My mother was enjoying her morning coffee at the porch when I went to her with my stomach ache. I could barely maintain balance as I walked to her clutching the right side of my aching stomach. She was visibly alarmed and picked me up. "What a good actress I am," I thought.
I was very proud of myself for thinking up of this plan of stomach ache.This was the only way to get out of school that day. My mother would have forced me to go to school if I told her that I did not complete Miss Sarah's math homework. I hated math and I am sure Miss Sarah hated me. Last month when I submitted an incomplete homework, she scolded me in front of the whole class and wrote a note to my mother. And, I had to face my father's anger at home. I was miserable for days. So, this time, I was not going to let that happen. My "stomach ache" will give me a fool-proof excuse for not doing the homework. I had to admit I was a little surprised that my mother believed me so easily, because nothing ever slipped past my mother. But, lucky for me, everything is going according to plan by now. My acting was probably getting better.
My mother was on the phone with Dr. Sheth, the neighborhood doctor.
She came rushing to the porch and told my father, "I was able to get hold of Dr. Sheth as he was heading out to the hospital. If we reach his home in the next 10 minutes, he will be able to take a look at Maya."
I liked the grandfatherly Dr. Sheth. He gave me colorful lollipops every time we visited him. The thought of the lollipops made it very difficult for me to maintain my pained look as my mother drove to Dr. Sheth's.
"Hello, little Maya," Dr. Sheth greeted me friendly, "what's the matter with your little tummy?"
"She woke up with this terrible pain in the right side of her stomach", replied my mother as I clutched my stomach and even added a few moans and groans.
Dr. Sheth looked at me and said seriously as he got up from his chair, "That sounds very bad. I will have to give you something immediately or it will get worse."
"What, a lollipop already!", I thought congratulating myself on my acting prowess.
Dr. Sheth returned with a black bottle and gave me a spoonful of the worst tasting liquid ever.
"Pooh! What is this?", I exclaimed, forgetting all the manners that my mother had been trying to teach me.
"This is stomach ache medicine. You will need to take one spoonful every 5 minutes."
"For how long?." I yelled.
"Till your stomach ache goes away," said the Dr. Sheth and fed me another spoonful of that disgusting medicine. I started to like the doctor less and less with every spoonful of hell that he was feeding me. As he poured out the third spoonful, I could not be brave anymore. Miss Sarah's bitter scolding and my father's anger suddenly seemed like loving memories.
"My stomach ache's gone," I said hastily.
"Oh good, and that too with enough time to get ready for school," smiled Dr. Sheth and gave me a couple of lollipops.
As my mother drove us home, I vented my anger while sucking a violet colored lollipop, " I hate Dr. Sheth. He is the worst doctor ever."
My mother smiled, " Oh no. He is a very good doctor. He is great with kids, especially 8 year old little girls who lie about their stomach aches."
"How did you know?", I blurted out without thinking.
"You were clutching the left side of your stomach. So, I winked at Dr. Sheth and he took it from there," my mother laughed. And, there goes my Oscar!
But I smiled inspite of myself. Truly, nothing ever slipped past my mother.
I was very proud of myself for thinking up of this plan of stomach ache.This was the only way to get out of school that day. My mother would have forced me to go to school if I told her that I did not complete Miss Sarah's math homework. I hated math and I am sure Miss Sarah hated me. Last month when I submitted an incomplete homework, she scolded me in front of the whole class and wrote a note to my mother. And, I had to face my father's anger at home. I was miserable for days. So, this time, I was not going to let that happen. My "stomach ache" will give me a fool-proof excuse for not doing the homework. I had to admit I was a little surprised that my mother believed me so easily, because nothing ever slipped past my mother. But, lucky for me, everything is going according to plan by now. My acting was probably getting better.
My mother was on the phone with Dr. Sheth, the neighborhood doctor.
She came rushing to the porch and told my father, "I was able to get hold of Dr. Sheth as he was heading out to the hospital. If we reach his home in the next 10 minutes, he will be able to take a look at Maya."
I liked the grandfatherly Dr. Sheth. He gave me colorful lollipops every time we visited him. The thought of the lollipops made it very difficult for me to maintain my pained look as my mother drove to Dr. Sheth's.
"Hello, little Maya," Dr. Sheth greeted me friendly, "what's the matter with your little tummy?"
"She woke up with this terrible pain in the right side of her stomach", replied my mother as I clutched my stomach and even added a few moans and groans.
Dr. Sheth looked at me and said seriously as he got up from his chair, "That sounds very bad. I will have to give you something immediately or it will get worse."
"What, a lollipop already!", I thought congratulating myself on my acting prowess.
Dr. Sheth returned with a black bottle and gave me a spoonful of the worst tasting liquid ever.
"Pooh! What is this?", I exclaimed, forgetting all the manners that my mother had been trying to teach me.
"This is stomach ache medicine. You will need to take one spoonful every 5 minutes."
"For how long?." I yelled.
"Till your stomach ache goes away," said the Dr. Sheth and fed me another spoonful of that disgusting medicine. I started to like the doctor less and less with every spoonful of hell that he was feeding me. As he poured out the third spoonful, I could not be brave anymore. Miss Sarah's bitter scolding and my father's anger suddenly seemed like loving memories.
"My stomach ache's gone," I said hastily.
"Oh good, and that too with enough time to get ready for school," smiled Dr. Sheth and gave me a couple of lollipops.
As my mother drove us home, I vented my anger while sucking a violet colored lollipop, " I hate Dr. Sheth. He is the worst doctor ever."
My mother smiled, " Oh no. He is a very good doctor. He is great with kids, especially 8 year old little girls who lie about their stomach aches."
"How did you know?", I blurted out without thinking.
"You were clutching the left side of your stomach. So, I winked at Dr. Sheth and he took it from there," my mother laughed. And, there goes my Oscar!
But I smiled inspite of myself. Truly, nothing ever slipped past my mother.
Ahahahaha!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am sure, with all this past experience, you are going to be an even more vigilant mum!
Neha - fiction hai... not a true story :-)
ReplyDeleteNostalgic...
ReplyDeleteRecall doz "Gud Old Days".
Very refreshing, this one. Especially in the time of such clamour in the social-discourse. As a writer I have always marvelled at the capacity of the greats such as Dickens, Joyce, and Harper Lee, whom we lost last week,to capture the consciousness of a child so precisely and perfectly. I often wonder, if I can ever do the same. And I have, until now, only been forced to conclude that I can't. I can't undo all the learning and prudence that is utmost necessary to reproduce that child-like innocence when writing from a child's point of view. I have mostly failed. But you seem to have done a good job of it. Kudos! :)
ReplyDelete