Tuesday, March 4, 2008

"Wow! Flying elephant!"

"Wow! Flying elephant!" Someone watching at the side of the court blurted.
Then and there, the name stuck.

Well, you see, it was a fine day, and a group of us who were in the same society in U decided to have a few rounds of badminton.

Now, before I continue with the story, let me lay out a few essential facts: (1) I was fat (still am, actually; in fact, more so now); (2) but I was agile; (3) agile fat guys aren't that common; (4) freshmen these days no longer respect their seniors.

And so, it was my turn inside the court, and I was up against someone who was quite good at the game. I made a rather bad return, and my opponent sent the shuttlecock flying towards the far corner. I quickly made a couple of high-leaping bounds toward that corner and got to the shuttlecock just in time. That's when someone blurted "Wow! Flying elephant!" and the game was sent into a prolonged time-out because practically everyone - players and spectators alike - was rolling on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

From that day on, I became "Dumbo", the flying elephant.

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