“Who broke the vase?” Ms Mala’s strict voice boomed across the filled classroom. Her question was met with a silence in which you could hear a pin drop. “Who was it?” repeated Ms Mala, only to receive the same response.
Siddharth sat cowering in his seat, certain that everyone’s eyes were on him. He had slipped into the class for a sip of water during the physical education period. He had stumbled at the doorway and fallen right over the teacher’s table, resulting in the vase falling to the floor with a mild crash. He had turned around and run away immediately without giving thought to what he should do. Later, as he participated in the game of cricket which was going on in the grounds, he had wondered if he should go back and tell the teacher. But the vase was expensive, and Ms. Mala stern. And besides, he’d just get into more trouble for not having owned up immediately...
Very soon, worried of another nature assailed him. What if his friends realised it was him? They all thought he had gone to the cooler to get his water but what if they put two and two together?
As the pin-drop silence in class continued, his arm slowly rose a few inches, trembling before it crashed back down. His heart was racing, what if someone had seen him? He was class topper, star student, what would people think of him now? Would they tell his parents? Would be have to endure the humiliation of standing outside class for an hour?
“If no-one owns up, the next PE period gets cancelled for the whole class!” This was getting worse. Silence followed.
His mouth parched, Siddharth sat still while Ms Mala punished the whole class for his cowardice.
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