Negligence

Ibrahim’s point of view

It was a cool summer night when they had met. The annual school festival was reaching its zenith, with students’ performing comedic skits and delivering impassioned performances one after another that left the audience clamoring for more.

As the hour hand ticked by, it was time for the final segment of the festival: speeches. To say that it was the most awaited part of the festival would not be a disservice. Students from all grade levels would deliver speeches on all sorts of topics, ranging from the importance of language in identity to more light hearted ones such as School uniforms: Yes or No? The real challenge behind this segment, however, was that participants would have to present counter arguments to their stances as well. The audience quietened quickly as the first debater took to the podium. Zealous and interactive declamations raised the audience’s spirit and frequent cheers rang out.

However, one person couldn’t focus on the festivities. Standing behind the stage, experiencing some of the worst jitters of his life, was Ibrahim. He had prepared for days on end, rehearsing and practicing till he could recite his declamation asleep and yet. Yet, his legs were wobbly, hands sweaty, and throat hoarse. You would be hard pressed to find someone faring worse off. ‘This is it. This is where I die. What on Earth fooled me into entering this!?’ His mind felt light and his vision blurred. Just as he was about to give into the darkness, he was shaken with so hard that his teeth began chattering, while his mind idly wondered if an earthquake had suddenly sprung up.

“Hey. Hello? Are you okay? Hey! Hey!!”, and he returned to reality. “Hey, are you alright? You went really pale. Do you want to sit down?”. A slightly chubby and concerned face came into focus in front of him. ‘What’s with the worry’, his mind thought groggily. “Oh dear, oh dear, don’t fall down on me!” the kid whisper-shrieked, and this finally brought him out of his stupor. “What happened? Oh sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to trouble you!” came out his own shriek as realization dawned that he’d nearly fainted of all things! Then, the announcer was calling his name, “Next up, Ibrahim Raze VIII-C!” He quickly mumbled a thank you and raced to the podium. His speech went well considering his panic attack. Right after it was over, he looked to find his helper and found him at the snacks table, trying to decide between orange or mango juice.

“Thanks for the save back there. Sorry I freaked out, it going to be my first time on stage”, he laughed sheepishly. “Ah, it was no problem. You did good on stage, it didn’t seem like it was your first time.” “Oh yeah about that, I’m sorry I ran out on you. I was a bit disoriented…and when my name was announced……. Well uh, I lost focus on everything else. I’m sorry.” “You’ve been apologizing a bit too much. It’s alright, we all get nervous sometimes. My name’s Hashir, you?” Hashir’s tone was mirthful so perhaps he hadn’t yet grated on his nerves. “I’m Ibrahim!”. After our brief introductions, we started talking about everything that came to mind. We became quick friends after that and I found an unknown hollowness inside me filling up.

I suppose that’s why I didn’t tell anyone when Hashir started disturbing me. I just assumed that it was that they were harmless pranks, my bottle being hidden, assignments destroyed, being hit a bit here and there. It was due to this that things escalated and my older sister got to find out in the worst way possible.