Page 49 - Lavender-B-6

‘It’s sure to rain,’ Nakul grumbled gloomily.

‘No, it won’t. The sun will come out soon and the day will be fine,’ Akash declared and
looked at Nakul. ‘Why do you always look at the dark side of things?’ he said. ‘Don’t be a

wet blanket all the time!’

Nakul felt annoyed and walked away to join the other boys. He refused to admit that
Akash’s judgement was correct, as usual. The day did turn out to be fine. In spite of this,
Nakul found himself unable to enjoy the outing. ‘Was it because of his tiff with Akash?’

Nakul was hidden behind some rocks
when he overheard his masters talking.

‘I admire that plucky little fellow, Akash!
He’s so cheerful despite his lifelong

injury in the leg,’ said Mr Verghese.

‘You’re right. I’ve been watching him and
really marvel at how courageously he
faces things!’ agreed the Games master.
‘Do you know, he’s always ready to
help others.’

‘We could certainly do with more boys
like Akash,’ Mr Verghese remarked. ‘His
cheerfulness in the face of difficulties is
proving to be a good example to others.
I heard from the Headmaster that
Akash was keen on joining this school

as a boarder, though his parents were reluctant to expose their only son to the rough and
tumble of boarding-school life!’

Nakul looked thoughtful when he heard all this. He recalled the numerous times when
Akash had gone out of his way to help him, though he could have easily looked the other
way; times when he, Nakul, had caught a fleeting glimpse of pain in Akash’s eyes when
his leg hurt and he thought that no one was watching him.

Nakul admitted to himself that Akash’s cheerful,
wet blanket: a person who says or does
something that stops other people from enjoying positive outlook was like a bracing tonic which
themselves influenced his own way of thinking.
tiff: a petty quarrel
plucky: determined and having a lot of courage He also admitted that his constant grumbling
marvel: to express great surprise
fleeting glimpse: to see something very briefly must be irritating to someone who liked to look
outlook: point of view at the bright side of things.
bracing: strengthening

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