The School Window
The School Window
Like any other introvert, Amanda was shy and quiet. Right from her childhood, she found it difficult to make friends, to talk to others. She would see her classmates spending their lunchtime together in groups, sharing their lunch, talking about their interests and disinterests, only to realize that she was too shy to have friends, let alone be in a group. She would sit by the lunchroom window and eat her lunch alone, sharing her favorite cookies with some school-owned dogs. Such were her preschool days.
When she got promoted to primary school, she luckily found a girl who was a lot like her. Priscilla was short in stature, frail, and had a quivering voice just like Amanda. Their similarities made them become friends, and as the days passed by, they went on to become best friends.
But there was a difference between them; Priscilla wasn’t shy, nor was she an introvert. She would participate in various extracurricular activities, school annual functions, and sports. During the lunch break, Priscilla would run to the school park with her other friends so that she could enjoy her time on the slides and swings. Amanda, however, preferred to stay indoors, and ate her lunch alone, again by the window, but this time she couldn’t feed the dogs, as her classroom was on the third floor.
Through the years, Amanda and Priscilla came to acknowledge the difference in their personalities but could do nothing about it. They grew distant from each other, and each of them knew that their bond was slowly fading away. In 8th grade, Priscilla got transferred to a new school. It was a lot for Amanda to take in, although by then, they had become almost strangers.
Not having a big circle of friends gave Amanda enough time to concentrate on her studies. But that is a different story altogether. Amanda missed the childhood fun that every child deserves. In her high school days, she used to come early to school, and stand by the window before the classes would start, as she had no friend to talk to.
Interestingly, on her graduation day, she was amazed by the fact that her classmates who had been mocking her throughout the years for not having friends, came to her and showered upon her words of endless praise, as she excelled in her exams and secured the 2nd position in her school. She didn’t know how to react because most obviously, introverts are not used to popularity. The only thing that came into her mind was, “Had they been so good to me through my school years, I wouldn’t have struggled with my school life.”
For one last time, she went to the window that had been a constant support to her, and an escape from the dreadful loneliness. As she touched the window pane, tears rolled out of her eyes. She realized that humans are materialistic and judgmental, but inanimate objects are not.