So much for sharing experiences

Krish sighed as he ran through a narrow alley. He was getting late for his appointment and to make matters worse, his new shoes were covered in mud; it had rained the previous night and the alley was full of little puddles that his feet kept getting stuck in. The kids would be really angry at him. Why wouldn’t they? They had paid to hear his stories and he kept getting late. They were impressionable pre-adolescents and he knew he had made a bad impression. All the he could hope for now was that the kids would forgive him; the last time he was late, he had gotten ice cream for all of them. His pockets had become empty and even now he cringed at how light his pockets felt.

So lost in his thoughts was Krish that he almost passed by his office. Cursing his wayward mind, he scrambled up the stairs and burst into his room. “You’re late!” was the first word he heard as he was pelted with empty Tiffin boxes and water bottles by twenty angry twelve year olds. “Calm down kids, I’m not that late! It’s just five minutes past the appointed time!” pleaded Krish as he took cover behind his office desk. After twenty seconds, he nervously stepped out of the protection his desk offered and made a calming gesture at the kids. Twenty pointed glares were the reply. If looks could kill, Krish would have been a dead man. ‘Why did I even start this thing?’ he lamented in his mind as he searched for a way to reduce the kids’ ire. An idea made its way into his mind and smiled at his own brilliance. Yes, this idea would work.

“Kids, all I do here is tell you some of my stories to get you interested in literature. Let’s do something different today. How about I share one of my experiences from my school days?” offered Krish as he observed the kids’ reaction. He almost performed a mini-jig as he saw the kids react positively to his proposal. “Well, what are you waiting for? Do we have to tell you when to start?” questioned Akash, a particularly sarcastic boy whose face was covered with pimples. Krish frowned at the question. Sometimes he really hated his job. It wasn’t something he had to do either; he could live a comfortable life off of the royalties he got from his books. It was his desire to contribute to the society that had led him to come up with a most peculiar method of contributing to society; he would tell stories to young kids in the hopes of getting them interested in literature. He had kept the fees to a minimum in order to get maximum participation from the people in the society. His decision had become the cause of many sleepless nights. A loud cough from Akash interrupted his chain of thought. A blush appeared on his face as he saw 20 pairs of eyes staring at him. Krish cleared his throat and began narrating a particularly interesting experience from school.