Parlour Games – Little Edouard Tales
Edouard was a skinny, somewhat nerdy child who preferred to be out of sight when the company would visit.
Aunties would poke at his little ribs as if he were Oliver Twist, pinch his little cheeks and fix the persistent cowlick on top of his head.
He dreaded company and would hide as soon as the doorbell rang.
Sometimes, he’d rush to the potty, pretending he ‘had to go.’ Still, someone always wanted to freshen up, and he’d be ‘called out’ by his dad only to draw more attention to himself. Guest bathrooms were never a good hiding spot, he’d soon learn.
Despite his, please leave me alone attitude, he loved lying on his bedroom floor, ear to the door gap, listening to every word the big people would speak. He’d get the inside scoop on family gossip. They were like muppets to him. His aunt looked like Big Bird, and his uncle was the Cookie Monster.
Despite dreading the cheek-pinching, rib-prodding antics the big people would inflict on him, he loved analyzing their every move.
Like clockwork, they progressively talked louder once the gin kicked in.
For a little runt, he had a keen sense of observation and could read people like a Marvel comic book.
One of his wittiest parlour tricks was to hide under the dining room table like a puppy dog dodging restless legs and occasionally untying a few laces.
He was not fooling anyone as they retired to the den, pretending he was a ghost.
Follow Daniel~Ibrahim (IbaDan Creative)
https://ibradan.com
https://www.facebook.com/ibradancreative
https://www.facebook.com/dan.trepanier
https://www.instagram.com/dantrepanier
https://www.youtube.com/@IbraDanCreative
https://medium.com/ibradan-creative
https://me.dm/@ibradancreative
https://ibradancreative.substack.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieltrepanier
https://www.pinterest.ca/ibradancreative/_saved/
Who Is Edouard Tales
Short writings about a little boy named Edouard who, like so many nerdy kids, was bullied by his peers, mocked, misunderstood and labelled 'slow' by teachers for being different. Only later to be assessed as gifted. The abuses he endured in the 1970s and 1980s from...
The Bedtime Mattress Sandwich Game — Little Edouard Tales
Tiny Edouard loved sneaking out of bed soon after Ma tucked him in, kissed his cheek, and turned off the light. He was barely tall enough to touch the floor. Belly squirming between the boxspring and the top mattress once the coast was clear. He looked like a footlong...
School Abuse and Hell – Little Edouard Tales
The typical classroom in the 60s and 70s consisted of crammed rows of desks facing a chalkboard and a lecture-based teaching approach. Students passively listened to teachers blah blah what seemed like irrelevant information. For Edouard to be interested in learning,...
Is he Retarded – Little Edouard Tales
At age seven, Edouard's school principal told his parents something was wrong with their little awkward boy. "Eduard needs to be tested," they said. "We think he has a below-average IQ and learning disability." Edouard knew he was not stupid but different, and he...
Fighting Back with Karate — Edouard Tales
Sadly, Edouard's meek, nerdy, soft-spoken pre-pubescent demeanour at school emitted an aura that screamed, 'Come at me; I'm here for the taking and won't fight back.' So, at 16, Edouard decided to take TaeKwonDo and defend himself against school bullies. The word...
Alternative Education, or I quit. —Edouard Tales
I'll Learn On My Own Thanks Fighting back Karate style to ward off thugs was a self-defence strategy that worked for Edouard. Unfortunately, I can't drop-kick the adults who create a terrible learning environment, he thought. A more diplomatic 'adult' approach was...