Congratulations Kids, You’ve Created a Social Project

#WritingChallenge: a memory.

I’ll write about my kindergarten memory. You should understand I can’t give you many details about this story cause y’know, it was 17 years ago :-)

In 2004 back then, I remember my mom brought me 1 pack of jelly to school. As you know, any kids wouldn’t ignore the whole pack of sweet jelly. So at one moment, I unwrapped that damn jelly, and I felt my friends who sit close to me suddenly sit more closely to see that jelly. I offered them, I did. They took one for each. I was happy that my friends thank me back then. Then I realized, all of my damn jelly was gone, all of them. My friends took all of them and didn’t spare for me even one or two jelly. I cried.

I don’t remember what my teacher said to me and my friends when I was crying, but when in class and the lesson go on (I forgot, was kindergarten got lesson like in college? Or was any right word to refer kindergarten education? Please tell me) I still holding that empty jelly’s pack in my hand (I wonder what’s my expression look like at that time).

Then one of my friends approach me silently to not get caught by the teacher. He gave me his leftover snack and put it in my empty jelly’s pack, then go back to his chair with no words. I still no responses. I still mad and sad for my loss, you should know how I felt back then!

After that, my other friend come to me and put her leftover snack (also) in my jelly’s pack. She also didn’t say anything. Me either. I don’t know why I remember this part, but I put my hand with my Jelly’s pack (now it’s Leftover’s pack) under the chair so the teacher wouldn’t know that we’ve make a social project: Revenging my lost jelly under the chair. Then my other friends came over to me and again to gave me the rest of their snack and put it in my Leftover’s pack.

When my mom pick me up and see that the Jelly’s pack is full of many kind of snack, maybe she’s asking herself why her daughter had many kind of snack in an ugly plastic instead of a Tupperware.

This story still in my head after 17 years since then because it’s so funny that I felt like a beggar who lost my precious food and the rich kid gave me plenty of their leftover. So cute. Social movement to bring back my food (But I do thought that at that time, 4 years old me still mad because none of the leftovers they gave was my Jelly that they took)

Kids are sometimes selfish and arbitrary, but their empathy spirit has grown since then, I think.

So, this is the end of ‘a memory’. One pack of Jelly that made my friends turn into social volunteer to revenge my loss.