As soon as the bell rang, the students erupted in joy. Afterall the bell indicated the Christmas holidays, which student on earth would not love holidays? But there was something which couldn't make me happy. On the next day there was supposed to be a Christmas Eve party. An overzealous me had volunteered for decorating the hall without knowing that THERE WOULD BE BALLOONS AS A PART OF DECORATION. BALLOONS.] I always hated them since I was nine as the girl next door who was elder than me by six years bullied me to hell on her birthday by popping them. Six years down the lane, the scenario hadn't changed and infact got worse as everywhere in parties friends used to tease me with them. When all these flashbacks were running through my mind, the cackle of a few girls brought me back to reality. They were laughing at my plight. I don't know when I had walked up to the auditorium hall. They well knew about my phobia and along with another guy, who used to be the class bully they decided to utilize it to bring me on my knees. I tried to be steady and went for a packet of streamers. But they were all hard nuts to crack. The bully signalled something to his voluptuous girlfriend who came up infront of me. She had my much dreaded latex in her hands. She flashed it at me and started giving it the formal pull which everyone gave before blowing. My limbs froze as she streched it sideways and puffed air into it. The pink orb obeyed to her breaths and swelled up. i turned away from her and concentrated on the job on my hand. But she weas relentless on bullying me she again came upto my face and continued puffing into the balloon which was now a big one shining brightly as if it could barely take more puffs.
Now, it happens such that at moments of fright, the signals sent by the brain aren't well received. Same happened with me. I stood paralyzed with fear as the latex globe almost reached my face and only then she stopped. To my relief she knotted it. But there was more to follow. she started rubbing it. I turned back to run away only to find myself surrounded by three more girls and a guy all with blown up balloons and the bully smirking to his glory at my misery. At that moment a girl dug her fingers onto the red balloon in her hand causing it to burst with a large bang.
I couldn't take it any longer and broke down. But the bullying continued there were a few other bangs and by that time I was literally crying. A girl s Just then I heard a stern voice. It was the voice of our new history teacher. She liked me a lot and this made me take tuitions at her place. Her fair face was red in anger. She shouted "How dare you all bully a helpless boy!!! Have you lost all your senses? Just get lost you folks and go somewhere else. Blow balloons there. If I hear one more bang you all will accompany me to the Principal's office". They went away. The bully and his girlfriend gave me glares and followed their friends.
My teacher picked me up. She gave me a bottle of water to drink and caressed my face. "Are you afraid of balloons popping?" I nodded affirmative. "Okay. Now they won't bother you for sometime. You can go home. Let me handle the streamer papers. Today I will take an extra tuition class which I had forgotten to tell you. Come to my place within 5:30 PM. "
..............
It was almost 6:45 PM and there was I. All alone with my teacher, in her room learning about French Revolution. She suddenly stopped. " Let me have a glass of water. You too can take a bio-break" she said and went away upstairs. I relieved myself at the washroom and came back to her room. she was yet to come. So, I walked up and down across the room as other students were absent that day. Then she came, with a bag in her hand. "Come and see what I have got for you" she said. I obeyed. as soon as she opened the bag I got another huge shock. THE BAG CONTAINED ATLEAST 2-3 DOZEN BALLOONS. "You are afraid of them. Isn't it? Today I will take away your fear. So don't be nervous, have faith on me, alright?" she pinched my cheeks and said. She brought out two balloons. One was orange in colour, the other being blue. she handed over the blue one to me. I was trembling as I touched my biggest nemesis. She noted this and said "Breathe deeply, stay calm and watch me. This thing in my hand is a balloon. It is just a bag of latex and rubber which can hold the air we breathe out for sometime". She gave her balloon a few stretches and held it along her face. "Now see the magic and don't be afraid." As soon as she had held the balloon to blow it up, the beautiful smell of tuberose deodorant from her arms wafted down my nose. It was so soothing. She gave her first blow, the yellow orb swelled up with a whooshing sound and flattened instantly. "There must be a leak on it" she said and picked up another from her bag. The same process followed and this time the