On this day, I felt like the ground should just open up and swallow me. Without looking up to the other students at the assembly, I could feel their eyes on the back of my neck, and I was so embarrassed.
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Rewind to 1 hours before the incident. I got up that morning, there was light, but I refused to iron my uniform because I had ironed it before washing it, so I believed it was going to be okay even when I put it on (a naive kid). After breakfast, I was ready for school, and my friends were waiting for me. It was Monday, and Monday is the day we do impromptu debates, singing, news reading, and all that. The man from the evil forest, whom the school employed to be our English teacher, was the one who introduced this exercise in every Monday assembly. Most of the time, I like going to school late on Mondays so he won’t pick me up, but on this Monday, I got excited because my friends were around, and there I was on my way to school so early.
We got to school, and it was time for assembly. “What, you mean we haven’t done assembly?” I wasn’t too worried because what is the probability of me getting picked out of over 300 students in the assembly? We all lined up according to our class, and it was time for the evil man to pick his victim for the impromptu test.
After he was welcomed to the stage at the assembly, he would raise his index finger and say, “My spirit is calling………..” then point to anyone of his choice who must then come out to do any task that was given to them. As soon as he raised his hand, everyone started hiding their faces, so I acted like I wanted him to call me by looking at him. I acted like I was ready so he would ignore me, but my strategy backfired, and I was called out to recite the “National Anthem.”
I stood in front of the assembly with hundreds of students looking at me. I bent my head down with the mic in my hands. At that moment, I was asking myself, “What is the national anthem? Is it a formula? Is it an English question?” I couldn’t decode what the meaning of the national anthem was. After standing for a few more seconds, I remembered, and I started singing with a voice that wasn’t registered in any music note yet.
Image is mine.
I could tell how bad it was, but then, I couldn’t remember the lines of the national anthem, so I opted for another song. The mic was collected from me, and I was asked to join the line again. As I walked to my line, I wished the ground would just swallow me and save me from the embarrassment I had just faced. I was the talk of the class and school for the week, and that was how I gained my popularity in school. The moment is still embarrassing when we talk about it, though.
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