Rima knew that she had behaved very badly. She was too proud to admit it – even to herself. Next day, after a sleepless night, Rima dragged herself to school. When she reached, her friends were already chatting with Malti. This upset her even more. Within a week or so, all her friends had befriended Malti and were all praises about her. But Rima thought otherwise.
She took it to be a wicked plan of Malti to isolate her from her friends. Rima who had always been a topper started losing confidence. This affected her performance in exams. She soon lost the affection of her teachers who thought she needed to change her rude behaviour. Rima’s health suffered and she fell sick very often. After a week’s absence from school, when she resumed, none of her friends asked her about her health.
When she asked for notes that she had missed, no one lent her the books. Rima approached the teacher and requested her to give her a week’s time to complete all the books. She also asked if she could get someone’s book to complete her notes.
The teacher send that Malti had already made notes for Rima with her permission. Rima completed all her books with Malti’s help. She was touched by this kind of gesture. She realised her mistake and apologized to Malti who embraced her. Both Rima and Malti became best of friends. Rima had learnt that beauty is skin deep.
