"If you are able to keep this cake of soap in one piece for the rest of the day,

you may choose a pet,"

declared mum.
"Deal"
I carefully placed the pink bar in a plastic bag and placed it in a small pocket on the side of my bag. This
way, the cake of soap would remain safe and sound.
This was child's play!

I shoved the bag in my locker, with the pocket with the soap was facing the wall. As I was descending
through the hall, a bundle of thoughts and a wave of apprehension swept over me. What if my bag leaked
and the soap got wet? What if the soap got squished and crumbled inside my locker? I decided the soap
would be more shielded with me. That way, I could determine it was safe around the clock.

The class went pretty smoothly. I was calm throughout the lesson. As soon as the teacher went out, the
classroom became a jungle. Suddenly one of my friends scared me from behind and started pushing me to
play with them. Maybe a 5-minute break wouldn't do any harm. I hid the soap bar in the corner of the
classroom where hopefully it wouldn't catch anyone's eye.

When the next teacher approached the class, everyone piped down.
This class was P.E so the teacher took us outside. I was glad I hid the soap bar in the classroom. After an
hour, We all returned to the air-conditioned classroom sweaty. I suddenly noticed… That my bar of soap
had vanished. I asked my teacher if she had seen a cake of soap in the corner of the classroom, but to my
horror, she informed me that the janitor would've cleaned it.

I was dismayed. The janitor never cleaned in the evenings but this one day, he had to come. I rushed to
the janitor's office, after taking permission from my teacher. "Did you find a cake of soap in our
classroom?"
"Oh yes! It might be in the bins outside?" Thought the Janitor, unsurely.
I sprinted to the green bins near the front gate. Unfortunately, the huge recycling and garbage trucks were
emptying them. There was no hope now. The bar of soap was gone, and so was my dream to have a pet. I
returned to my classroom morose and disappointed. What was I to do?
After class, I narrated my friends the whole story. We all thought of a resolution when one of my friends
suddenly exclaimed," why don't you buy another soap?' There's a shop right here!" This was the happiest
moment of my life! I thanked him profusely and darted to the lush store. There I purchased a replica of
the cake of soap my mother had given me.
I was greeted by the curious faces of my parents and siblings at the door. I smiled as I slowly took out the
soap bar from my pocket.
"See, I am responsible!"
"Okay fine. Do you want a rabbit or cat?" asked mum, rolling her eyes.
"Rabbit please!"

I asked God for forgiveness for the little white lie as I sat in my car to get my new pet.

"Is this a receipt?" asked my elder brother, smirking whilst taking out a long white printed piece of paper
from my pocket.

"You are not only forbidden to get a pet but are also grounded for a month for lying to your mother."
shouted mum.

It seemed that God had not forgiven me.