The Silhouette - Chapter 1. The Eraser

“Ashok, beta, did you take your tiffin? I had kept it near the door.” Asked Ashok’s neighbor. “Yes aunty, thank you aunty, bye aunty” said Ashok hurriedly, as he was leaving for school.

Ashok was 10 years old. His neighbor used to give him tiffin everyday. Ashok’s mother had passed away when he was 3 years old. His father was a mill worker, who would blow up his daily wages on buying liquor for himself.

There was no one to look after Ashok. He had learned to take care of himself. His neighbor was very supportive. She was very fond of Ashok, who was as old as her son Ajay. She used to provide meals for Ashok. Ashok was used to that ever since his mother had expired. When he was hungry before or after mealtimes, Ashok would ask his neighbor if she could prepare a snack for him. And his neighbor would do that lovingly. That was like a second home for Ashok.

Ashok was a well-behaved boy. Circumstances had made him that. His neighbor's son Ajay, on the other hand, was a naughty brat. Ashok and Ajay were not only best buddies in spite of their contrasting personalities, but they were also as good as brothers.

All the teachers in school knew about Ashok’s special case. They were very affectionate towards him not only because he was well behaved, but also because he was genuinely interested in studies, and used to do his work regularly and do well in his exams… Really, circumstances had made a gem out of Ashok.

“Ma’am, Ashok stole my eraser.” Ajay shouted out loud in the class. That day, in the previous lecture, the math teacher had praised Ashok and given him a STAR in the remarks column because he solved all the sums correctly. Ajay’s jealousy got the better of him.

In the next lecture, which was a science lecture, he hid his eraser in Ashok’s bag and accused Ashok of stealing it. “I did not steal his eraser ma’am, I don’t know how it came into my bag.” said Ashok looking surprised. The teacher did not know how to react to the situation. She told Ashok to return the eraser to Ajay and apologize for taking it from him without asking Ajay for it. Ashok obediently did what the teacher told him to do. Ajay’s anger knew no bounds.

When the science teacher went back to the staff room, she discussed what happened with a few other teachers. All of them said that Ashok was a good boy, and would not steal from Ajay, who was his best friend. The science teacher had newly joined the school, and the other teachers explained Ashok’s case to her, and how Ajay and Ashok were almost as good as brothers.

In the lunch break, the science teacher asked Ajay to come to the staff room and asked him why he had put a false blame on Ashok. “Everyone praises Ashok because he is good at studies. I never get a STAR. That is why no one loves me.” Ajay said, sobbing. The teacher smiled and said, “Ajay, you are also a clever boy. You can also get a STAR if you pay attention in class and study well. Now promise me that you will study regularly today onwards and do well in the forthcoming test.” Ajay felt a bit consoled and promised the teacher that he would study sincerely for the next test.

As Ajay came out of the staff room, he forgot all about the promise he had made to his teacher!

In the following term exam, as in every exam until then, Ashok studied harder, and scored better than Ajay.

However, Ajay was only looking forward to the vacations after the exams and was glad that the exams were over!