Mum put my lunchbox into my schoolbag. I could smell brownies. I stuffed my homework in my bright, pink bag, zipped it and hung it onto my shoulders. I waved goodbye to mum and hopped into the school bus.

I saw my friend, Anika, sitting next to the window and sat next to her. Usually, we talked about our weekends, but today, our yawning faces and dozing minds chose silence.

When we reached the school, we were surprised to see a poster, pasted on the front wall of the school. “A costume contest? Wow! That’s new. And it was to be held this Wednesday!” we both murmured to each other.

“Will you participate?” Anika asked, she seemed very excited about it. I nodded cheerfully.

While I kept looking at the poster, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned, I saw Meany Mariah and her two friends standing with creepy smiles. They were one year older than me.

We called her, ‘Meany Mariah,’ because she was so mean! I hated her, and so did she.

“Oh look, girls, look who’s going to sign up for the costume contest! She would probably dress up as, let me guess … umm, a chicken!” Mariah uttered and the group laughed.

I felt heartbroken. Scared, but I replied, “No, no, I won’t. You will be seeing me at the front of the stage and you will be cheering for me.”

“Listen, kid! To win this contest, you need to buy a good costume. Not craft one, like you, always do. Get it?” Mariah said and they left, still having those creepy smiles.

I took a deep breath, and walked on to the stage. All eyes were on me. My friends were also peeking out from the dressing room. I could hear some say, “Wow! She’s dressed as a black cat!”

Anika and I silently walked to our class.

It rained the next day, so we didn’t go to the school. Yet, I was still very sad. I didn’t want mum and dad to buy me a costume. It would be a waste of money, because I only had to wear it for one day. And being worried didn’t help as I couldn’t think straight and just kept feeling miserable.

In the evening, when dad came back from work, he quickly sensed that I was more thoughtful than usual. So after dinner, he came to my room and we both chatted for some time. Somehow, he always managed to cheer me up, and I would always end up sharing what was worrying me with him.

So I told him what was worrying me. He then discussed what I could easily do with some creative thinking and then ideas started to flow. By the time he left, I was happy and positively confident about the coming contest. I knew what I was going to dress as and how I would do it.

So when the competition day came, I was all ready to dazzle. I peeked inside the dressing room and I was stunned to see all the beautiful, magnificent outfits. I saw Anika dressed as a witch. Her purple sandals matched perfectly. Farhan was a clown, a rather funny one. I chuckled seeing him. And oh! Meanie Mariah looked pretty too as a wizard.

I felt a bit nervous seeing them all dressed their parts to perfection. But then I looked down at my costume and smiled. Just then, I heard my name being called on the stage.

I took a deep breath, and walked on to the stage. All eyes were on me. My friends were also peeking out from the dressing room. I could hear some say, “Wow! She’s dressed as a black cat!”

Yes, I was a black cat. I had worn a black full-sleeves high-neck t-shirt and black leggings. Then, I was wearing a headband on which I had crafted cat ears. I also wore my mum’s black gloves and used my little brother’s face paint to draw the cat mouth and whiskers.

I thought I looked terrible, but I saw people were in awe. All the participants sat at the corner, while the teachers had been making observations on our costumes. After all the participants had finished, there was a little break during which the judges huddled together to discuss the results. The students also took this opportunity to discuss the various costumes they had seen and the whole hall was buzzing with excited chatter.

The time came when the principal walked up on stage and gave a speech appreciating everyone for their participation. We eagerly waited for the announcements. At last, she announced the names of the three winners. Anika was one of them and I cheered for her. Surprisingly, Mariah’s name was called out as the second winner.

She gave me a smile that seemed to say, “I told you I would win,” and went up to collect her award.

“And the winner whose whole look and styling we liked best is ... can anyone guess?” I thought everyone would scream out Mariah’s name, but everyone screamed out mine. My heart froze.

“You all are right! Black Cat is the winner!” the principal said as she pointed toward me!

My palms were all sweaty, there was a sudden smile on my face and I walked up the stage.

“Congratulations on winning! But before we hand you the award, tell us what gave you the idea for this outfit? It seems basic, but we noticed that you have created an amazing character with such a simple look.”

I said, “Well, something that my dad said to me gave me this idea,” I smiled.

There was silence. The principal looked at me and asked, “Really? Tell us how?”

Shaking with excitement, I replied, “Yes… I know I could have brought a costume and it probably would have looked better. However, you don’t need to spend money to do something well, it’s all about being creative and creativity is inside us. That’s what my dad said.”

There was more applause and I felt I was on cloud nine!

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 22nd, 2022