Oblivious

Entering the first grade I wasn’t even four feet tall. Back then, I was in my own merry little world and oblivious of the attentions of others. I thought everyone was like me, anxiously waiting for snack time. I was truly ignorant of the ways of the world.

One day I was in class listening to my teacher lecture about associative rules, or some other pretentious thing. When I heard the girl behind me curse, I paid no attention until she tapped me on the shoulder. Being the concerned overly sensitive person I am I was afraid that I had wronged her in some way. I turned to see her large freckled face frowning at me. I knew this conversation was going to be more than friendly small talk.

“I think my homework just fell into your backpack. Could you look for me?” she innocently inquired.

I was relived it wasn’t anything more dire. So, I inconspicuously turned to shuffle through my open back pack. (We were not supposed to be talking.) “I don’t see it anywhere.” I replied in a puzzled manner.

“Look in that blue folder, I think it slid in there,” she slyly mumbled. So I took out the folder and as I was opening it, her face lit up in excitement as she swiftly yanked a piece of paper out of the folder’s pocket and exclaiming, “That’s it! Thank you so much!”

I didn’t think anything of it, as it was possible for her homework to have fallen into my folder. My backpack was open and the folder had a slight opening at the top. I was glad I could help and felt as if I had made a friend. I was also glad she had the courtesy not to go threw my things. Then the teacher requested our homework, I could not find mine, I became panicked. I knew I had finished it, but where could it be?

That’s when I got my first taste of suspicion. When she passed up the paper I checked it for the remnants of my name. It wasn’t there, not even an eraser smudge. I turned down the notion that it could have been mine, and admitted to not having it. I sat in detention during snack time with all the other little delinquents. “I was in silent agony” (Lorde 139).

When I got home, I searched everywhere for that assignment. “What are you looking for?” My mom approached me with her undying curiosity.

“My homework, I sat in detention today because I didn’t have it. But, I know I did it Momma. I just know I did.” I responded in a whining tone hoping she would be lenient with me.

She just gave me a baffled stare and started looking threw my backpack. “I know you did too. You left it out last night so I put it in your blue folder with the rest of your things. Wasn’t it there?” My faced turned pale; I knew what I had done. I informed her of the freckled face girl who sat behind me and how she had “lost” her homework. I felt like a complete idiot, my mother didn’t help much, she was infuriated.

The next day I told my teacher what all had happened. Her reaction was of much surprise to me. I thought she would serve justice, and lay down the law by persecuting the thief. Instead she gave me another day of detention for lying. Needless to say she didn’t believe me.

I learned a very important lesson that day. One that is vital for today’s society: trust no one. Most people are out to live their own lives for their own gain, and they will trample anyone who gets near them.

Work Cited

Lorde, Audre. "The Fourth of July." The Longman Reader. 8th ed. Judith Nadell

Et. Al. New York: Pearson-Longman, 2007. 139.