Saturday, July 19, 2008
Weirdest Boy's Chocolate Factory Plan
Isn’t it just too bad when your parents drag you everywhere? Mum knew that I don’t like Camper and Coral but still she forced me to come. She said I was being childish but then again she doesn’t know a thing about Camper’s weird ideas and Coral’s Voldimod. So there I was, on my way to Camper’s home. I wondered what it would be like ….it’d be dark, bleak and huge mansion where witches and vampires come out of their holes in night and haunt you …that’d be coral’s version or it could be a huge castle located on the top of the hill surrounded by trees and a lake. It’d be ruled by Bobble. Pixies and elves would be his servants, imps and brownies would be his guards…. Huh?! Pixies and elves and imps? No way! What’s happening to me?? Am I going mad? Have I become one of them?? No I haven’t! Then why on earth I’m thinking about elves and pixies! I felt sick.
Me (faintly): Mum, I’m going to be sick!
Mum (alert): Don’t be! I just bought these seat covers.
Me (shocked): MUM! I’m feeling SICK.
No reply.
Me (groaning): I wanna go home!!!
Mum (angry): Sidrah, stop being so childish. I know you’re just pretending to be sick so that you don’t have to go to Jane’s place.
Me (in pain): But Mum! I really am feeling sick!!!
Mum (cheerfully): Well, if you don’t want to go to Jane’s ….we can go shopping.
Me (surprised, relieved & happy): Yeah, that’d be just so cool! Can I buy that blue dress we saw in the mall last week? Please?’
Mum (skeptical): You’re feeling alright now?
Me (lamely): Yes …. No…well…I like shopping’
Mum (annoyed): And I’d like to have tea in Jane’s home. So now just sit quiet.
Oh shit!
God! Mum can be so tricky sometimes. My brothers snickered at me. Well, I’d get to see Camper’s home …I wondered what it’s like …hmm ….maybe it’s big and …STOP! No daydreaming or I’ll go insane and I don’t wanna go insane because I like to be sane and I don’t want to be one of them, insane people, I mean. Oh well!
Mum stopped the car in front of a small neat cottage with a thatched roof.
‘Well, here we’re kids!’ my mum said, cheerfully.
My brothers and I got out of the car and looked at each other.
‘I think Mum has got the wrong address’ my little brother whispered
‘Mum, I think this is not Camp…’ I stopped in the mid-sentence when I saw Coral peering from the window.
Mum rang the bell. Jane opened it instantly and hugged us all. Camper came wearing his goggles and he looked genuinely happy to see my brothers and...Well, snarled at me. Coral greeted us with a smile. Actually it looked like a smile, sort of. It was terrifying as she was glaring too.
Jane led us to the lounge and we sat down. It was like the déjà vu; everyone was talking except me. I looked around the house and surprisingly it looked ok. Just normal; no elves or pixies. It was kind of disappointing. I was expecting something different, not just this. Humph! And it was neat and clean too, no broken stuff or weird paintings hanging on the walls. Maybe they’re just pretending to be normal. Maybe the tea they’re going to give us is poisoned. Maybe they’d kill us or even worse eat us alive. Maybe they’d smuggle us into another dimension. Maybe they’re of one of those Christopher Pike’s evil characters. Maybe they’re all imaginary. Maybe I’m imagining everything. Or maybe ….. These terrible thoughts were floating in my head when Coral brought me back to earth.
‘Camper’s having a meeting in his office. He has invited you. Come with me. Hurry …you don’t wanna be late, believe me’ she was whispering. I shuddered. I’d goose bumps all over me. You see, I don’t want to tell you actually, but this Coral girl frightens me. This little 8 years old child frightens ME! And it is frightening to know that she frightens me. Can you believe to this? 17 years old girl afraid of an 8 years old girl, how weird is that!
Anyway I followed her to a small and dark room which I supposed was Camper’s ‘Office’. Or bedroom.
Camper and my brothers were already there, waiting for me.
‘You’re late’ Camper stared stonily at me.
‘No I’m not, Coral just told me about this …this...’ I didn’t want to say ‘meeting’, it sounds so professional and Camper is not! ‘This meeting’, I finished lamely.
‘Well, I guess we should start the meeting. Our dear friends, Bobble, Voldimod, X-boy and Jolly Jo have been waiting for almost an hour’, he banged the table loudly and looked at us. Smiling at my brothers and Coral and sneering at me. But did you notice there were two more imaginary friends, X-boy & Jolly Jo?? I bet they’re my brothers’ friends. I smiled knowingly at my brothers and they looked away, blushing. At least they’re embarrassed. I began to plan that how I’d blackmail them….threatening them that I’d tell their friends. It’ll be fun! Ha-ha *evil smiles*
‘Silly girl, we’re talking to you’, I jumped as I heard Camper’s voice.
‘Yeah?’ I asked annoyed that he interrupted my plans.
‘I said how much can you donate?’ he said, for the first time time, calmly. Well of course he wanted money, that’s why he was being polite.
‘Why? Why do you want money?’ I looked at him suspiciously. He can’t fool me!
The four of them looked at each other, knowing looks passing between them.
Coral: Scowling
Camper: Thoughtful
My brothers: guilty, nervous & excited.
Me: confused.
After an eternity or it seemed so they nodded at each other and looked solemnly at me.
‘You’re in but you must take an oath that whatever we do here you won’t breathe a word to an outsider’, I thought about telling his mum or mine when he said, ‘including our parents’. Maybe it’s a trap.
‘Wait. First tell what is it, what if I don’t like it?’ I asked
‘Sorry, we can’t. You take an oath you’re in and THEN we tell you about it. And if you don’t like it then there is nothing you can do. There’s no way out when you’re in’, Coral sounded so evil that I just nodded.
‘Okay, I’m in’, Sidrah! I scolded myself, why are you doing this? This is not some movie or a book, this is life! Real life!! Get it?
