A weird family photo for a class project | A real life short story

Priyanka Miss is Missing! It has been 15minutes since the first bell and the class teacher of the 2nd standard class in Air Force School located in Jalahalli(Bengaluru), hasn’t arrived yet. The whole class is in euphoria as Priyanka Miss is Missing! Priyanka miss is pretty and pedagogue — tall, fair, strict and too much attention to formal rules. Miss doesn’t have missiles but Miss has a better weapon — The Bamboo stick!!! Just a sight of this bamboo stick is enough to give anybody nightmares.

Air Force School is a great place to know more about India because each class is filled with students from various states – Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Rajasthan, Assam etc. The advantage of having such diverse cultures and diverse religions in a single class is that I get sweets whenever there is a festival. Fortunately, India is a land full of festivals. For example: If a classmate from Tamil Nadu brings sweets on Pongal, the next day a Punjabi classmate would bring sweets as he is celebrating Lohri.

Ok, so most of my multicultural classmates are busy making paper planes and talking to each other about cartoons. I am a shy student from Kerala and I always have a way to spend free time — Drawing. Drawing is my favourite hobby and I have begun drawing cartoons using needle-like pointed Nataraj pencil in my rough book. After 10minutes, my drawing of a scenery is almost complete. A few North Indian classmate girls have been watching my drawing and started to praise-“Wow! Unni tumhara drawing bahut acha hei”(Wow! Unni your drawing is very good). I am enjoying the praise of cute girls but my luck is evanescent. Priyanka Miss has arrived and I have lost the attention of my fans. Everybody has stopped talking and greeted miss with a melancholic tone—”Good Morning teeeeeacherrrr.”

“Good Morning,” replied Priyanka Miss with a face without a smile, a face as lifeless as a statue. Everybody has opened their textbooks and there is a new project. The teacher read in a loud voice, “Everyone must bring their family photo and write a short essay about their family. This is your new project.”

We are happy as this isn’t a difficult project to do.

My family photo — A treasure hard to find

I am stupid because I thought finding a family photo is easy. My family photo is a treasure that is hard to find. The only photos I have got yet are passport size photos.

After an hour of searching, I have found a family photo in an old photo album hiding inside Mom’s old suitcase. I am exultant as the tender palm of my hand won’t get the chance to taste the bamboo stick.

But there is a small problem. The small problem is that there is an extra person, my mom’s sister, in my family photo. I am thinking about how to solve this small problem. I have tried an eraser but it isn’t working. Either I have to erase this extra detail or I have to taste the bamboo. I don’t have a computer, scanner, printer and I have no Photoshop. Idea!!! I will hide my aunt with my dark blue sketch pen. I will add tiny hills above her head to match the background. I am a genius! Sketch doodle and tadaaa… I have successfully transformed my aunt into an invisible fairy.

I have finished writing a few lines about my family and glued my family photo in my notebook (I forgot to buy fevicol so I used rice). Anyway, the project is finished and I can’t wait to submit my project tomorrow.

Next Day — The day of the miracle

It is a pleasant morning and every student in my class is complacent. Some of my classmates have started to showcase their amazing family photo— With grandpa, grandma, brothers and sisters. Well, my family photo isn’t that bad. My dad, an Air Force Commander, looks like billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani on diet. My mom, who always ruins photoshoot by closing her eyes when camera flash hits her eyes, looks like a Chinese woman in an Indian dress. My sister looks like the model of a detergent advertisement with a shiny white dress. Above all, the cynosure of the photo, the pessimist Unni Babu is looking good 😕

“Good morning teacherrrrr,”every one of us has greeted the teacher with a radiant smile.

“Good morning. Show me your project,” replied Priyanka Miss.

The teacher has started to check the project. The teacher is highly impressed to see some of the students’ cute and colourful family photos.

Omg! Now it is my turn. I have submitted my project and Priyanka Miss is checking my project.

Miss Priyanka – “Wha..What is this?”

I (With great confidence) – “This is my family photo.”

Miss is pointing her finger at the “invisible fairy” and asked—”Who is this?”

I (thinking) –  “Oh God! She has seen the invisible fairy. I am trapped. Now my only option is, to tell the truth”

I — “Th.. that… that is my aunt. My mom’s sister. I used a sketch pen to hide her from the family photo. I thought you wouldn’t notice my aunty if I use dark colour sketch pen.”

I know I have messed up my project and it is time for my tender palm to taste the bitter bamboo. But.. but what I expect isn’t happening. Rather, the miracle is happening!

“Ha Ha Ha Ha”

For the first time, I am seeing my teacher laughing. Oh, this is such a divine sight. The marble face has transformed into the face of an angel. Her laugh is not just angelic but also contagious and the whole class is laughing except me.

I am standing in the middle of the class like I stand in my family photo. I am standing like Charlie Chaplin who has completed his performance in the stage.

Anyway, I have escaped from the bamboo stick ritual. All thanks to my folly.

The End

For more short stories, visit the links below

1. The sound of laziness (Click here)
2. My pet cat is tiger (Click here)

For amazing poems, visit my friend’s blog

Rendezvous Club (click here)