Salman really enjoyed reading adventure stories and playing football. However, he was an introvert and had almost no close friends at school. There were just a few boys he talked to and could refer to as classmates.

Salman was a bit slow in reading and writing, but it wasn’t something his parents considered a serious concern. He was simply a shy boy who kept things to himself. Unfortunately, his slow pace in reading and writing led some of his classmates to bully him and call him names like “Slowpoke Salman”.

Salman didn’t like it at all, but, as he was shy, he couldn’t muster up the courage to go and complain to the class teacher.

Having no close friends and being a quiet-natured boy, Salman used his free time at school to complete his pending work or assignments and study. Soon, the exam season approached, a time most kids dreaded. Even during this stressful period, some kids would come up to Salman and tease him.

“Oh! How on earth will Slowpoke Salman pass the exams? He’ll still be on the second question when the time’s up!” they would say.

Salman always stayed quiet, even though he wished he could say something back.

The night before his maths exam, in the middle of the night, Salman’s sister Asiya thought she heard a sound, so she got up to check. She saw Salman studying, writing something down. She realised he was practising to write as quickly as he could, because he knew his writing speed was a little slow.

“Salman, if you like, I can give you some tips on how to write quickly and that also neatly,” she said.

Salman’s eyes lit up and he agreed. She sat with him and they practised for a while and then went to sleep.

The next day, everyone was frantically revising their notes. But the moment those boys saw Salman, they smirked at each other and said, “Hello, dear Slowpoke Salman!” Salman ignored them.

Everyone quietly sat down at their seats when the bell rang, their class teacher, Ms Aisha, arrived and handed them the papers. And students frantically started doing the paper; however, as expected, Salman was still not keeping up the pace. By the time he reached the third question, most of the kids had completed half of their paper.

Suddenly, their maths teacher entered and said, “Class, Question 3 has been printed incorrectly. Please cross it out on your sheets. Here is the correct question. We will give you 10 extra minutes after the exam ends.”

She wrote the correct question on the board while everyone groaned, knowing they would have to solve the question again — and if they skipped it, they’d lose 10 marks.

Salman wasn’t worried, as he hadn’t attempted that question yet. When he reached it, he found it quite easy, although most of the other kids found it difficult.

When Ms Aisha collected the papers, everyone was surprised to learn that Salman was one of the few students who had answered the entire question paper correctly.

The days went by as usual, but those few boys kept calling him “Slowpoke Salman.” Then one day, while their principal was making her rounds, she overheard the bullying. She immediately called the group of boys to her office.

She made them realise how wrong it was to mock someone. “If someone speaks slowly or maybe they’re not even slow, just not at ‘your’ speed, does that mean you get to label them?” she asked firmly.

Then she turned to one of the boys, “Asif, you’re not doing well in most subjects. So, should we start calling you with some names, too?”

The boys felt ashamed. They realised they had been unfair and hurtful. The principal gave them a stern warning.

Two weeks later, it was results day. When Salman looked at his report card, he was surprised—not only had he passed all his exams, but he had also scored the highest marks in Maths. At first, many students were shocked and didn’t know how to react. But a few of them came forward and genuinely appreciated him.

After that day, Salman’s classmates not only stopped calling him names, but they gradually came close to him and tried to help him out in his difficulties.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 31st, 2025