I had nothing to do. I was grounded. Again! Not to mention this was the second time in the month that my mom had grounded me. The reason — “You never do anything creative, dear! Don’t waste your time like this. Time is precious!”
Now here I was, pulling at my mom’s dupatta , making the most annoying whines I ever could, just so she would play a game of cards with me. “Not now, honey,” she said as she continued reading a magazine like she always did at this hour. I tugged once more. She finally looked up at me, her eyes cold as ice behind her glasses, “Why don’t you do something useful other than wasting time? There, go read the newspaper,” she said as she shoved the newspaper at my face.
Hmmm…might as well try. I tried my best to not look at the time, but I couldn’t help noticing that the minutes were passing a million times slower than normal. “Mom, are you sure the clock is working?” I said not getting my eyes off the clock even for a second. No response. I asked again, this time a little louder. No response.
I looked at her angrily and just then I noticed something. She wasn’t actually reading, instead her hands were behind her book and she was texting in the fastest speed possible. I got up from my seat and stood in front of her staring at her till she finally looked up. “Now what?” she asked irritably. “It’s your book,” I said calmly. “What about my book?” “It’s up-side down!” I said snatching it from her and placing it upright. For a minute she sat quietly and then she too cracked up laughing.
And, the next day, I wasn’t grounded.