‘Good, give me Rs1000’, they all looked at me expectantly.
‘WHAT?’ I know they’re trying to trick me in to something. I just know!
‘You said you’re taking the oath so give us Rs1000’, Coral said quietly
‘But why should I? Giving money is not an oath!’ what are they talking about, they’re on to something, I was so sure of that.
Then Camper opened his mouth and explained it to me, ‘Listen silly girl. This is important. Really important; to me, to Coral, to your brothers and to our imaginary friends’, he stopped to catch his breathe. This imaginary friend thingy was getting too far. I mean it was okay at first when he just bragged about Bobble but then Coral came, then my brothers made some too and now this ‘meeting’ in his ‘office’. I mean come on! We’re talking about IMAGINARY friends! They’re imaginary! Then the great idea hit me…
‘You want money for imaginary friends?’ I asked.
‘Yes, we do! I know you don’t a thing about imaginary land and you also don’t care but let me tell you something about them’, I nodded.
‘Well Imaginary people only eat one thing ….and its chocolate’, he looked at me waiting for me to be surprised or whatever but what could I do? This was all such nonsense. All imaginary.
‘Well’, he paused. I noticed he was using the word ‘well’ again and again. Hmm ‘well, the thing is they’re short on chocolate. Money is tight these days and chocolate is expensive, so we have got to help them or they’ll die’, I fought an urge to laugh.
‘So you want me to contribute some money so that you can help them?’ I asked trying to look smart
‘Yes, we do! But we need it fast or they’ll die’, he said darkly.
‘But this is so easy! How come you didn’t think of it’ I put on my best ‘i-am-so-surprised-&-dissappointed-at-you’ face
‘Why? Why are you saying that?’ Coral asked startled, ‘Tell us what you know’
‘Sure, our friends are imaginary …so we just have to imagine money and then we imagine chocolates and then we give it to them, done ...easy!’ I smiled brightly at them. Coral looked doubtful but Camper was delighted! Ha! I fooled him!
‘That’s great! That’s so brilliantly great! Just great!!!’ Camper had a faraway look on his face, ‘Silly girl you do have some brains’, he was clearly pleased with me.
‘Well, people, start imagining and save our imaginary pals’, he said and got lost in the imaginary world. So did my brothers but Coral was gazing at me.
‘You’re not imagining?’ I asked innocently
‘You can’t fool me, silly girl’, Coral smirked ‘Camper’s a fool so are your brothers but not me’,
‘It is because you’re a girl’, I told her ‘You don’t believe in this silly stiff, right?’
‘I used to; But it all changed last year’, she smiled faintly
‘Why, what happened?’
‘I got lots of gift from Santa, or I thought so, I bragged a lot in front of my friends and my pure-evil babysitter. And they’d made fun of me, even my friends didn’t believe in Santa. So last year at Christmas, I hid behind the tree to met Santa and saw my own mum putting our gifts in the stockings. I was crushed! All the year being good so that Santa would come for nothing! It was my OWN MUM! I started crying loudly and she came running to me. When I asked her about Santa, she told me the worse news…..that Santa doesn’t really exist. That was the worst Christmas I ever had’
‘Ohh!’ that was all I could say and then ‘But what about Voldimod?’
‘Oh that was just me having fun’, she laughed ‘I loved it when you freaked out! You were afraid of me’
‘I was not!’ I said indignantly
‘You were too!’ she said. We glared at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing.
‘Hey! Coral is getting along with Sidrah’, Jane came inside with my Mum
“would you like to be Coral’s babysitter’, she asked me
I looked at mum, she just shrugged smiling. I looked at Coral; she was pleading me to say yes.
‘Ok, sure!’ Great! Now I could earn money! Yay!! And Coral is not mad!
And then it was time to go. And it was then it began again. I was going to the closet to get my jacket. As I was about to open the door I heard two voices, one was Coral’s and the other one I couldn’t identify. My heart was beating fast as I listened to their conversation:
‘So, she is your new babysitter now’ the voice said
‘Yeah, and she thinks I don’t believe in imaginary land’, I could hear them laughing.
‘Sidrah, we’re going!’ my mum called out. I was startled and I think Coral and the voice were too as they went dead quiet.
Coral came out and stared at me. I gave her the look. She sneered.
Camper waved at me and my brothers. Jane hugged us all and said to me:
‘Would you come next week to baby-sit Coral? Camper wouldn’t be home and I’ve to go to the work’ she sighed. I sighed and nodded. What could I have done? I was doomed. But it was not over yet.
As I was sitting in the car I heard two voices in my head
‘Do you believe in us now, silly girl?’ the voice was like that of cartoons
‘We love chocolate’, it was the same voice I heard before in the closet.
Bobble and Voldimod.
Right now, I’m at home …my brothers yelling around me…my mum watching TV …and I’m writing this and cursing my luck, cursing Coral, Camper, Vodimod, Bobble, Jane, Mr. Flight and Summer fun classes. I don’t want to baby-sit Coral! I would go crazy!!
Hey …what’s this? …oh no……..!
‘You’ll be ok! A soothing voce said.
‘No you won’t be’, the other one said. And it laughed its oh-so-evil laugh.
I wonder if I’m still sane.
Me (faintly): Mum, I’m going to be sick!
Mum (alert): Don’t be! I just bought these seat covers.
Me (shocked): MUM! I’m feeling SICK.
No reply.
Me (groaning): I wanna go home!!!
Mum (angry): Sidrah, stop being so childish. I know you’re just pretending to be sick so that you don’t have to go to Jane’s place.
Me (in pain): But Mum! I really am feeling sick!!!
Mum (cheerfully): Well, if you don’t want to go to Jane’s ….we can go shopping.
Me (surprised, relieved & happy): Yeah, that’d be just so cool! Can I buy that blue dress we saw in the mall last week? Please?’
