Junior Vocab
Arjun's Rasam Dilemma
Maya: "Arjun, why are you hiding under the table?"
Arjun: "I told Amma I wasn’t the one who spilled the rasam… but I was."
Maya: "Oh. You acted like you were innocent."
Arjun: "My tummy went flip-flip when she looked at the floor. I just stared at the ceiling fan."
Maya: "You acted so normal! You even asked for extra papad."
Arjun: "Yeah, I acted cool, but inside I felt like a pressure cooker about to whistle."
Amma: "I heard that, mister pressure cooker. Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?"
Arjun: "Because last time I broke the steel tumbler, you got angry… so I acted brave, but really I was scared."
Amma: "I was angry at the mess, not at you. You could have acted honest instead of hiding."
Maya: "Arjun, remember the school play? You acted like a lion and everyone clapped."
Arjun: "Yeah, that was fun. But this time I acted like someone who didn’t spill rasam, and it feels yucky."
Amma:stranger in your own home is big." "Spilling rasam is small. Acting like a
Arjun: "Okay, Amma. I spilled it when I was doing cricket bowling with my spoon."
Maya: "He really did a fast ball, Amma. The rasam just flew!"
Amma: "Next time, let the rasam stay in the bowl and the cricket stay in the balcony, hmm?"
Arjun: "Deal. I should’ve never acteddisappeared by itself." like it was magic rasam that
Maya: "Yeah, better to say, ‘I did it,’ than to have your tummy acting like a drum."
Amma: "Come, both of you. Help me wipe the floor, and then we’ll have more rasam—this time without any acting."