by Gulrukh Tausif

Created on: May 23, 2009   Last Updated: June 14, 2011

Khalid clutched his stomach and let out a loud groan.

"I really can't go to school today, Mother. I have a terrible stomach ache."

His mother looked at him with concern and some exasperation.

"Khalid, how can you have a stomach ache now? You were absolutely fine last night," his mother said, checking his forehead for any sign of fever and finding none.

"It just started suddenly," Khalid answered feebly.

"I'll make you some herbal tea. I have a very important meeting at office today. Will you be all right by yourself?" she asked, feeling rather worried.

"Yes, mother. Please go to your office. I'll be fine," Khalid quickly assured her.

As soon as he heard his mother leave, Khalid jumped out of the bed with a whoop. It was Friday morning and Khalid had a very special reason for not attending school. You see, on last Friday of every month, his math teacher Sir Hassan would take a special test to see how much mathematical concepts his students had understood.

Sir Hassan was a very dedicated teacher and would gladly spend hours explaining theory and numericals to the students. He did not mind going over the same thing again and again till he was certain that each and every student was on board. But he expected the same level of commitment from his students too.

If anyone did not do well in his special tests he would make sure the student stayed behind in recess and sports classes. Sir Hassan would then coach him on a one to one basis. Khalid was quite intelligent but quite careless. At home he spent most of his time glued to his computer games. He had not studied a single word last evening and spent the entire time flying virtual planes and shooting down the enemy. Now he dreaded giving the test and had faked a stomach ache to avoid it.

Feeling very pleased with himself, Khalid roamed the house in his pajamas. He made his own breakfast and ate it in front of the television.

"My poor friends," he thought smugly. "They'll be sweating over the difficult questions right at this moment while I am lazing around."

He watched some cartoons and an action movie. By 11 o' clock, he had started yawning so he switched on his computer. After an hour or so, even his computer games had lost their excitement. By 2 o'clock, he was so bored that he started thinking of his school

"Even Sir Hassan's most horrid test would be preferable to this boredom," he thought morosely. "At least in school, I have my friends and so many other activities."

Out of sheer boredom, he took out his school books

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