To Learn

• Aarav seemed surprised, then offered a modest shrug.
• "I've just loved reading forever. My mom and I have been writing little stories together every Sunday since I was five. We spend hours doing it."
• Janushi Raichura

Jainam was in the third
grade when the school
announced a story-writing competition. Each student would receive an unannounced prompt on the spot and write an original story. Jainam threw himself into preparation - spending an entire month devouring newspapers, children's magazines, and writing practice pieces every evening.
When the day arrived, he walked into the hall buzzing with confidence. The moment the prompt appeared on the board, he felt invincible. He poured everything onto the page, turned in his sheets right before the bell, and spent the next few days telling anyone who would listen that first prize was practically already his.
When the results were posted, the shock hit him like cold water: second prize. Silver.
Humiliated and fighting back tears, Jainam slipped out of the noisy classroom to hide by the quiet stairwell. As the tears dried, frustration turned to suspicion. The boy who had taken first place was Aarav - the English teacher’s son.
Of course, Jainam thought, the resentment clicking into place. His mother must have leaked the topic, or helped him write it.
Later that afternoon, curiosity got the better of him. When the classroom emptied for recess, he glanced over at the teacher’s desk, where the winning entries lay stacked. He picked up Aarav’s story and read it. It wasn't just good - it was vivid, effortless, and polished far beyond anything Jainam had produced. Convinced no classmate could write like that without an unfair advantage, Jainam decided to make noise.
He started small, whispering his suspicions to a couple of friends at lunch. By evening, he was on the phone telling others that Aarav hadn't won fairly.
Rumors travel fast. By the following afternoon, Aarav’s mother had heard the whispers and traced them back to their source. She called Jainam’s mother directly.
When Jainam came home, his mother didn't yell. She sat him down at the kitchen table and asked gently, "What's going on, Jainam?"
Defensive, Jainam let everything spill out - his month of relentless practice, the sting of second place, and his certainty that Aarav must have had an unfair advantage.
His mother listened quietly, then asked, "Why do you think he couldn’t have written it on his own?"
"Because it was too good," Jainam mumbled. "Way better than mine."
"And that couldn’t just mean he’s a better writer?"
The question caught him off guard. He hesitated. "But I worked so hard. I practiced for a whole month!"
"And how do you know how much Aarav practiced?"
Jainam fell silent. He had simply assumed that no one could have cared or worked as hard as he did. "I don’t know," he admitted softly.
Instead of lecturing him further, his mother called Aarav’s mother back and arranged for the two boys to meet at the school library the next morning.
Jainam arrived bracing for an angry confrontation, but Aarav greeted him with an easy smile.
"Your mom said you wanted to ask me about the story?" Aarav asked.
Swallowing his pride, Jainam looked down. "How did you manage to write it so well?"
Aarav seemed surprised, then offered a modest shrug. "I've just loved reading forever. My mom and I have been writing little stories together every Sunday since I was five. We spend hours doing it."
Jainam stood stunned. He had spent four weeks preparing; Aarav had spent years building a genuine habit.
A wave of embarrassment washed over him. Turning to Aarav and then to his teacher, Jainam offered a sincere, unreserved apology. Seeing his genuine regret, Aarav smiled and invited him over for their next Sunday reading session.
Walking home that afternoon, Jainam’s mother rested a hand on his shoulder. "It’s easy to feel jealous when someone does better than you," she said. "The hard part - and the important part - is learning from them. That’s the real reason competitions exist: not just to collect medals, but to see how much further you can grow."