swelling persisted. "This is a proper one.Let me make it bigger." In the next one minute all I heard was her whooshing sound and all I saw was the balloon getting bigger owing to the breaths from her lipstick covered lips, her kohl-lined eyes almost closed and her cheeks puffing in rhythmic motion. when the balloon had attained full size, she stopped. "Now i will tie it up.'' she said and knotted up the balloon and threw it down the floor. By that time i had eased up a bit. She told me ''Did it burst? No. Hope you have noted it. Now do what I did just now. Don't worry. I am covering your ears with my hands." She came behind me and placed her hands across my ears. I felt a bit more easier. Atleast the bang will be lesser incase the balloon pops when I am blowing it. It took me almost five tense minutes to blow the blue balloon to it's full limit. My nerves had eased a lot. "See is it that much scary? Actually when the air inside the balloon comes out, it sometimes breaks the surface of rubber and expands which causes the bang. You got it?" I said yes. "Okay, but you won't get over your fear until you see a few balloons being burst.'' She then proceeded to blow up two more balloons. So did I. "Now hold yourself tight as I will squeeze this balloon and force the air to come out by breaking the surface. You will follow me when I tell you to do so" she said as he slowly dug her fingers into the balloon and within two-three seconds there was a bang. Perhaps it was for the first time I saw a balloon being popped so near and didn't break down. She picked up another and said "Let me show you another way''. She took it towards her underarms and as soon as the tight balloon touched her underarms it popped. "in school we popped a lot of balloons in this way. Now you squeeze the balloon and burst it" My whole body shook as I tried to follow her orders and after a two minute ordeal I successfully managed to burst a balloon with my own hands for the first time in my life. It wasn't that scary afterall!!! So i picked up another one and again with slightly lass trembling hands less difficulty managed to pop it. myteacher looked very happy. SHe gave me an uninflated balloon and took one herself. She said,"No-one stops until I tell to do the same. Let us blow up balloons together. " So then there were two balloons growing up, albeit mine one being slower. Suddenly there was another bang. Her balloon couldn't take anymore air and gave up. I stood startled. "I told you to carry on until i tell you to stop. Keep blowing" I followed her order and after a while a felt a sudden snapping effect on my face followed by a big bang. I managed to pop a balloon quite near to my face!!! They weren't bothering me as much as they did even six hours ago!!!.
"That's my brave student!!! Take a few balloons as a gift from me." she handed over five balloons to me. The she blew up another one and told me to tie it on my bicycle. I happily did so.
The party next day was supposed to be a dreaded one for me as per the bully and his friends. One can just well imagine their shock when I snatched the balloons from their hands and burst them when they came to frighten me. The tables had turned and my teacher had also joined the fray.
NOBODY COULD SCARE ME ANYMORE WITH BALLOONS
Now, it happens such that at moments of fright, the signals sent by the brain aren't well received. Same happened with me. I stood paralyzed with fear as the latex globe almost reached my face and only then she stopped. To my relief she knotted it. But there was more to follow. she started rubbing it. I turned back to run away only to find myself surrounded by three more girls and a guy all with blown up balloons and the bully smirking to his glory at my misery. At that moment a girl dug her fingers onto the red balloon in her hand causing it to burst with a large bang.
I couldn't take it any longer and broke down. But the bullying continued there were a few other bangs and by that time I was literally crying. A girl s Just then I heard a stern voice. It was the voice of our new history teacher. She liked me a lot and this made me take tuitions at her place. Her fair face was red in anger. She shouted "How dare you all bully a helpless boy!!! Have you lost all your senses? Just get lost you folks and go somewhere else. Blow balloons there. If I hear one more bang you all will accompany me to the Principal's office". They went away. The bully and his girlfriend gave me glares and followed their friends.
My teacher picked me up. She gave me a bottle of water to drink and caressed my face. "Are you afraid of balloons popping?" I nodded affirmative. "Okay. Now they won't bother you for sometime. You can go home. Let me handle the streamer papers. Today I will take an extra tuition class which I had forgotten to tell you. Come to my place within 5:30 PM. "
..............
