Aby's Painting

 Aby was waiting for his name to be called out by his kindergarten teacher, he is very confident that his painting was outstanding and he is going to get the first prize. He loved painting and he was proud of his talent, he had excellent help from his mom who is an artist, in the past few days. He worked hard and he deserves the prize. The prize is a gold medal and a certificate of appreciation from the principal of his school. 

The other kids are all waiting for their names to be called out, they too worked hard. It is a big day for Honey Dew Preschool, the teachers have finalized all the painting and artwork and they have a winner, Principal Kelly walked into the hall, seeing her the kids went silent, the bold and tough-looking women made a smile at kids and turned to the teachers. They handed over the list of names to the principal. 

"I looked at your painting and they are all very good. I have never seen such talented kids in my life." said principal Kelly, " All of you have done a great job, good work everyone". The kids applauded. After the short speech, she called out the names. "The fifth place goes to Liam! Good job Liam!" Liam stood up with a smile on his face from his seat and walked towards the principal to receive his certificate. The kids clapped hands for him and he was happy, he looked around and all he saw was happy faces looking at him. He was proud. 

"Alright! The fourth-place goes to Emma! Good girl!." Emma was shy, she had to be pushed by her friends to go collect her prize from the principal. She didn't like the attention she is getting from the class however she was very happy. 

The third-place goes to Charlotte! Excellent." Charlotte came running from her seat, she couldn't believe she won, she was the happiest. Aby was happy to see his good friend have achieved a good result in the competition. "Congratulations Charlotte". he said as she walked back to her seat. 

Suddenly, Aby's heart started beating harder as the moment he was looking forward to is here.

"The second place goes to Catlin!" announced principal Kelly. Catlin was shy too, she didn't want to face the entire class however hiding her shyness she received her prize from the principal.  Abby couldn't seat in his seat, he felt like he is going to pass out, he couldn't breathe. All the hard work and time he spend in the last few weeks is going to pay off now. 

Immediately the time started slowing down, Aby is able to observer everything around him, everyone is moving slowly, principal kelly is looking at the sheet and she looked towards Abby and said, "The first place goes to.....James"! Sharp pain inside the chest, couldn't breathe, eyes get filled with tears, hands shivering, a heavy load on the shoulders, Aby sat back at his seat trying to catch his breath. 

James stood up behind Aby from his seat and walked towards principal Kelly to receive his prize. The gold medal and the certificate of appreciation. Principal Kelly awarded the gold medal for James's work, he wore the medal around his neck, he stood there for one good minute looking around at the kids clapping hands for him and cheering. He was living the moment. 

Aby shocked and unable to move from his seat watched James standing in front with his medal. It all got over every fast. Time went on and now it is time to go home, Aby didn't move from his seat, parents started coming in to pick up their kids, Aby was just processing his first defeat and disappointment, all his hopes were broken, he was invisible to the people around him, then came to an angel hugging him from behind, it was his mom. 

Mom learned what happened earlier that day. Aby hugged his mom, he wanted to cry, but he don't want to do that in front of his classmates. His mom carried him to their car, on the way home his mom sang him a song about life, the little warrior lost a battle and now he needs to rest. Aby closed his eyes as he drifted to deep sleep.