Mum (skeptical): You’re feeling alright now?
Me (lamely): Yes …. No…well…I like shopping’
Mum (annoyed): And I’d like to have tea in Jane’s home. So now just sit quiet.
Oh shit!
God! Mum can be so tricky sometimes. My brothers snickered at me. Well, I’d get to see Camper’s home …I wondered what it’s like …hmm ….maybe it’s big and …STOP! No daydreaming or I’ll go insane and I don’t wanna go insane because I like to be sane and I don’t want to be one of them, insane people, I mean. Oh well!
Mum stopped the car in front of a small neat cottage with a thatched roof.
‘Well, here we’re kids!’ my mum said, cheerfully.
My brothers and I got out of the car and looked at each other.
‘I think Mum has got the wrong address’ my little brother whispered
‘Mum, I think this is not Camp…’ I stopped in the mid-sentence when I saw Coral peering from the window.
Mum rang the bell. Jane opened it instantly and hugged us all. Camper came wearing his goggles and he looked genuinely happy to see my brothers and...Well, snarled at me. Coral greeted us with a smile. Actually it looked like a smile, sort of. It was terrifying as she was glaring too.
Jane led us to the lounge and we sat down. It was like the déjà vu; everyone was talking except me. I looked around the house and surprisingly it looked ok. Just normal; no elves or pixies. It was kind of disappointing. I was expecting something different, not just this. Humph! And it was neat and clean too, no broken stuff or weird paintings hanging on the walls. Maybe they’re just pretending to be normal. Maybe the tea they’re going to give us is poisoned. Maybe they’d kill us or even worse eat us alive. Maybe they’d smuggle us into another dimension. Maybe they’re of one of those Christopher Pike’s evil characters. Maybe they’re all imaginary. Maybe I’m imagining everything. Or maybe ….. These terrible thoughts were floating in my head when Coral brought me back to earth.
‘Camper’s having a meeting in his office. He has invited you. Come with me. Hurry …you don’t wanna be late, believe me’ she was whispering. I shuddered. I’d goose bumps all over me. You see, I don’t want to tell you actually, but this Coral girl frightens me. This little 8 years old child frightens ME! And it is frightening to know that she frightens me. Can you believe to this? 17 years old girl afraid of an 8 years old girl, how weird is that!
Anyway I followed her to a small and dark room which I supposed was Camper’s ‘Office’. Or bedroom.
Camper and my brothers were already there, waiting for me.
‘You’re late’ Camper stared stonily at me.
‘No I’m not, Coral just told me about this …this...’ I didn’t want to say ‘meeting’, it sounds so professional and Camper is not! ‘This meeting’, I finished lamely.
‘Well, I guess we should start the meeting. Our dear friends, Bobble, Voldimod, X-boy and Jolly Jo have been waiting for almost an hour’, he banged the table loudly and looked at us. Smiling at my brothers and Coral and sneering at me. But did you notice there were two more imaginary friends, X-boy & Jolly Jo?? I bet they’re my brothers’ friends. I smiled knowingly at my brothers and they looked away, blushing. At least they’re embarrassed. I began to plan that how I’d blackmail them….threatening them that I’d tell their friends. It’ll be fun! Ha-ha *evil smiles*
‘Silly girl, we’re talking to you’, I jumped as I heard Camper’s voice.
‘Yeah?’ I asked annoyed that he interrupted my plans.
‘I said how much can you donate?’ he said, for the first time time, calmly. Well of course he wanted money, that’s why he was being polite.
‘Why? Why do you want money?’ I looked at him suspiciously. He can’t fool me!
The four of them looked at each other, knowing looks passing between them.
Coral: Scowling
Camper: Thoughtful
My brothers: guilty, nervous & excited.
Me: confused.
After an eternity or it seemed so they nodded at each other and looked solemnly at me.
‘You’re in but you must take an oath that whatever we do here you won’t breathe a word to an outsider’, I thought about telling his mum or mine when he said, ‘including our parents’. Maybe it’s a trap.
‘Wait. First tell what is it, what if I don’t like it?’ I asked
‘Sorry, we can’t. You take an oath you’re in and THEN we tell you about it. And if you don’t like it then there is nothing you can do. There’s no way out when you’re in’, Coral sounded so evil that I just nodded.
‘Okay, I’m in’, Sidrah! I scolded myself, why are you doing this? This is not some movie or a book, this is life! Real life!! Get it?
‘Good, give me Rs1000’, they all looked at me expectantly.
‘WHAT?’ I know they’re trying to trick me in to something. I just know!
‘You said you’re taking the oath so give us Rs1000’, Coral said quietly
‘But why should I? Giving money is not an oath!’ what are they talking about, they’re on to something, I was so sure of that.
Then Camper opened his mouth and explained it to me, ‘Listen silly girl. This is important. Really important; to me, to Coral, to your brothers and to our imaginary friends’, he stopped to catch his breathe. This imaginary friend thingy was getting too far. I mean it was okay at first when he just bragged about Bobble but then Coral came, then my brothers made some too and now this ‘meeting’ in his ‘office’. I mean come on! We’re talking about IMAGINARY friends! They’re imaginary! Then the great idea hit me…
‘You want money for imaginary friends?’ I asked.
‘Yes, we do! I know you don’t a thing about imaginary land and you also don’t care but let me tell you something about them’, I nodded.
‘Well Imaginary people only eat one thing ….and its chocolate’, he looked at me waiting for me to be surprised or whatever but what could I do? This was all such nonsense. All imaginary.
‘Well’, he paused. I noticed he was using the word ‘well’ again and again. Hmm ‘well, the thing is they’re short on chocolate. Money is tight these days and chocolate is expensive, so we have got to help them or they’ll die’, I fought an urge to laugh.
