I’m remembering many tiny memories as I write the #MinuteMemoirs with TeachWrite members in my notebook.
A very long hall with approximately two hundred students sitting in long rows, in their stiff, purple and white uniforms.
All four of us, contestants, stood in line facing our house members. In front of me I could see four columns with students sitting in fours for each column. I was a champion at spelling and was not going to let my house down. We had been given twelve words on the Monday to memorize for this Wednesday morning’s ‘Spelling Bee’.
I stood there, Mrs Amissah the elderly Nursery Teacher and then Elementary Deputy Principal called my name:
“Juliette,” my heart skipped a beat. My heart was pounding and I broke out in tiny beads of sweat.
“Your word today is , sophisticated.” I had a photographic memory, then.
I could visualize the word written in front of me, I spelt the word.
” Sophisticated, s o ph is ti ca ted, sophisticated”
A loud burst of applause hit my ears, my green house members started jumping up and down. Of course we had won again. I was their “sure banker,” I’m not sure where that phrase came from, but they knew that if I was there they would surely get the points they needed to win. I was shaken, the beads of sweat turned into bigger beads and my armpit was getting sweaty. It stained the edge of the armhole of my school uniform, but I was not embarrassed, I had caused a win! I mopped the sweat on my forehead with my ever present white handkerchief and walked with a sashay proudly to my seat. I knew I would do it again. This was why I got so popular at school.
GIFTS 
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