The shoe - buckle race

Someone asked me a question today, which at the outset seemed very out of place. I pondered over the question, as I walked back to my desk.

It seemed just like a day before, when I was competing in the Shoe-buckle race. It was not really yesterday, but in my second standard. Dressed in a checkered pink bloomers, In the scorching heat of the summer, the class of 2nd A was lined to compete against each other. We were a batch of 10.

The race began with my class teacher blowing the whistle. The shrill noise set us on. I completed my buckling of the shoe and looked up. My counterparts were still struggling to get the buckle in place. The moment I realised, I was the first, my legs picked speed. Half way through, I turned back, I was still the only one running. As I was turning back to look where I was heading, my eyes caught my friend far away. In a reflex action, I stopped. Today, I wonder what my little mind then thought. I waited for her to complete, so that we could both run to the finishing line together. Hmmm, stupid me!! As my legs came to a halt, I was cheering her to hurry. She looked up. She was done. She started her sprint towards the winning point. I saw her racing towards me. I must have definitely imagined a happy picture, both of us crossing the line, hand in hand and sharing the prize, 50-50. As I waited for her, she came close to me... before I could realise, she whizzed past me like a bolt of lightening. I was taken aback. I ran behind her. She finished first. I finished second. The third in line came much later. I still have the picture of the three of us standing on the 1st, 2nd 3rd box.

By the way, the question that my friend asked me today was, "What friends meant to me?".