Best of friends

Shafna was an only child and she was given almost everything she wanted. So, she thought it was her right and became rather bossy. She never wanted to share her toys, games and sweets with anybody.

Yes, as you can guess, she became unpopular in class. Her mother, however, noticed her ways and thought of the best way to tell Shafna about it without making her angry.

When Shafna walked down her lane and saw her neighbours she pretended not to notice them. Her neighbours thought Shafna was a ‘Silly brat’, but, Shafna didn't know how they felt about her.

One day, a new girl came to Shafna's class. Her name was Mahdiya. The newcomer lived in the lane next to where Shafna lived. Mahdiya spoke to Shafna, wanting to be friends, so that they could go to school together and play too. But, oh no! Little Miss Uppity had no time for newcomers. She went about her work without even a glance at Mahdiya.

Once, in the music class, the music teacher rapped Mahdiya's knuckles hard and threw her music book on the ground. Mahdiya picked it up and went out of the room with tears in her eyes. Shafna saw what happened as she was waiting for her music class, but she went straight to the piano room, ignoring Mahdiya. Another time, Mahdiya got her arithmetic all wrong. The teacher scolded her and kept her after school. As Mahdiya travelled in the same school van, Shafna grumbled aloud. “Now, we'll all get late and the van will have to wait too.”

The next day, during the Art class, Shafna was showing off her art work to her friends. She threw a bottle of paint powder up in the air and tried to catch it. However, the bottle slipped out of her hands and fell onto the ground. It broke into pieces of course and the paint spilt all over the place. It was a mess. Everyone was startled.

The teacher scolded Shafna and gave her two small raps with a foot ruler. Shafna was angry and upset as the entire class started laughing. That was not all, the teacher said, “Shafna, you will have to wait after school and clean up this mess and pay for the bottle and the paint too. Also while you are at it, clean the entire classroom, desks, chairs and easels. Wash all the brushes and palettes too and dry them.”

It was a big task for a little girl indeed! When Shafna was left alone in the art room after school, she sat down and began to cry. Then another little girl crept up to her. Yes, it was Mahdiya. She put an arm around Shafna's shoulders and said, “Don't cry Shafna. I'll help you. Together we can get all this cleaned up in no time.”

“Thank you,” whispered Shafna softly. Then they started to clean the art room though it took them a long time to do so. The art room was neat and tidy when they finished. They were both proud of their work.

From that day onwards the two of them became the “best of friends.”

Fathima Mahdiya Anver,
Grade 7,
Fathima Muslim Ladies’
College, Colombo 12.