My Memoir

My Very First School Day
I was so excited that I could hardly sleep. I spent all the night taking my new colorful school stuff out of my small pinky backpack and returning them in. I checked them billion times, smiling from ear to ear. It was 7:30 am and I was completely awake for my first day of first year of school. After eagerly wearing my first uniform, I bounced about in happiness. I could not keep still as my mother was brushing my curly black hair. She asked me if I was excited about going to school and I nodded and chuckled gleefully. scared and I extremely assured her that there was nothing to be scared of. I remember myself sitting by one of the living room windows impatiently waiting for the school bus. " The yellow bus is outside" I cried in delight. On the journey to the school, I was whistling and humming some of my mother’s favorite songs.
The bus finally arrived at its destination. I enthusiastically got off the bus facing the school gigantic gates. Since it was my first day, those moments supposed to be awkward and nerve-wracking. On the contrary, they were not because my older sister accompanied me to the school. So I felt so secure that I had no negative foresights about anything. I noticed seeing the doorman sitting on a chair in front of the gates. Despite the difficultness of noticing the smile on his wrinkled face, I could hardly see him smiling at me when he opened the gates for me to enter. My eyes gleamed by seeing the world behind the gates. I was very elated to see many girls wearing the same as me. To my great surprise, one of my second cousins was there with her mother. I was so happy that her mother left her with us.
We were deeply puzzled by hearing the bell ringing. Everyone went to the school backyard for a line-up. All the teachers came out for lining everyone up. My eyes nearly popped out on seeing one of them showing up with a long stick. Every teacher led her students to their class. Unfortunately, I was in that teacher’s class and everything turned to a nightmare. Before entering the class, every student had to enter alone without their mothers or who ever are accompanying them. It was my turn; I was standing outside the class. My sister was holding my hand in one hand and my bag in the other. I was anxiously watching the teacher’s footsteps coming toward us. As she became closer to us, my body started to shiver with fear. Then the teacher, who introduced herself to my sister as Mrs. Nadheera, told my sister that she could now let go my hand and leave.
My heart was pounding so fast when she looked at me with her massive spooky eyes. I cannot forget seeing them staring at me behind her eyeglasses, which were the most colossal glasses I have ever seen. Once my sister let my hand go and left, disappointment was written all over my face.

I frantically turned my head upon hearing Mrs. Nadheera speaking to me. “ What’s your name?”, she asked me in a very grating voice. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, hoping that this will help me to gain my courage to answer. “ A a aa .. aaa .. Afffrah” I said in a strangled voice. Then she ordered me to get in the class and join the other girls. The class is complete, and everyone in the class was invited to go out for ice-breaking activities.
We were divided into groups. My group included my cousin Muneera and two other girls. I introduced myself to these girls and then I curiously waited them to tell me their names. One of them was Alaa’a and it was a common and easy name to remember. The other one’s name was so hard for me to remember that time, as it was really strange. Her name was Lubaba and it was the first time for me to hear such name. We were happily playing and everything was as I dreamed of till I made the unforgettable and stupidest mistake. I drew my groups and then I shouted for Lubaba to come to show her what I drew. To my bad luck, I mispronounced her name. Instead of calling her “ Lubaba” I called her “ Thubaba”, which means in Arabic a FLY. Even though I knew that it means a fly but I did not think about it as a bad name. The girl turned angrily red upon hearing me repeatedly calling her this way and she stared at me with her eyes filled with tears for a few moments. Then she broke into tears and left me running to somewhere. I cried to her “Thubaba, Thubaba!! “ to ask her why she cried, but she kept running away. A few minutes later, she came with Mrs. Nadheera who asked me furiously” Why did you call my daughter Thubaba?” I was about to run with my tail between my legs! But my cold feet failed me and in fact I stood rooted to the ground. She bowed toward me and asked in a high-pitched voice“ Why?” I felt a terrible clenching feeling in my stomach and could not say a word. My heart started banging that in a moment I thought it would come out of my chest. A flood of tears gushed down my face and without thinking I ran away to the headmistress’s office. Fortunately, the next day I was delighted to know that I will never see her again. I got another teacher who was so nice to me. I will never forget her because she was so kind that she taught me how to draw Mickey and Minnie Mouse.