‘So you want me to contribute some money so that you can help them?’ I asked trying to look smart
‘Yes, we do! But we need it fast or they’ll die’, he said darkly.
‘But this is so easy! How come you didn’t think of it’ I put on my best ‘i-am-so-surprised-&-dissappointed-at-you’ face
‘Why? Why are you saying that?’ Coral asked startled, ‘Tell us what you know’
‘Sure, our friends are imaginary …so we just have to imagine money and then we imagine chocolates and then we give it to them, done ...easy!’ I smiled brightly at them. Coral looked doubtful but Camper was delighted! Ha! I fooled him!
‘That’s great! That’s so brilliantly great! Just great!!!’ Camper had a faraway look on his face, ‘Silly girl you do have some brains’, he was clearly pleased with me.
‘Well, people, start imagining and save our imaginary pals’, he said and got lost in the imaginary world. So did my brothers but Coral was gazing at me.
‘You’re not imagining?’ I asked innocently
‘You can’t fool me, silly girl’, Coral smirked ‘Camper’s a fool so are your brothers but not me’,
‘It is because you’re a girl’, I told her ‘You don’t believe in this silly stiff, right?’
‘I used to; But it all changed last year’, she smiled faintly
‘Why, what happened?’
‘I got lots of gift from Santa, or I thought so, I bragged a lot in front of my friends and my pure-evil babysitter. And they’d made fun of me, even my friends didn’t believe in Santa. So last year at Christmas, I hid behind the tree to met Santa and saw my own mum putting our gifts in the stockings. I was crushed! All the year being good so that Santa would come for nothing! It was my OWN MUM! I started crying loudly and she came running to me. When I asked her about Santa, she told me the worse news…..that Santa doesn’t really exist. That was the worst Christmas I ever had’
‘Ohh!’ that was all I could say and then ‘But what about Voldimod?’
‘Oh that was just me having fun’, she laughed ‘I loved it when you freaked out! You were afraid of me’
‘I was not!’ I said indignantly
‘You were too!’ she said. We glared at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing.
‘Hey! Coral is getting along with Sidrah’, Jane came inside with my Mum
“would you like to be Coral’s babysitter’, she asked me
I looked at mum, she just shrugged smiling. I looked at Coral; she was pleading me to say yes.
‘Ok, sure!’ Great! Now I could earn money! Yay!! And Coral is not mad!
And then it was time to go. And it was then it began again. I was going to the closet to get my jacket. As I was about to open the door I heard two voices, one was Coral’s and the other one I couldn’t identify. My heart was beating fast as I listened to their conversation:
‘So, she is your new babysitter now’ the voice said
‘Yeah, and she thinks I don’t believe in imaginary land’, I could hear them laughing.
‘Sidrah, we’re going!’ my mum called out. I was startled and I think Coral and the voice were too as they went dead quiet.
Coral came out and stared at me. I gave her the look. She sneered.
Camper waved at me and my brothers. Jane hugged us all and said to me:
‘Would you come next week to baby-sit Coral? Camper wouldn’t be home and I’ve to go to the work’ she sighed. I sighed and nodded. What could I have done? I was doomed. But it was not over yet.
As I was sitting in the car I heard two voices in my head
‘Do you believe in us now, silly girl?’ the voice was like that of cartoons
‘We love chocolate’, it was the same voice I heard before in the closet.
Bobble and Voldimod.
Right now, I’m at home …my brothers yelling around me…my mum watching TV …and I’m writing this and cursing my luck, cursing Coral, Camper, Vodimod, Bobble, Jane, Mr. Flight and Summer fun classes. I don’t want to baby-sit Coral! I would go crazy!!
Hey …what’s this? …oh no……..!
‘You’ll be ok! A soothing voce said.
‘No you won’t be’, the other one said. And it laughed its oh-so-evil laugh.
I wonder if I’m still sane.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I'm gonna miss my college!!
Today was my last day at college. Two years passed away so quickly, I can’t believe it. I remember my first day at college so well. I didn’t sleep all night and was super-nervous. I was worried that I’d make a fool of myself and everybody would just hate me and all that silly stuff. When it was morning, I was so sleepy that I thinking about not going to college. But I’d to go. And so I did. I didn’t like the teachers at first. They seemed so distant and uncaring. And then I got ragged and had to sing a song. My only friend at college, Sana, said to me it was like we were on a mission. And it really looked like that. We didn’t know the correct timetable and were sitting on the ground beneath the scorching heat of sun waiting for the class to begun. I hated college at that time. It seemed so unfriendly. And we were like so young just out of high school and those seniors student scaring us! And we had welcome party and my other friend, Saira, took admission. We had so much fun then. Maybe I didn’t like to wake up in the morning, waiting for the college-van, taking labs, when the eagle took way my pizza, when a bird crapped on our ice-creams and journals, crossing the huge ground again and again n all that. But I definitely loved bunking classes, listening songs with my friends at the stadium, being the black sheep of our class (and BEING in the class of fulltime NERDS), gossiping about other students and teachers, the time when Saira tried to teach me basketball (she failed miserably ^_^), taking round of canteen time and again and eating all the things (God! we ate SOOOO much, even the stuff we didn’t like), writing funny stuff on desks, eating chips in class, taking funny snaps of each other and other peoples behind their backs, exchanging CDs and books, sitting between the cupboards in library, making up stories about our teachers and well there are just too many good things which I’ll always remember and would miss doing them. I didn’t realize it before but I know now I love my college and I’m going to miss it! Sniffs!
