I got my ‘New-Look’ the hard way

I was used to wearing baggy jeans and hanging T-shirts. At school we called it ‘The free man’s world’ code of dressing.

But it was hard to maintain this dress code once I stepped out of school for holidays. Unfortunately for me, it was my young sister’s habit of reporting to my mother about every trivial thing that happened around the house.

Unbelievably, Mom encouraged the habit by promising her sweets every time she came up with info about me. After years of bribing my way out with my sister, I became the bait. That time, I didn’t have any sweets to shut her up so she gave me away.

"Mom, Tony isn’t dressed decently for church,” she yelled.
Sometimes my code of dressing was connected to an after church programme with my pals. But that day, I predicted it wasn’t going to work out.  

"Tony, you better dress right or else I will do it for you,” retorted Mom. And for the first time since my auntie’s wedding I put on my green suit and tie!

Though I heard my young sister’s laughter over and over again, my only worry was my schoolmates I was about to meet at the end of the church service. Indeed later on, we met and they were all dressed casually.

"Brother, you look strangled by that tie! As for the suit, man, you are outrageous!” Drake said as they all burst out laughing.

"Ain’t you feeling the heat in there?” Brian choked, and they laughed some more.

Most annoyingly, my most trusted friends were the ones making fun of me in my family’s presence. However, I felt cool and calm because I didn’t want to blow my cool. So I said nothing.

The rest of the time with my friends was divided between my new appearance and a few other jokes. I cut short our chatting and returned home quickly.

"I know today you felt like you didn’t fit in with your friends. But having a new look is a challenge to your friends,” Mom said on my arrival.

Ends