The Apple eyed boy

 On a bright sunny afternoon i saw a bright little boy playing in the symbiosis garden , i thought about a long lost friend of mine. I was sucked into maze of thoughts and suddenly i realized how far time takes us without we knowing it at all. This friend of mine , a very special one since we both learnt 2+ 2 for the first time . A very bright boy , grasped things very fast , easy learner and excellent at mathematics . He was the blue eyed boy of  school , the apple of teachers eye and a example set for students like me who used to enjoy the benefits of last bench , made fun of the teachers , irritated the good ones and were proud to have been thrown out from time to time .

                One fine day, our teacher came and announced that there is going to be a GK quiz for the entire class . All the first benchers became anxious and there was a roar from the rear of the class. We had a week to prepare for the quiz. Mr topper was already on the top of clouds. He had heard that the prize money is going to be Rs 3000 . He had already started discussing about new bicycle that he was going to buy with the prize money.

                Though it might look like Mr Topper was over confident it was a routine for us, he had always been the winner , he was the one with the talent , ability to work hard . He was the Hero of our class and we all admired him for the same. I decided to work hard this time but soon realised its gonna be like any other quiz for me. I was keen to buy a bi cycle myself but to beat Mr topper was not easy Job .

                The D day arrived . . Mr topper got up , with the left foot down from Bed ... ting ting .. The first wrong signal . “Oh God, let everything go alright” , said Mr topper to himself . “ I will have to go and give my regular best .Its a habit for me now . This quiz will not only get me a bicycle but will add one more feather in my cap” . With raised spirits and sweaty forehead, Mr topper reached the college . The results of the quiz were announced immediately after the test .This was the most exciting feature of the day.

                The test started, time went on, hours turned to minutes, minutes to seconds and soon the school bell  rang. There was hush hush in class, some were crying for more time and others were discussing answers furiously. Mr topper was blatantly showing off the easiness with which he wrote the answers.

                Time came for the results to be announced. Mr topper was at best of his nerves.  His face was red, hands sweating with anxiety, butterflies in his stomach and ant in his pants. He snatched the answer paper from the supervisor. “93”, a heavenly figure, “None of them would have scored more than this” . He gave a snobbish smile and looked around. The entire class had gathered around besides a boy . He was so small meek that I had barely ever noticed him . He was in a state of shock and panic. His score was 98 .Aghast by this, Mr topper gnashed his teeth and ran frantically towards him, jerked the paper out of started his hands and started counting his total fiercely .

                “Hey hey hey .... Yee... I am the only winner here. His total is 88.“he flipped the paper and started moving . The weak boy came forward and held hand. There were tears in his eyes and worry on his forehead. He explained to him how much he had worked diligently to win the prize. His sister was in Hospital and he badly needed the quiz money to pay his bills. He pleaded not to reveal the truth and let him get the prize. Our Mr topper was caught in a battle of fire and water. His pride would not let him give away for his heart. He threw an angry look at the boy and stared at him for a minute long.  

To our surprise, he turned around and went back to his desk silently. All were dumbstruck and in awe of his decision. We all applauded for his braveness and big heartedness .This was the first time in early schooling that I realised that there are some things bigger and better than winning prizes , winning accolades and marks , and that is winning hearts . As said by John Wesley

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”