This is an uber-short story for The Red Dress Club prompt about Kindergarten.
Although many of the stories on my blog are for adults only, this one is completely G rated.
Left Handed Scissors
We didn’t have desks at Hygiene Elementary School. We had those odd trapezoidal tables that can be put together in various ways, either as one big hexagon, or a long straight row, or, if the teacher was feeling particularly creative, three tables made a large, awkward triangle.
Usually, we were positioned four at a time to a hexagon. That made it easy for the teacher to prompt one table at a time to do whatever task was required, like getting scissors.
I remember listening carefully to Mrs. Brown as she explained where the scissors were kept, and how to properly take them out and put them away afterwards. She also explained why we shouldn’t take the ones with the green handles, but I must have blanked out that part.
I had my eye on those green handled scissors. I was smart; I was special; I deserved to have fancy scissors with green handles!
I watched my classmates, all of us new to school and sitting down and following directions. Some were squirrely. Most, like me, seemed eager to please. One table at a time, Mrs. Brown allowed her Kindergarteners to go to the shelf and get a pair of scissors to use.
A couple of kids took the precious green handled scissors. I craned my neck to see if enough were left. Fortunately, most kids were picking the normal scissors. How unoriginal.
Our table was called, and for a moment I looked at the plain, silver scissors, something in my mind remembering the teacher giving us some reason for choosing silver versus green, but the specialness of the green tools enthralled me. I took them.
Back at the table, I took the paper in my left hand, and wielded the scissors in my right, just as I had done a million times at home. I knew how to do this. I would impress everyone.
Something felt wrong; the scissors wouldn’t work! I put them to the paper and squeezed, but instead of creating a neat, sharp cut, the paper simply folded under the pressure, getting stuck between the blades so I had to use both hands to open them again and get the paper out.
Mrs. Brown saw. She kindly reminded me that the green handled scissors were for left handed children, and told me to go exchange them.
So much for being special.
ConCrit is more than welcome, it is eagerly anticipated!
Those scissors would have worked well for a little left handed girl like me. I would have chosen the green handled too! Loved this post, written well, held my attention. I like stories everyone can relate to in one way or another.
Thanks Julie!
I’m not left handed, and I just wanted to be special!
Now I have kids of my own, and my 12yo is a southpaw.
AmyBeth
Guess I’ll be buying green-handled scissors for my 2yo. Thanks for the tip!
Don’t let the green handles fool you lol! These days, scissors have all kinds of colorful handles. And my 12yo, who is a southpaw, cuts with “regular” scissors all the time. Thanks for visiting!
Ha! I totally get this because I was a lefty too! I actually had to learn how to use the right handed scissors!
I adore how you focused on this small moment!
Your narration throughout is priceless. This especially: “I was smart; I was special; I deserved to have fancy scissors with green handles!”
And for the record? Yes, you so did! 🙂
Hygiene Elementary School? Amazing! I love you turning up your nose at ‘direction followers” and how much pride you had as a little one.
‘I was smart; I was special; I deserved to have fancy scissors with green handles!’
Without a doubt you did deserve them, lefty or not.
Yup! Hygiene, Colorado was once a place where people flocked to the “healing springs”. But in the Seventies (and today) it is simply a small town between Longmont and Lyons.
I’m glad everyone thinks I deserved the special scissors lol!
Your phrasing is crisp and paints an extremely clear picture. As you describe alternate set ups of the trapezoidal tables and again the way the paper reacts to the improperly used scissors both conjure the image so clearly for me. Nice images.
I remember wanting the scissors with the colored handles instead of the plain silver handles…not because of the color as much as because those silver ones cut into my thumb. 😉
Funny what the memory holds onto, isn’t it?
So happy to have you linking up with us. 🙂
I felt the excitement building and could see you craning your neck to see if any of the special scissors were left, and I think it’s so interesting that this memory stuck with you about the scissors and feeling like being special was denied!!
Thank you everyone! I’m new to the Red Dress Club, but I’m having so much fun! It really is good writing exercise, especially with the word count limits that force us to focus and be concise.