About a month ago, some female friends and I stepped out of the classroom to print out some educational documents. While waiting to be attended to, a very large spider fell from a tree onto one of my friends and I yelled “Maggi, Spider!”
Without flinching or even looking, she grabbed the very-much-alive spider and flung it far away. I was mesmerized. Not because of how she flung the spider but because of how calm and collected she was. I, an onlooker, somehow managed to be more terrified than the person who had a spider on her dress a few seconds earlier. Either way, she was brave and I silently admired her for it.
Silence ensued for about thirty seconds before I finally managed to mention that the whole campus would have heard my scream if I were to be in her shoes. We laughed about it and that was the end of that matter.
Fast forward to a month later, I and the same group of friends went to print out yet another document related to our education and while waiting, I felt a little movement around my foot. Since the wind was blowing really hard, I assumed that an object being carried by the wind must have brushed past my leg.
I was immediately startled back to reality why I felt a wiggly sensation inside my trousers, around my calf. For the record, I wore a baggy trouser and a polo. This time around, I was certain that it wasn't the wind acting and so I immediately grabbed that portion of my trousers and indeed, there was a soft thing there. When I let go of the trouser, something wiggly fell out and I stared at it for seconds, trying to decipher what it was.
While still trying to think of what creature it was, I felt a movement around my thighs and I silently yelped. Somehow, I managed to stifle the brewing scream in my throat. “Something is inside my trouser” were the only words I managed to say while I grabbed the portion of the trouser where I felt the movement firmly. I didn't know what creature I was dealing with and I indisputably didn't want any fluids from the strange creature on my body so, in a downward motion I carefully moved the creature towards my feet.
All this while, I still managed to keep calm but my heart was beating out of control. Finally, the creature fell out and I hadn't been more disgusted in my entire life! My friends were the mesmerized ones this time around. The creature was a baby gecko.
I do not like creepy, crawling creature and wall geckos happen to be in this class. I was speechless for a full minute because what could I possibly have said? This gecko managed to climb into my trousers and now, I have a phobia for wearing baggy trousers–my very favourite.
However, this post isn’t about the dead gecko but a song that came to mind when I reminisced on the events of this day, ”Sweet but Psycho”by Ava Max(majorly for the chorus of the song). I know I wasn't really shocked by my friend’s bravado when a similar incident happened because she is always the calm and more collected one. I, however, am known to scream over the most insignificant movement or appearance of insects and animals.
Ava Max in her song, sweet but psycho, manages to give one reasonable answer to the question “why did I keep calm”. Maybe I have become valiant and resistant to creeping animals. Either way, I have officially declared war against all geckos.
Images used belong to me.