Lying well is effective communication

****She that lies well will lie well in her bed.****

Ah, the pleasures of childhood, when you play with boys and girls alike without any ulterior motive. Even I was young and carefree when I played. Once, I was playing badminton with my friend Kevin. It was a very dramatic game and there were very high stakes pending the outcome of this match. We had already decided that the one to win would one day save the world. I wanted to save the world, so I needed to win the game.

Serve, and smash. The point was his. No problem, they say that good things come to those who wait. So I waited for hs serve, raising my racket in the air, like a samurai waiting for the enemy. My eyes narrowed to mere slints but I was still as alert as before. My eyes were trained on all of his movements. There he was, wiping the sweat off his upper lip. He must be stressed too.

His serve and once again, he scored the point. He was elated and like the football players in the Premier Leaugue he started running around spreading his hands like an eagle and shouting in victory. He was boasting and was acting like he was the next Lin Dan or Kento Momota. After 30 seconds, he calmed down enough to serve again.

This time, I managed to hit the shuttle at such an angle that he wasn't able to return it. Ha, eat that, you dog! It was a tension-filled match and we had even acquired a large audience. There was the stray dog that usually came for a visit during lunch time to try to get some bits and pieces of food, the ant that was busy carting away a piece of fried potato and Christian, a student from our class.

We had reached the matchpoint and it was my turn to serve. However, just as I was about to hit the shuttle, a ball sailed by me, distracting me and making me miss my serve. Kevin was so happy, that he started dancing and swinging his racket in all directions. He looked like a sweaty grizzly bear having a seizure. His hands had become so slick with sweat that suddenly his racket slipped from his hand and came in my direction.

'Missile fired. We repeat, missile fired. Take cover.' But unfortunately, there was no time to move and his racket came to strike me on my shin. More than pain, I felt shock and fear.

'Owww, ouch,' I screamed throwing my body to the ground and clutching my shin. Where was the referee? Ah, we didn't have one.

Kevin felt backed against the wall even though we were in an open yard. 'Don't be such a girl, mate. Get up and play.'

'I'm a girl, Kevin.'

I winced, squeezing my eyes tight shut and tried to stand with a lot of difficulty. From beneath my lashes, I peeked at Kevin to see if he was feeling sorry. If he was, then I would gracefully forgive him for his unintended act of violence, I decided. But that pig was gloating and already celebrating his victory. I felt the fire of vengeance burn my soul. He had to pay.

I limped to Kevin and asked him, 'Are you sorry?'

'Sorry that you lost?' God, no.'

I had given him one more chance to repent, but he hadn't seized that opportunity. Too bad for him.

Exaggerating my limp, I walked back to class where our teacher was just done having lunch. I shed one tear for the impact, or was it one drop of sweat flowing past my temple to my cheek?

'What happened, child?'

'Kevin hurt me, Miss Charles.'

'Oh, did he? We'll see that!'

Like an avenging angel, Miss Charles went to Kevin and asked him, 'Did you hurt Dam?'

He simply froze, but I could see his eyes moving from side to side quickly, trying to look for a solution. Were there witnesses? The stray dog could be bought with some food, same for the ant. What about Christian? Whose side would he take? The uncertainty was too great and Kevin stammered.

'I...I...Sorry.'

Well, I wasn't sorry for that nincompoop. It was true that he didn't throw his racket deliberately, but he did refuse to apologise for his mistake. As he was brought to the classroom, forgoing his recess time, I realized something, sometimes the truth needs to be embellished for people to see it. If you put a stalk in front of people, their attention might not be drawn to it, but if you add more flowers, more branches or even turn it into a bouquet, they can't miss it.

So who won, Kevin?