Shrinking Violet
I was late again and this wasn’t even an early morning appointment. I was supposed to cover a book launch this evening and that was all I knew about it. Oh that and and the venue. As I sat in the cab waiting for the signal to turn green, I decided to have a look at the invite so that I’d know what to look forward to. The book was by a first time author and apparently it was doing well in the literary scene. It was titled “Shrinking Violet”. Ah! That brought along some memories from my college days.
It was fun to rag the juniors when they’d newly arrived to college. It wasn’t anything serious. It served as a platform for introductions and often paved the way for some great friendships. It was beginning of the academic year and it was time for the newbies to arrive. And that was the day we, I mean our gang of four spotted a new girl walking towards the library. She was pretty and was wearing a violet top and was carrying a bunch of books in her hand. We decided to talk to her.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“What are those books that you are caring?”
“College has just started miss, there is plenty of time to study!”
We kept speaking to her and she did not respond. There were tears in her eyes and she just ran into the library. This was not how we had thought it would go. We didn’t mean any harm. After that day, we always referred to her as the Shrinking Violet* because we didn’t know her name. We tried asking around about her but we didn’t get any answers. I don’t really remember seeing her in college after that. But for some reason here face was the one that I could never forget. I wondered where she was and what she was doing now.
Finally I reached the venue and as I entered, I saw the backdrop of the stage and I was astonished. Along with a picture of the cover of the book, there was a picture of the author. It was her- the shrinking violet.
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*Shrinking violet – A shy or modest person.
I’m participating in Bar-A-Thon and this post is my first post.
This time the theme for the Bar-A-Thon is “Seven”. I chose the seven colours of the rainbow. So each of my posts will be titled according to the colours of the rainbow.
Oh, how nice! I liked how you linked the personality of the girl with the name that also turned out to be the name of the book. I always like when the underdogs win. Lovely story, Reema!
Thank you Uma
Great story and what a twist at the end finding out the shrinking violet was the author. Who would have thought that? Amazing!
Thank you Cathy
A nice anecdote. Love your concept of going with the colours of the rainbow… damn, why did I not think of that? 🙂
Marvel Movies Trivia: The 6 Infinity Stones and the Gauntlet
He hehe. I love your theme! And thank you
I love the title and the theme Reema! This story was a great way of linking to the theme with your own special flavor and twist. Shrinking Violet…I am going to be using that often now!
Thank you Kala
Nicely done!
Visiting from the Barathon challenge. Cheers! Marquessa @simplymarquessa from Simply Marquessa
Thank you Marquessa
Lovely story, Reema! Happy ending too!
Violet has blossomed!
Thank you Anita
Hey same pinch! My theme is the same 7 colours of rainbow. As they say ” great minds think alike” Liked the story of how the shy reticent girl triumphs!
That’s interesting Akshata! And yeah great minds think alike
Love the colours, flowers and personality attribute- all combined to kick this prompt into high gear Reema. Looking forward to more from you! Cheers for a rocking Barathon
Thank you so much Shalz
World’s weird ways! Did you talk to her after the launch?
Lovely theme you have chosen. As always, something quirky and out of the box Reema! Absolutely loved the idea 😀
Thank you Ranjini 🙂 You’ll know soon who spoke to whom
I liked the story. It was creative and refreshing. 7 colours of the rainbow, sounds interesting. I will be coming here regularly to read stories weaved with rest of the 6 colours 🙂
Thank you Anamika 🙂
That’s a great idea for the seven posts. And this was such a sweet piece. So she turned her shortcoming into a book. Nice! People do turn out so different from what they are in school and college.
Thank you! I am glad you liked my idea 🙂
A very well written story. The only concern I had was, the ragging was not that brutal. Maybe she had already been through some harrowing experience earlier that day but that didn’t come out. Maybe the girl was suffering from some issues. It would have been better off you had fleshed it out a little. Because I couldn’t feel the narrator’s feel of guilt. But your writing style is very good and I’ll definitely be back to read about the other colors.
Cheers.
Thank you! I hope you found some answers now.
That sounds so interesting! Is this going to be a series? I would love to know what happened.
I am in a dilemma! Should I make it a series or not!
You should. Sounds like a story brewing. harp on the idea when you have the chance 🙂
Okay! I’ll give it a shot then
It reminds me of my college days for sure 🙂 one never knows what shrinking violets are capable of . Loved the theme of writing based on colors… Looking forward to read more.
Thank you Raj! I am glad you loved my theme 🙂
That’s an interesting theme and a wonderful story. Strange are the ways of life.We never know when and how our paths cross with someone again!
Yes that is true! We never know what is going to happen next!
I had read your Day 2 post first and loved it, so flipped back to this post to read from the start. I love the way you’ve thought of using the 7 colours of the rainbow for each post – brilliant idea! Looking forward to the next post!!
Thank you so much Vanessa 🙂
I read the second day’s post first and then this one. I love how the seniors have to cover an event where the junior is an author!
Good going with the story, Reema!
Thank you Mithila 🙂
The theme of the seven colours sounds great, Reema. Very interesting twist to the story already and I’m really keen to know what is coming next.
Thank you so much
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