The years went by and he became her student again in the ninth grade. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. This time he did not talk that much as he had to listen carefully to Sister’s instructions in the “new math.”

One day, everybody seemed to be frowning, frustrated with themselves and edgy with one another. Sister asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. The following day, Saturday, she wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that

individual. On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Shortly after, the entire class was smiling. She heard comments like, “Really,” “I never knew that meant anything to anyone,” and “I didn’t know others liked me so much!”

Several years passed. One time after returning home from vacation and being fetched by her parents, her father told her that the Pramod’s father had called. He quietly said that Pramod was killed in Kargil. Even in his deathbed, Pramod looked so handsome. All she could think of at that moment was, “Pramod, I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me.” She met one of the soldiers who was one of the pallbearers. He asked whether she was Pramod’s math teacher. When she nodded, he said that Pramod talked about her a lot. After the funeral, they proceeded to one of Pramod’s classmates’ farmhouse. His parents were there, too. His father said that the other soldiers found something on Pramod when he was killed and he thought Sister might recognize it. IT WAS THE LIST THAT SHE MADE WHEN THEY WERE IN THE NINTH GRADE. Pramod treasured it so much. His classmates gathered around them and said that they also treasured the list she gave them..