Scenes

DISCLAIMER!! All sentences within ** are thought bubbles of the protagonist

[SCENE 1]

It begins with a 5 year old fellow, surrounded by weird looking creatures thrice his size, or more, if you consider their circumferences, all holding a glass with colorful liquids. Suddenly, one of them bumps into our hero.

"Owww!! I am so sorry! You aren't hurt, are you, dear??"

"Oh no! Not at all, Aunty!"*Except for the fact that you just crushed my foot with your stilettos*...

"What's your name, dear??" *What's with the 'DEAR' eh?? Why wouldn't she just cut it? So much for high society manners*

"My name's Andy."

"ANDY... Hmm! what a sweet name!!" *There she goes off again...*

"I know, Aunty!"

"Haha!! You naughty little one"... *Even when you're 5, You can even spot their extra sweet diabetes inducing fake smile*

*I'm just hoping she doesn't ask me about my future plans...*

Now, a few people are gathering around the kid and the lady. Their conversation seems on a higher intellectual plane than the others, it seems.

"Hey Andy, What would you like to be when you grow up??"

"I'd like to be GREAT.."

This one really got the attention of all the others trying to make small talk among themselves. It was one of those moments when you feel everyone in the room exhaled out together, leaving the room in utter silence.

And thankfully,  after that, the Aunty character kept her zipper shut.... Yeah, she was wearing jeans.. Annd she'd forgotten to *zip* it up; that is, until I slyly pointed it out to her before fleeing the scene.

In an adult's head, if someone were to ask "What do you mean by great" to a 5 year old, the expected answer would be something like "Chocolate ice-cream!!".

And one thing I never understood. The moment 'normal' grown ups start talking to a kid, they become so un-creative!

It's like all those "Knock! Knock!" jokes...

It's always "Who's there???", ALWAYS!!

Why??? HUH??

Look through the peeping hole instead!! Dumb humans!!

Don't have a peeping hole?? Put one on the door!!!

[SCENE 2]

This one is a birthday scene.

The cake's in the middle of the room. For a few good moments, you can stand around thinking you are a serial killer, specially when the knife is in your hand! He he he he.. HE! HE! HE! HE! AAAHAHAHAHAHA!! That is supposed to be my version of a maniacal laugh.

Why do the folks around you clap all along the 'Happy birthday' song? eh?? its like

hap(clap)py bir(clap)th(clap)day (clap)to (clap)you (clap) (clap) (clap)

hap(clap)py bir(clap)th(clap)day (clap)to (clap)you (clap) (clap) (clap)

Laa laa la-la-lu-lu-lu-ho-ho-ho!!

all in rhythm so far. And all singing mindlessly... The worst part is when the clapping turns completely random after the song is over.  

Another thing about the cake!! Almost forgot!

 Once, my dad decided to skip on the fancy candle in the shape of my age... the most unnecessary piece of decoration on the cake! That too, it's inedible! Actually, the whole deal about candles has seemed stupid from the very beginning!

So this lady... another one of those 'aunty' characters comes along saying 

"अरे बच्चे के केक पे तोह वोह अच्छी  वाली मोमबत्ती नहीं लगाई ??"( You didn't put that fancy looking candle on the cake, eh kid?)

Thankfully, shutting up 'Aunty'-type characters is a hobby... so I retorted "Aunty, even you didn't have candles on your birthday cake, no?? I was inspired by your cost cutting measures, hence no fancy candles."

[SCENE 3]

I call this one 'Man in the mirror'

It happens about every time that I look myself in a big mirror. I imagine someone else playing me. Like someone (however jobless he/she be) made a biographical  movie on me.

There's a camera looming somewhere in the room with the big mirror, capturing me(or the fellow playing me), cluelessly looking into the mirror. And in the background, a very familiar voice , preferably Morgan Freeman's, says something like "Who would have known?? This bloke Andy would break out of a Stephen King novel, break into the silver screen, only to break out of Shawshank prison... but not before completely screwing the Jailor!! And MAN was I there in the same story!!"

Okay, maybe that's not what I'd like Morgan Freeman's lines to be in my bio-pic. But choosing the name 'Andy' just kind of makes sense now, in hindsight.

How about this?? Imagine everything in quotes as being said by Mr. Freeman...

"He was the guy who wanted to be great, even before he knew that there are things beyond chocolate ice cream that are supposed to be great!!.."

Okay, that one actually sounded like 

"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was. "

Muhammad Ali

But never mind. 

Hasn't each one of us been in front of a mirror, thinking, "Here's the next star of the millennium!!" Most of us give the run-of-the-mill answers when we, as kids, are asked "What would you like to be when you grow up, kid??"

To be true to myself, [SCENE 1] is only a figment of my imagination. But then why not?  Ever heard a kid's answer leave the older fellows dumbfounded?? How easily, we, even when we are kids, we conform. And that's what we are made to do for the rest of our lives. 'FIT IN! ELSE YOU SHALL BE CHUCKED OUT!'

It's always the INs and the OUTs. Be it an elite group, club, some random list, company or just anything. 

How about being GREAT? At least in your dreams, if not in reality??

Trust me, it feels great...