Dinner With The Weirdest Boy's Family
I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it!!! Last two weeks were bad enough but now this! Today, when I woke up, everything was so nice-nice. The day was sunny but not hot. I woke up with such a bright smile that could lighten the darkest corners of world. When I brushed my teeth I was my smiling. When I took a shower I was smiling. When I was brushing my hair I was smiling. I wore my favorite clothes, my old blue jeans and a purple top. I went downstairs and hugged my mum and dad (they were sooO surprised!), smiled at my brothers (they too were surprised) and ate breakfast, all the time smiling. It was like I was re-born. I was so happy and hopeful and was feeling so nice-nice. Well, of course, I was happy. Two weeks with Camper had made me hopeless. Now that they were over, I was glad. I am never taking Summer Fun Classes again. Never ever! Anyways, all day I was happy until the door-bell rang. I put on my best smile and opened the door. That was where my smile was replaced by a sick horrifying expression. Camper was standing on my door-step with a little girl and a woman.
‘Hello! You must be Sidrah! Camper told me so much about you Where is your Mum?’, the woman, already inside my home, looked for my mother. I was just too shocked to say anything.
‘Jane? Is that you?’ Mum suddenly appeared out of nowhere and greeted Jane like she was some long-lost friend. Mum hugged her and introduced her to me.
‘Sidrah, this is Jane, Camper’s Mother and this’ she smiled towards the girl, ‘is Camper’s little sister, Coral’, the girl looked at me with a bored expression on her face. I forced a smile at her, not the bright-nice smile but just a plain old smile. She looked away.
‘Hey there’, I said to Camper who was lost somewhere. Must be talking to his imaginary friend, Bobble, I thought.
‘Yeah?’ he snapped at me, angry that I interrupted his daydream. ‘I didn’t even want to come but Mama made me. She and your mother have become good-friends, I’m afraid’, he snarled. Oh, so that was the Jane my mum was talking about last week. That was bad, very bad.
Then I noticed something strange. Something wasn’t right. I scrutinized Camper’s face trying to find out what was different. His nose was the same, big and lumpy….his cheeks red and puffy, and his eyes….one blue and one ….umm... I think hazel…weird! And his hairs…huh! That was it! His eyes! He wasn’t wearing the goggles. It was the first time I’d seen his eyes. Wow!
‘What you staring at, silly girl?’ he asked menacingly.
‘Ah ...Umm… nothing! Nothing at all’ I laughed nervously.
‘My eyes, I know, silly girl. You were staring at my eyes’ he said ‘people always do. They say they’re weird’. Boy, YOU are weird! I thought. He looked so sad for a moment that I almost felt sorry for him, so I said ‘Umm… they’re kind of cool, you know’ I tried to put on my sunny smile. I failed.
‘Yeah, Bobble says so’, he grinned. Ugh! Bobble, his imaginary friend. When he’s going to grow up! He must be 16 or something. No wonder he has no friends!
‘I’m going out. Bobble’s gonna suffocate here’, he went out to the garden. I was glad to get rid of him. I looked for Coral and found her sitting alone in front of the TV. It was switched off. Still she was smiling; staring at it like something funny was on the TV. Unlike Camper, she was quite thin and short. Must be around 8, I thought. She could have looked pretty if it wasn’t for her black witchy dress. It was horrible.
I went to her. She was mumbling something, I couldn’t make out what.
‘Hey Carol’ I was confronted with such a glare that could have melt iron.
‘What do you want?’ she asked rudely. What a family! Such rudeness, I haven’t seen anywhere. Their mum looked alright to me but these two are …so...so …umm don’t know the right word…but it’s definitely cheesy and weird and rude!
‘Who are you talking to?’ I tried to look brave.
‘Voldemort’, she said, proudly. Yeah right, I rolled my eyes.
‘But he’s dead’, I stifled a giggle.
‘No, you silly girl, he’s not’, she looked angry …so angry that I was thinking about running away.
‘He is! Didn’t you read Harry Potter’s last part? Voldemort is dead. End of story!’ I smiled smugly.
‘Who’s talking about that evil Voldemort? I’m talking about my imaginary friend and his name is V-O-L-D-I-M-O-D not Voldemort! And my Vodimod is not evil or dead …he’s nice and caring and handsome’, she looked dreamy. Oh-oh, she’d a crush on her imaginary friend!
Time flies fast and the dinner came and I was still alive and sane, thankfully. At dinner I was sitting beside Coral. She was chattering to Vodimod continuously, which annoyed me because I was the only who had no one to talk to. Camper was talking to my brothers about chocolates factories or whatever. They three looked so excited that I was jealous for a moment. Only for a moment, for a teeny-weeny moment, ok? Mum talking to Jane about Summer Fun Classes, how good they were and all that boring stuff. Dad was at work. I tried to talk to Coral but she totally ignored me. So, at last I ate my dinner, with a sulky expression. I wished my mum had befriended that cute boy’s mum, whose name I don’t know and I’m sure he doesn’t know my name either AND I’m also sure he didn’t notice me at all at Summer fun classes. Humph.
When we were done eating I’d to wash some dishes, Coral, Camper and my brothers didn’t help me at all. They were there with me in the kitchen but they were messing around instead of cleaning! Ahhh!
And we had tea ….which was just like at dinner. Everybody ignored me.
And then they were going. Yay!!!! But no, what was that, Camper was saying something. I listened closely, he said that, ‘Next week you people are coming to MY house’ he sneered his oh-so-ugly sneer.
‘Are we really?’ I asked weakly. No way, we’re not! It was too much for me. Too much. Just too much! Sniffs! Oh, God why are you dong this to me?? WHY why why???
‘So I wanna tell you, silly girl, don’t make fun of Bobble or else I won’t include you on my chocolate factory project’, he glared at me and went away.
Huh? Chocolate factory PROJECT?
That’s it.
So right now, I’m sprawled on my bed writing this, cursing my luck, cursing the boy and all that. I’ve never gotten this unlucky before. I’m dreading next Saturday. What’ll happen to me? Would I still be sane? Or would I become one of them. Sigh. I can’t wait to find out. I’m sure you can’t either. Wish me luck!
