and the drama continues...

I stood there, not just chewing but chomping my nails... Suddenly I felt burdened by a lot of stress. Stress of performing my character, stress of what Vignesh would say once he got back to school, stress of how the audience would accept a male dressed up as a female amidst the various genuine female actors.

To introduce Vignesh a.k.a Thamma - an Ooty hybrid boarder who had bits and pieces of the Tamil film industry in himself. With his ideas he would flourish within the South Indian borders but would be laughed at, everywhere else. That controversial style of delivering dialogues, that hero delivering his thundering punches to various (2 times the hero's size) villains, the slow-motion walk and run. This guy had everything in him to make it to the top in nothing but Tollywood. It was probably that enthusiasm and sincerity that got him as our stage hand for the Inter-School Dramatics held at Stanes Higher Secondary.

Weeks before the competition, we decided on a story, and characters were laid out. I had my eyes on the protagonist, who had this problem of betting over everything, since the whole story revolved around him. The next character who would be a turning point would be Ms. Peggins. But the fact that the character came with the title of 'Ms.', repelled me. The fact that Peggins was a female character horrified me!
And as Murphy's laws predicts, its always the untowardly that happens, I ended up with Ms. Peggins. The explanation our director had was - "Oh Sandesh, you will breeze through that role. just be yourself". It was a mixture of anger and hatred that flowed through me. But the fear of being kicked out of the play, otherwise forced me to settle with the role.

Weeks go by, and our play takes shape, beautifully. We practiced day and night, hoping to bring the first dramatics award to Josephs. We didn't leave any stone unturned. And that meant that i had to even wax my legs, as the damned character decided to wear a skirt during the story. We knew the competition would be stiff, as Ooty was the hub for schools. We used to joke at times, more than a temple around every corner, you are most likely to find a school in Ooty.
The day dawns. We are driven to our host school - Stanes Higher Secondary. I was excited, totally oblivious to what was to follow.
Just as I thought that waxing my legs would be the worst I would have to go through, our lady professor walks in with a weird piece of clothing in her hands. She hands it over to me, letting me know that I would be wearing that garment. Humour apart, till I unfurled that piece, I thought it would be a blouse. To my despair, it was a bra. I shrieked and went into a sense of decline. And to make matters worse, the professor said that, since I lacked a chest (blame it on me being skinny), this totally alien garment would help me with that. At that moment all I prayed was, God descended from above and gave me a wish. Not money, not wisdom but I would have wished for a CHEST.
I felt even worse, when I thought of what my peeps would say, once they came to know that Sandesh had worn a bra. With constant re-assurances, pleading and swearing to secrecy, I allowed myself to consider wearing it for the name and fame of Josephs. But fate had decided that it wouldn't go down without a fight. Just when I was beginning to wear the weird garment, Vignesh walks in. Gasps, awkward silence, sympathy, wicked smile, muffled laughter; he exited the room.
I thought of alternatives, but my mind just went numb. A flash of what was to follow, ran through my head. But we were due on stage in a few minutes, and probably it was the stress of performing that allowed me put Vignesh and his sight, behind me.

Our play was a huge hit. So much that our protagonist got the best actor, our play was judged the best play.....and our feminine character lost the top spot by a few points. Later on, one of the judges came up to me and said - "It would be weird if you received a certificate stating Best Female Role, so we decided to give it to a REAL girl...Good job though". It was satisfying yet intriguing. I was satisfied that i did my role well, yet worried that i did a feminine role better than a girl.

Amidst celebrations, we boarded the bus and as fate had it, I got to sit next to Vignesh. With his irritating mischievous smile, he leaned forward and said, "Good work Nancy, how did it feel inside?" At that very instant, everything rushed back into me. I was thinking fast. Initially i thought, ill just brush him off and face things as it comes. But the weaker one inside me got the better of me and I offered him a bribe to zip his mouth. (as a foreplay) It never stopped with just one bribe.
All throughout the rest of the time at school, Vignesh had hearty canteen meals, all-you-can-eat candy and pop. All that and more just at the click of his fingers and his signature eye-brow movement

Our annual day comes by, and we are asked to perform the play again. But this time I had coconut shells and a towel, to assist me. It was tougher than having to wear a bra, but the thought of more people walking in ,while I am getting dressed and the thought of more bribes helped me to move on!