Peer E Kamil

Untitled Part 11

He was a tall, thin lad of sixteen or seventeen. He had a fuzzy growth on his face and had an innocent look about him.

  He was dressed in sports shorts and a baggy shirt, and had on cotton socks and joggers.

 He was

in the middle of a crowded road, on a heavy duty motorcycle which he
was racing recklessly without any consideration for traffic lights or
oncoming traffic. Zigzagging his bike through the traffic, he periodically
lifted both his feet off the pedals performing wheelies. Then, without
breaking speed, he turned and changed lanes going the wrong way
through the oncoming traffic. Suddenly he braked with a sharp screech.
He raised his hands from the handlebars and the motorcycle slammed
full speed into an approaching car. He was flung into the air and thrown
down. He had no idea of what had happened...his mind plunged into a
dark abyss.
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The boys stood behind the rostrums on the stage, facing each other.
They were both canvassing for the post of head boy and this was part of
the election program me. One rostrum had a poster saying ̳Vote for
Salar' pasted on it, while the other had a poster of the other contender,
Faizan. At this point, Faizan was telling his audience what he would do
for them if elected. Salar watched him intently. Faizan was the best
orator in the school and was impressing the boys with his performance
in a clipped British accent which was so popular. The excellent sound
system carried his voice very clearly and there was pin-drop silence in
the hall which was sporadically broken by the thunderous applause of
his supporters. When Faizan finished half an hour later, the clapping
and whistling carried on for several minutes. Salar Sikandar also joined
the applause. Faizan looked around triumphantly, and seeing Salar
clapping, he nodded in appreciation. As Faizan knew well, Salar was not
an easy opponent,
The compere called Salar to begin his speech. To a roar of applause
Salar began. ̳Good morning friends...' He paused, and then continued.
̳Faizan Akbar is certainly an asset to our school as an orator. Neither I
nor anyone else can compete with him ...' He stopped again and looked
at Faizan, who looked around with a proud smile. But the rest of Salar's
sentence wiped the smile off his face. ̳...If it were only a matter of
spinning yarns.'
Sounds of giggling filled the hall. Salar maintained a serious attitude.
̳But there's a great difference between an orator and a head boy: an
orator has to speak while a head boy has to work.' The hall echoed with
the applause of Salar's supporters. I do not have the eloquence of Faizan Akbar,' he continued. ̳I have myname and my record to speak for me. I do not need a stream of words
where just a few would do.' He stopped again.
̳Trust me and vote for me.' He thanked the audience and switched off
the mike. Thunderous applause filled the air. Salar had spoken for one
minute and forty seconds, in his typical measured style and calculated
words, and in that brief time he had overturned Faizan's ambitions.
After this preliminary introduction, there was a question and answer
session. Salar responded in his customary brief manner; his longest
response was not more than four sentences. On the other hand, Faizan's
shortest response was not less than four sentences. Faizan's eloquence
and way with words, which were his strength, now appeared bombastic
compared to Salar's short and sharp responses on stage, and Faizan was
all too aware of this. If Salar gave a one-line reply to a question, Faizan,
out of sheer habit, went on with a monologue. Whatever Salar had said
about Faizan seemed to be proving true to the audience—that an orator
can only speak, not act.
̳Why should Salar Sikandar be the head boy?' came a question.
̳Because you should elect the best person for the job,' he replied.
̳Wouldn't you call this arrogance?' came the objection.
̳No, it is confidence and awareness.' The objection was refuted.
̳What is the difference between arrogance and confidence?' another
pointed query arose.
̳The same as the difference between Faizan Akbar and Salar Sikandar,'
he replied in a serious tone.
̳What difference will it make if you are not appointed head boy?'
̳It will make a difference to you, not to me.'
̳How?'
̳If the best person is not appointed as the leader, it affects the
community, not the best person.'
̳Again, you are referring to yourself as the best person.' Once again,
there was an objection.
̳Is there anyone in this hall who'd equate himself with someone bad?'
̳Perhaps there is...'
̳Then I'd like to meet him.' Sounds of amusement rose from the
audience.
̳Tell us about the changes Salar Sikandar will bring about as head boy.'
̳Changes are not talked about, they are demonstrated and I cannot do
this before I become head boy.'
A few more questions were asked and answered and then the compere called for the last question. A Sri Lankan boy stood up with a naughtysmile.
̳If you answer this question of mine, then I and my entire group will
vote for you.'
Salar smiled, ̳Before I reply, I'd like to know how many people there
are in your group.'
̳Six,' the boy replied.
Salar nodded in assent and asked, ̳Okay, what's your question?'
̳You have to calculate and tell me that if 952852 is added to 267895 and
then 399999 is subtracted from the total and 929292 is added to the
sum,' he read slowly from a paper, ̳then the figure is multiplied by six
and divided by two and 492359 is added to the final figure, what would
be one-fourth of it?'
The boy could barely complete his words when Salar's response to this
̳silly' question came with lightning speed. ̳2035618.2.'
The boy glanced at the paper in his hand and, shaking his head in
disbelief, began clapping. Faizan Akbar at that point felt that he was
merely an actor; the hall was filled with applause—Faizan saw this
entire programme as nothing more that a joke. An hour later, coming
down the stage ahead of Salar, Faizan knew that he had lost the
competition to him even before it had begun. He had never felt as
envious of this 150 IQ scorer as he did now.
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hello guys i know i didnt post from long ago my apology for that and please guys dont hate me please and support me am not a bad person i love to read comment from you all but some are really rude please am not that bad.........................