‘Hello! You must be Sidrah! Camper told me so much about you Where is your Mum?’, the woman, already inside my home, looked for my mother. I was just too shocked to say anything.
‘Jane? Is that you?’ Mum suddenly appeared out of nowhere and greeted Jane like she was some long-lost friend. Mum hugged her and introduced her to me.
‘Sidrah, this is Jane, Camper’s Mother and this’ she smiled towards the girl, ‘is Camper’s little sister, Coral’, the girl looked at me with a bored expression on her face. I forced a smile at her, not the bright-nice smile but just a plain old smile. She looked away.
‘Hey there’, I said to Camper who was lost somewhere. Must be talking to his imaginary friend, Bobble, I thought.
‘Yeah?’ he snapped at me, angry that I interrupted his daydream. ‘I didn’t even want to come but Mama made me. She and your mother have become good-friends, I’m afraid’, he snarled. Oh, so that was the Jane my mum was talking about last week. That was bad, very bad.
Then I noticed something strange. Something wasn’t right. I scrutinized Camper’s face trying to find out what was different. His nose was the same, big and lumpy….his cheeks red and puffy, and his eyes….one blue and one ….umm... I think hazel…weird! And his hairs…huh! That was it! His eyes! He wasn’t wearing the goggles. It was the first time I’d seen his eyes. Wow!
‘What you staring at, silly girl?’ he asked menacingly.
‘Ah ...Umm… nothing! Nothing at all’ I laughed nervously.
‘My eyes, I know, silly girl. You were staring at my eyes’ he said ‘people always do. They say they’re weird’. Boy, YOU are weird! I thought. He looked so sad for a moment that I almost felt sorry for him, so I said ‘Umm… they’re kind of cool, you know’ I tried to put on my sunny smile. I failed.
‘Yeah, Bobble says so’, he grinned. Ugh! Bobble, his imaginary friend. When he’s going to grow up! He must be 16 or something. No wonder he has no friends!
‘I’m going out. Bobble’s gonna suffocate here’, he went out to the garden. I was glad to get rid of him. I looked for Coral and found her sitting alone in front of the TV. It was switched off. Still she was smiling; staring at it like something funny was on the TV. Unlike Camper, she was quite thin and short. Must be around 8, I thought. She could have looked pretty if it wasn’t for her black witchy dress. It was horrible.
I went to her. She was mumbling something, I couldn’t make out what.
‘Hey Carol’ I was confronted with such a glare that could have melt iron.
‘What do you want?’ she asked rudely. What a family! Such rudeness, I haven’t seen anywhere. Their mum looked alright to me but these two are …so...so …umm don’t know the right word…but it’s definitely cheesy and weird and rude!
‘Who are you talking to?’ I tried to look brave.
‘Voldemort’, she said, proudly. Yeah right, I rolled my eyes.
‘But he’s dead’, I stifled a giggle.
‘No, you silly girl, he’s not’, she looked angry …so angry that I was thinking about running away.
‘He is! Didn’t you read Harry Potter’s last part? Voldemort is dead. End of story!’ I smiled smugly.
‘Who’s talking about that evil Voldemort? I’m talking about my imaginary friend and his name is V-O-L-D-I-M-O-D not Voldemort! And my Vodimod is not evil or dead …he’s nice and caring and handsome’, she looked dreamy. Oh-oh, she’d a crush on her imaginary friend!
Time flies fast and the dinner came and I was still alive and sane, thankfully. At dinner I was sitting beside Coral. She was chattering to Vodimod continuously, which annoyed me because I was the only who had no one to talk to. Camper was talking to my brothers about chocolates factories or whatever. They three looked so excited that I was jealous for a moment. Only for a moment, for a teeny-weeny moment, ok? Mum talking to Jane about Summer Fun Classes, how good they were and all that boring stuff. Dad was at work. I tried to talk to Coral but she totally ignored me. So, at last I ate my dinner, with a sulky expression. I wished my mum had befriended that cute boy’s mum, whose name I don’t know and I’m sure he doesn’t know my name either AND I’m also sure he didn’t notice me at all at Summer fun classes. Humph.
When we were done eating I’d to wash some dishes, Coral, Camper and my brothers didn’t help me at all. They were there with me in the kitchen but they were messing around instead of cleaning! Ahhh!
And we had tea ….which was just like at dinner. Everybody ignored me.
And then they were going. Yay!!!! But no, what was that, Camper was saying something. I listened closely, he said that, ‘Next week you people are coming to MY house’ he sneered his oh-so-ugly sneer.
‘Are we really?’ I asked weakly. No way, we’re not! It was too much for me. Too much. Just too much! Sniffs! Oh, God why are you dong this to me?? WHY why why???
‘So I wanna tell you, silly girl, don’t make fun of Bobble or else I won’t include you on my chocolate factory project’, he glared at me and went away.
Huh? Chocolate factory PROJECT?
That’s it.
So right now, I’m sprawled on my bed writing this, cursing my luck, cursing the boy and all that. I’ve never gotten this unlucky before. I’m dreading next Saturday. What’ll happen to me? Would I still be sane? Or would I become one of them. Sigh. I can’t wait to find out. I’m sure you can’t either. Wish me luck!
Girls Rule*
Terrible two's, terrible teens,
I keep my shout shut,
oh, where is my thunder?
while you feel the breeze,
I only sneeze
a matter of gender? I guess!
telling you though now i won't rest,
till i fee my might,
get to stay out all night,
get to know who i'm, not to read about it,
get to make myself known,
not the quiet of my home,
girls we are, and east or west,
we're alright!
Terrible two's, terrible teens,
just my lonely voice
in the night,
in my too quite house.
This poem is from the book Pen Pals. It’s one of my favorite poems. It’s short, easy and inspiring.
