brat?

Dont talk with the boys on the roadside.
This was what was instructed to me repeatedly.

When I walked I usually had my eyes fixedly on the ground right in front of me, I seldom looked beyond a couple of meters and deliberately avoided to meet people lest I would recognize some one and would have to chat with them. I tried to follow mom's instructions very solemnly.

Once my school sir told me that he had seen me on the streets and had waved and called out to me but my eyes stuck to the ground and I had not even heard him above the traffic noise, but if I had been looking up, I would have definitely caught his waving hand!

It happened once that I met my tuition sir on the road, near my house. I had to acknowledge him and chatted with him for 2 mins only. Mom saw me from her balcony and admonished me for talking to men right in front of the house. I told her it was just Sir, but she said that she knew it was Sir, but that Sir was young and what if anyone saw me?!. She was really worried because I lived in a locality which was also inhabited by relatives and community people. I snapped back at her, “ how is it that I can study with a young sir all alone in the room and sometimes all alone in the house for 2 hours and cant acknowledge even his presence on a road filled with passers by?” I was pissed! :@

In our community, it was almost fatal if I was caught red handed talking to a boy. As it is, mom worried because I was always hanging out a lot and she believed I must be having a lot of boyfriends!
And I wasn't drawing a very good picture by being so fiercely independent and uncontrollable at times.
I was sure nobody in their right sense would ever send a proposal for marriage. I knew some proposals were there, but they were quite hesitant because knowing me well, they procrastinated and wanted to be doubly sure if I was going to be the right girl!

I don't know, if it was my good fortune or my father's good name, but I married into a nice enough and decent family. Personally, I still think I was a brat! (and still am) My own definition of brat goes like..

B= Brilliant

R= Real

A= Attitude

T= Terrific!