Highly Commended Story - Pimple On The Nose

“Pimple On The Nose” by Preksha Mahesh, Daffodils Foundation for Learning, India, is the Highly Commended story in the junior category of the second biannual Short Story Contest 2020.

Preksha Mahesh is a 12-year-old who lives in India. She has a passion for writing and has written short stories. She also has a blog called "Just Me" in which she posts weekly. Preksha is a Black Belt in Karate, practices badminton, skates, has learnt archery and swimming. Apart from this she is interested in dance and drawing. She is looking forward to be a good human being when she grows up.

Pimple On The Nose

‘Nooo!’ screamed Asha as she saw a huge pimple on her nose. She didn’t have time to cover the pimple as she was running late to school. She gobbled her breakfast, grabbed her bag and got into her school bus just in time. As soon as she entered, kids started laughing. Nobody was willing to make her sit beside them. Even Anita, her bus mate acted a bit differently with her.

Asha was lost in thoughts. A new thought popped in her mind every second. Once she thought ‘Great! As if homework and exams were not enough, I have to worry about my pimple as well’ .The next minute another thought popped in her mind out of the blue ‘The names companies come up with .The taglines are even worse. Pimpy face wash…one wash, vanishes everything! I am tired of using this face wash. I think they meant to say one wash to, vanish your reputation at school. I still wonder how I agreed to use that horrid thing! How can…’ Mr.Shetty, the bus driver said ‘Asha, do you want to miss the assembly?’ Asha was so immersed in her thoughts that she did not even notice that everybody had got down the bus except her.

She did not want to step into the school campus. She thought, ‘What will my teachers think? What will my friends think?’ After some time, she gathered courage and entered her class expecting that she would be laughed at.

It was a very hard day at school for her. As soon as she got home, she hugged her mother tightly. As she did so she felt all her worries were not even a dot in front of the warm, reassuring, and loving hug.

Later that day, she went to the supermarket with her mother. While coming back she heard people commenting on her pimple. A small child cried, ‘Daddy! mmm my cherry is on her nose! Get it for me.’ She heard some boys murmuring, ‘If she would have been in our school, she would definitely be chosen as the joker in the dance.’

Asha wondered if it was that tough for people to accept a person for what he or she is.

It was finally story time. Asha’s mom asked her to choose a book. Asha’s mom said, ‘What about Goldilocks or Cindrella?’ ‘Did they have pimples too? Was their growing up also as difficult as mine?’ Asha asked innocently. Her mother said smilingly, ‘They might have had, all that we know about these fairy tale characters is that they faced greater difficulties in life. What is a small pimple in front of growing up with step-parents or getting lost in the woods? Everybody has challenges in life. Few take them in their stride and move on... now...what about this book?’ her mother showed her another book. Asha, who was still lost in her thoughts, replied ‘Hmm…no. The book looks too old.’

Her mother replied ‘Dear, never judge a book by its cover. This is a common mistake what we all do. We judge people by their appearance. This is why everybody was commenting about you today. Never think about this pimple. It can never change the way you are.’

So, an old book taught Asha a lesson for life.

Never judge a book by its cover.