All the girls out there, especially eastern girls, I just want to say if you’re girls it doesn’t mean you’ve to stay indoors and do all the chores. Yes, help your mum in cooking n stuff but there are other things too like having fun. In Pakistan and India, most of the families are sexist; they don’t let their daughters complete their studies or they don’t let their wives do the job. They say boys are better than girls but what’s the proof? I think girls are lot better, so what if they cry easily? At least they can show emotions. People say that girls are jealous and vain but what about the ego and pride in boys? Girls are more responsible and caring. Boys might get more freedom that’s why they got into bad company often but girls when confined into the four walls of their houses pick up lot of good traits from their parents. So, girls are in no way weaker than boys, infact they are way stronger and better! So girls just come out of your shells and show the world your face!
Terrible two’s, terrible teens,
When will they be over
I’ll take my place,
on life’s grand stage
Then they’ll see, and then they’ll know
the face, the voice of my soul,
I’m waiting, waiting for that moment
for my moment.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Me And The Weirdest Boy Ever
Ok, this is not so good. Not good at all. Why me? Why am I paired with this weirdo who loves to play with match-sticks? It sure is creepy. Right now, I’m sitting in a HUGE lab with a boy. Not just an ordinary boy but with a future-most wanted-criminal boy. We’re not alone, of course, there are many more. 100 or maybe 1000, it’s too hot to count. I am dressed in my new clothes, which no longer looks new; because now they’re stinky and have oily colorful spots on them. I’m doing a chemistry practical. Actually the boy is doing it; I’m just standing here... telling him what to add and what to not. Not that he listens to me.
‘Yo silly girl! HCL concentrated or dilute or what?’ he yelled so loudly that people from the last corner of the lab looked at us, annoyed.
‘Um, let me check’, I put my diary in my bag, hiding it well from his view. Pulled out my chemistry manual and looked for the page. After 5 minutes or so, I found it.
‘Dilute, and its sulphuric acid not hydr…’ Too late! He’s already done something. Colorful gases were coming out from the test tube. I jumped back and landed on someone’s foot.
‘Hey!’ the girl shrieks.
‘Sorry!!’ I apologize.
I look at the boy and I find it hard to believe. He is laughing! He’s a maniac, I knew it!
He looks like some crazy scientist who has just invented a monster who can destroy the whole world. Hmm. An old man wearing white (which looks yellow) lab coat comes in and snatches the test tube away from the boy.
‘Hey! It is mine!’ the boy shouted, almost like a child whose candy has been snatched by some bully. But I’m not sympathizing with this boy. He’s an evil maniac, trying to invent a thing to destroy the world.
When I first met him, early today, I thought it was going to be fine. I thought he was just pulling my leg. I thought he was just afraid of me. I thought he was just trying to look cool. What else did I not thought! Practically everything. Including that he might have a crush on me. Ok, that’s embarrassing. Anyways, our first conservation went on like this:
‘Hey, I’m Sidrah’ I said, cheerfully, sitting beside him. He was ENORMOUS, he was tall and wide but not frightening, you know, he’s a face like a baby. He was dressed in a blue superman T-shirt, dark green trousers and a bright orange bandana on his red hair. And yes, he was also wearing goggles. So you see, he didn’t look normal teenager at all.
‘You’ve sat on Bobble’ he glared at me.
I jumped from my seat, not knowing what the hell Bobble was.
‘I’m sorry’, I looked at the seat and I found nothing. Not even an ant!
‘Um, so, where’s Bobble’, I asked, meekly.
‘He’s gone.’ he shrugged ‘You can sit down now’. I sat down, madly annoyed at him but didn’t show it. No, I wasn’t afraid of him, if that’s what you’re thinking. Okay, maybe a little bit.
‘Who’s Bobble?’ I asked.
‘My imaginary friend’ he made it sound like it was normal.
‘Your what!?’ I laughed. He gave me a dirty look .And then he gave me this little interesting lecture to open my mind.
‘It’s no laughing matter, you silly girl! Imaginary friends are far more interesting and loyal than human. And you need imagination to have an imaginary friend. Which I’m sure you don’t have’, he sneered at me and then continued ‘If you knew Bobble that you wouldn’t have dare to laugh. He’s the king, you silly girl, the KING!’, he breathed fiercely. His face had become reddish purple.
‘I’m sure Bobb…’ but he didn’t let me complete.
“Shut up, you silly girl! You’ve insulted Bobble by sitting on him. You should say sorry to him’, he said, folding his arms on his chest, ‘Or else….’
I was stunned. He was cracked. Then he did the most alarming thing; he lighted the match-stick and threw it at me. I yelped and ran away from him. But I’d to come back; I’d to attend the lab. And so, here I’m…
‘What have you added?’
‘I dunno, just stuff, you know…colorful stuff’, he says, defensively.
‘COLORFUL Stuff? Colorful STUFF? ….You fool, you’re not supposed to add everything. These are chemicals…they can be dangerous!’ I never said this. I want to but I’m afraid. You know, I’m not really good at fighting. So I’m just sitting here writing this thing, cursing my luck, cursing the boy. Did u notice I don’t even his name! I’m sure it’d be something weird like Barney.
The old man, Mr. Flight, has taken the boy away. They’re throwing him out, I smile triumphally. The other students have lost interest and are busy doing their practical. I don’t know what I should do. Should I sit here and wait for Mr. Flight? Or should I start my practical? I choose the first option.
I wished I hadn’t joined Fun Summer Classes. They’re not fun at all. It’s more like school. Oh my! What am I doing here? The reality has just hit me. My friends are at The Mall or somewhere equally cool. Now to think about it, I don’t want to be here. I want to have some real fun. I want to quit. But no way! My Mum would never let me. It’s only one week. One week of pure agony!
Huh? What’s this? The boy and Mr. Flight …laughing and smiling? And they still have the test tube.
‘Camper you’re genius!’ Mr. Flight is patting him on his back. Genius? Camper? He could have destroyed the world!