It was almost 6:45 PM and there was I. All alone with my teacher, in her room learning about French Revolution. She suddenly stopped. " Let me have a glass of water. You too can take a bio-break" she said and went away upstairs. I relieved myself at the washroom and came back to her room. she was yet to come. So, I walked up and down across the room as other students were absent that day. Then she came, with a bag in her hand. "Come and see what I have got for you" she said. I obeyed. as soon as she opened the bag I got another huge shock. THE BAG CONTAINED ATLEAST 2-3 DOZEN BALLOONS. "You are afraid of them. Isn't it? Today I will take away your fear. So don't be nervous, have faith on me, alright?" she pinched my cheeks and said. She brought out two balloons. One was orange in colour, the other being blue. she handed over the blue one to me. I was trembling as I touched my biggest nemesis. She noted this and said "Breathe deeply, stay calm and watch me. This thing in my hand is a balloon. It is just a bag of latex and rubber which can hold the air we breathe out for sometime". She gave her balloon a few stretches and held it along her face. "Now see the magic and don't be afraid." As soon as she had held the balloon to blow it up, the beautiful smell of tuberose deodorant from her arms wafted down my nose. It was so soothing. She gave her first blow, the yellow orb swelled up with a whooshing sound and flattened instantly. "There must be a leak on it" she said and picked up another from her bag. The same process followed and this time the swelling persisted. "This is a proper one.Let me make it bigger." In the next one minute all I heard was her whooshing sound and all I saw was the balloon getting bigger owing to the breaths from her lipstick covered lips, her kohl-lined eyes almost closed and her cheeks puffing in rhythmic motion. when the balloon had attained full size, she stopped. "Now i will tie it up.'' she said and knotted up the balloon and threw it down the floor. By that time i had eased up a bit. She told me ''Did it burst? No. Hope you have noted it. Now do what I did just now. Don't worry. I am covering your ears with my hands." She came behind me and placed her hands across my ears. I felt a bit more easier. Atleast the bang will be lesser incase the balloon pops when I am blowing it. It took me almost five tense minutes to blow the blue balloon to it's full limit. My nerves had eased a lot. "See is it that much scary? Actually when the air inside the balloon comes out, it sometimes breaks the surface of rubber and expands which causes the bang. You got it?" I said yes. "Okay, but you won't get over your fear until you see a few balloons being burst.'' She then proceeded to blow up two more balloons. So did I. "Now hold yourself tight as I will squeeze this balloon and force the air to come out by breaking the surface. You will follow me when I tell you to do so" she said as he slowly dug her fingers into the balloon and within two-three seconds there was a bang. Perhaps it was for the first time I saw a balloon being popped so near and didn't break down. She picked up another and said "Let me show you another way''. She took it towards her underarms and as soon as the tight balloon touched her underarms it popped. "in school we popped a lot of balloons in this way. Now you squeeze the balloon and burst it" My whole body shook as I tried to follow her orders and after a two minute ordeal I successfully managed to burst a balloon with my own hands for the first time in my life. It wasn't that scary afterall!!! So i picked up another one and again with slightly lass trembling hands less difficulty managed to pop it. myteacher looked very happy. SHe gave me an uninflated balloon and took one herself. She said,"No-one stops until I tell to do the same. Let us blow up balloons together. " So then there were two balloons growing up, albeit mine one being slower. Suddenly there was another bang. Her balloon couldn't take anymore air and gave up. I stood startled. "I told you to carry on until i tell you to stop. Keep blowing" I followed her order and after a while a felt a sudden snapping effect on my face followed by a big bang. I managed to pop a balloon quite near to my face!!! They weren't bothering me as much as they did even six hours ago!!!.
"That's my brave student!!! Take a few balloons as a gift from me." she handed over five balloons to me. The she blew up another one and told me to tie it on my bicycle. I happily did so.
The party next day was supposed to be a dreaded one for me as per the bully and his friends. One can just well imagine their shock when I snatched the balloons from their hands and burst them when they came to frighten me. The tables had turned and my teacher had also joined the fray.
NOBODY COULD SCARE ME ANYMORE WITH BALLOONS