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The game of telling one about another's true nature—will you be glad to hear it or pick an offense?
A story between four girls who were friends living in a two-room apartment. Bella was one who I describe as an extrovert; she goes with the latest fashion, pristine skin, and light makeover; the highest of her makeup is just lip gloss. Very fashionable and fun to be with.
Chloe was more like an emotional person, very demure, kind, and a beautiful lady. Lily was not just as beautiful as the rest, but she was satisfying—someone you can talk to but not someone to keep secrets—and the introvert herself, Mia, always keeping to herself with her rounded glasses in the corner of her room with her laptop, a guru in tech.
On a sunny day when everything seems boring, everyone was on their phone chatting and grinning like high school students who just spoke to their crush for the first time, just as always. Mia was at the corner of the room, her head buried in her laptop.
“Let's play a game—a game of telling one about one's true nature. Just say whatever is on your mind about someone,” Bella said, audible enough to Mia's hearing.
“Are you interested?” she hollered at Mia, who shook her head negatively, wondering what the game was all about. She hasn't heard or played one before. As they progress in the game, Mia's ears are on the game being played, although her laptop was displayed in front of her, her mind wandering at what the others were doing.
A few minutes into the game, she got up from her seat, slammed her laptop shut, and held a hand in the air.
“I'm interested in playing,“ she said, getting herself comfortable on the coach. Others disapproved of her appearance, but instead she rolled her eyes and gave an excuse that she needed to meet a deadline, which was one of the reasons why she didn't agree to the game.
“Fine, let's start from the beginning,” Bella implored, explaining the rules to Mia, who nodded in understanding.
The battin was in Lily; she was to describe Chloe's personality, telling both her bad side and her good side.
She began, “Chloe is a kind soul who shares everything she has; she can be emotional, but then she doesn't tell her discomfort about you but goes about telling it to the others, which in turn gets to your ears." Everyone hummed at what Lily just said, giving Chloe the chance to explain herself.
She acknowledged her shortcomings and promised to change for the better. Just one after the other, everyone was getting to know the truth about themselves from others; for Mia, it was a personal improvement for her; what seemed like a game was a reality. She wanted to know others' perspectives about her, her shortcomings, and ways to improve. The battin finally got to Bella, the mastermind of the game; it was Lily's tune to talk about Bella's personality.
“Bella is a nice person and fun to be around. Good event planner,” Lily begins, and Mia titled her ears closely at what Lily was saying, paying rapt attention as if she wanted Lily to hit the nail, the weight of whatever she was about to say to Bella in her heart. She was listening closely to know if anyone was going to say it.
“She makes friends with others when they are of benefit to you.” The tension rose in the air as Mia knitted her brows in confusion, cantering Lily's statement.
“Do you mean to say she is a pest who hangs around when she can benefit from others?” Mia gave in more details, trying to get things clear. All this while Bella was silent, occasionally nodding her head, but immediately Mia spoke up; she stood up in offense.
“What are you trying to say, Mia?” She asked firmly, with a hint of annoyance in her tone.
“I'm trying to explain whatever Lily was trying to say. She was trying to tell you that you make friends with people for your own benefits and when the benefits are no longer coming. You cut off,” Mia said plainly. That was the truth about Bella, though it hurt, but that was the reason Mia had abandoned her project just to speak out on this. She has been looking for an opportunity to do so.
What seemed like a fun game turned into an argument, and Mia crawled out, allowing others to speak. She could hear their voices from the restroom, leaning on the cold wall. She took a deep breath before the door flanged open. Lily walked in, and both girls began to laugh.
“Why didn't you go straight to the point?” Mia asked.
“I just didn't want to hurt her feelings. Another round of laughter rippled through the walls of the restroom. The game was canceled, and everything was settled.
