Passage 3

My parents did not believe in boys wearing trousers, so I wore shorts to school. I wanted to wear trousers, but every time I opened my mouth my parents told me to shut up.

One day, the class teacher told us that we were going to have a group photograph taken and he asked us to wear trousers for the occasion. I was in a dilemma, as I did not possess a pair of trousers.

After school, I asked some of my friends to lend me a pair of trousers, but no one had a pair which would fit me. I even tried on a pair of my father's trousers. They were too short for me and much too large at the waist. I gave up in despair. The next day arrived. I thought of not going to school but my parents told me to get ready. They told me to stop grumbling because there was nothing wrong in wearing shorts. So I turned up as usual at school. The class teacher was aghast when he saw me. He and some other students wanted me to be excluded from the photograph but the head teacher intervened. She asked me to join the group. The class teacher told me to sit in the front with two students on either side of me.

The photograph was duly taken. A fewdays later a copy of the picture appeared on the notice board. Crowds of students gathered to see it. It was a well-taken photograph. All the students were there in well-ironed, spotlessly white shirts and trousers- except me in the front row, with my knobbly knees conspicuously exposed! Needless to say, the picture gave rise to a lot of laughter and unkind remarks. You can imagine now how I felt! But the incident had a happy ending. I bought a copy of the photograph and showed it to my parents. My father immediately asked my mother to buy- some white trousers for me- my very first pair.