A fly in the mouth

The topic for homework took me back to my school days. It was a geography class. We were studying in the tenth standard as it is called in India. I was sitting on the front bench as usual. Teachers allowed me to do that because of my high myopia. The exams were nearing and we were attending a special class on Saturday. After explaining the topic, the geography teacher's eye fell on me. She knew I was distracted and was not listening properly. She asked me a question and I stood up to answer. Meanwhile, I was trying to think hard about the answer. I did not realize my mouth was open. As soon as I started to speak, a fly went into my mouth. Speak of discomfort. I started coughing and spluttering. Almost reminded me of Sylvester the cartoon cat. The class did not see the fly and I heard remarks from the back that I was trying to gain time to think.

The geography teacher meanwhile was trying hard not to laugh out loud. She must have seen what happened. Anyway, I spat the fly out and asked her to be excused so that I could wash my mouth. She nodded and I rushed outside. After I came in, the students could not stop giggling and all of us burst into laughter. I did finally answer her question and sat down.

This is an incident I shall never forget. After that, I have always been careful not to open my mouth unnecessarily. Other crazy things have happened to me while in school but this stands out.

While in school, it is often hard for the students to get accepted by the popular ones especially if there are spectacles involved but years later all the memories often give us nostalgic memories and a feeling that is priceless.