsaken season. Winning a drawing competition was pretty huge in class 4, we had come with full planning of spoils and cheats and loads of colors to outdo our competitors. For those who were more mature, it was POWER NAP TIME!!
Somehow me and her had the same idea. To draw flowers painted in rainbow colors. We shot each other evil looks, lost our own colors and accused the other (Okay, that was probably just me) and grumbled all the time about how all the other knew was just to copy.
We both "Hmmph!"ed.
"I don't copy!" "Neither do I!"
And we both decided to work on something more original.
After 40 minutes of brainstorming, we shot the other an evil grin and started working on the flowers with our new ideas.
At the end of the period, we faced each other to gloat.
And froze.
The order of the rainbow was VIBGYOR as we had been taught. We had both come up with the same idea- to reverse the order of the colors to ROYGBIV.
Having had enough, we laughed so much that my tummy started yo ache.
We've met so many times after that! In the corridors, when she writes me fan mail for my blog (She overrates me), when we made weird science projects for some competition. Each time has been so much fun. And we always have so much to talk about.
If I could turn back time and relive my first day again, I probably won't do it. Because you want to relive those days which you feel were incomplete, or you wanted to do something more. Diotima, yes that's her name, made every second worth it. There is nothing I want to add or change. I used to wake up, scared, "A new day again?!" and sigh with relief. Diotima's there,toh. No worries.
I wrote this on your birthday because I have an excellent memory and I had a feeling you wouldn't have remembered any of this. This is your trip down the memory lane, because you deserve one as pretty as Alice's Wonderland,Dorothy's Oz or Augustus Water's eyes.
You've always been lucky to me in childhood, and I hope you're so lucky and amazing in life, that you find a rainbow of your own to walk on. Hop, jump, thread your way into the colors, relish every moment, reach the end, and then reverse it, like you had all those years ago.
Because then in front of you, will be a pot full of memories.
A pot full of gold.