‘Young lady’, Mr. Flight approaches me, ‘Your partner, Bobble, has just invented the most beautiful fragrance!’
Oh, so that boy has gotten lucky!
‘We’re giving him AND you one free week at Summer Fun Classes!’, he says like it’s the most wonderful thing in the world, maybe for him but not for me. I wish I’d taken swimming classes.
When he left, Camper smiled smugly at me. And then he waved his fist at me and shouted something about imaginary friends making a person lucky. I yelped. I’ve to run away, so I’m running away. But I’ve to come back; I’ve to attend the Summer Fun Free Classes. Two weeks of pure agony…just two week! Well, I was right about his name. Camper!? I mean, CAMPER! Such a weird name!
‘Yo silly girl! HCL concentrated or dilute or what?’ he yelled so loudly that people from the last corner of the lab looked at us, annoyed.
‘Um, let me check’, I put my diary in my bag, hiding it well from his view. Pulled out my chemistry manual and looked for the page. After 5 minutes or so, I found it.
‘Dilute, and its sulphuric acid not hydr…’ Too late! He’s already done something. Colorful gases were coming out from the test tube. I jumped back and landed on someone’s foot.
‘Hey!’ the girl shrieks.
‘Sorry!!’ I apologize.
I look at the boy and I find it hard to believe. He is laughing! He’s a maniac, I knew it!
He looks like some crazy scientist who has just invented a monster who can destroy the whole world. Hmm. An old man wearing white (which looks yellow) lab coat comes in and snatches the test tube away from the boy.
‘Hey! It is mine!’ the boy shouted, almost like a child whose candy has been snatched by some bully. But I’m not sympathizing with this boy. He’s an evil maniac, trying to invent a thing to destroy the world.
When I first met him, early today, I thought it was going to be fine. I thought he was just pulling my leg. I thought he was just afraid of me. I thought he was just trying to look cool. What else did I not thought! Practically everything. Including that he might have a crush on me. Ok, that’s embarrassing. Anyways, our first conservation went on like this:
‘Hey, I’m Sidrah’ I said, cheerfully, sitting beside him. He was ENORMOUS, he was tall and wide but not frightening, you know, he’s a face like a baby. He was dressed in a blue superman T-shirt, dark green trousers and a bright orange bandana on his red hair. And yes, he was also wearing goggles. So you see, he didn’t look normal teenager at all.
‘You’ve sat on Bobble’ he glared at me.
I jumped from my seat, not knowing what the hell Bobble was.
‘I’m sorry’, I looked at the seat and I found nothing. Not even an ant!
‘Um, so, where’s Bobble’, I asked, meekly.
‘He’s gone.’ he shrugged ‘You can sit down now’. I sat down, madly annoyed at him but didn’t show it. No, I wasn’t afraid of him, if that’s what you’re thinking. Okay, maybe a little bit.
‘Who’s Bobble?’ I asked.
‘My imaginary friend’ he made it sound like it was normal.
‘Your what!?’ I laughed. He gave me a dirty look .And then he gave me this little interesting lecture to open my mind.
‘It’s no laughing matter, you silly girl! Imaginary friends are far more interesting and loyal than human. And you need imagination to have an imaginary friend. Which I’m sure you don’t have’, he sneered at me and then continued ‘If you knew Bobble that you wouldn’t have dare to laugh. He’s the king, you silly girl, the KING!’, he breathed fiercely. His face had become reddish purple.
‘I’m sure Bobb…’ but he didn’t let me complete.
“Shut up, you silly girl! You’ve insulted Bobble by sitting on him. You should say sorry to him’, he said, folding his arms on his chest, ‘Or else….’
I was stunned. He was cracked. Then he did the most alarming thing; he lighted the match-stick and threw it at me. I yelped and ran away from him. But I’d to come back; I’d to attend the lab. And so, here I’m…
‘What have you added?’
‘I dunno, just stuff, you know…colorful stuff’, he says, defensively.
‘COLORFUL Stuff? Colorful STUFF? ….You fool, you’re not supposed to add everything. These are chemicals…they can be dangerous!’ I never said this. I want to but I’m afraid. You know, I’m not really good at fighting. So I’m just sitting here writing this thing, cursing my luck, cursing the boy. Did u notice I don’t even his name! I’m sure it’d be something weird like Barney.
The old man, Mr. Flight, has taken the boy away. They’re throwing him out, I smile triumphally. The other students have lost interest and are busy doing their practical. I don’t know what I should do. Should I sit here and wait for Mr. Flight? Or should I start my practical? I choose the first option.
I wished I hadn’t joined Fun Summer Classes. They’re not fun at all. It’s more like school. Oh my! What am I doing here? The reality has just hit me. My friends are at The Mall or somewhere equally cool. Now to think about it, I don’t want to be here. I want to have some real fun. I want to quit. But no way! My Mum would never let me. It’s only one week. One week of pure agony!
Huh? What’s this? The boy and Mr. Flight …laughing and smiling? And they still have the test tube.
‘Camper you’re genius!’ Mr. Flight is patting him on his back. Genius? Camper? He could have destroyed the world!
‘Young lady’, Mr. Flight approaches me, ‘Your partner, Bobble, has just invented the most beautiful fragrance!’
Oh, so that boy has gotten lucky!
‘We’re giving him AND you one free week at Summer Fun Classes!’, he says like it’s the most wonderful thing in the world, maybe for him but not for me. I wish I’d taken swimming classes.
When he left, Camper smiled smugly at me. And then he waved his fist at me and shouted something about imaginary friends making a person lucky. I yelped. I’ve to run away, so I’m running away. But I’ve to come back; I’ve to attend the Summer Fun Free Classes. Two weeks of pure agony…just two week! Well, I was right about his name. Camper!? I mean, CAMPER! Such a weird name!
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