biggest mistake I ever made in my life, was also the one I would make again and again, willingly, no matter the circumstance, no matter what it had cost me. It all started in high school, adolescent hormones at its peak, teenager redefining themselves from their past child self, friendships that would last a lifetime at its most raw. That's when I came across her, Ava, short hair, glasses that didn't fit her quite right. There was just something about her that intrigued me. It was just harmless curiosity in the beginning. At least that's what I thought.The classroom I was sitting in was smaller than the classrooms I were used to, but it was the one I felt most at peace with. A small, petite women was sitting near the entrance, a sitar on her lap. The students were huddled near her, on mats, anticipation of the lesson visible in their eyes. This was the only class where they had to sit on mats, but no one seemed to mind. This was their music class, and they got to relax and unwind from their repetitive schedule of maths and science and history and everything that bored 13 years. The petite women whose name was Purabi was the sweetest teacher with the most angelic voice and she always made me feel special, though we never actually interacted. I suppose, she might not even know my name for that matter, but that was fine. I admired her, and that was enough.I was drifting off, there, but not really there in that moment when something she said caught my attention, " Today we are doing something different than we usually do. We are going to participate in an individual activity, where each of you will look through your notebook and pick the song you are most comfortable with and sing it in front of the class. "The sudden change of this schedule made my heart skip a beat, before I realised the problem with it. I was more than happy for this change of routine, because I was always the underdog, too shy to volunteer to show my talent, and this gave me the opportunity to sing, to have my friends know that I was actually a pretty decent singer. But the thought of singing in front of the whole class was overwhelming, and as she started calling out names, it made me hyperventilate. What if I sang the wrong lyrics, or stumbled and fell, or accidentally spit on everyone, I know unlikely, but that didn't stop me from thinking it. A thousand unlikely scenarios went through my mind, and the likelihood of me messing this up was getting higher. That's when it all changed. I was too hyperfocused on what I could do wrong that it didn't occur to me that other people could also mess this up. And she did. My god, I couldn't have in a million years fail this spectacularly even if I tried to. You know those times when you know that something is spontaneous because no one could ever plan something so stupid, yeah this was one of those moment. Miss Purabi called out Ava. Ava was always the back bencher. No one paid any attention to her, not because they didn't liked her, but because she had the unnerving ability to just disappear, become invisible. People usually forgot that she existed. She was introverted, and only had one friend at that time, and unlucky for her, her friend was absent. Maybe if her friend would have been there, she could have prevented what was about to follow.Ava jerked up, which was her first mistake, since it was too crowded in the mat, and she was at the end of the mat, and her sudden momentum dragged the mat from under her, twisting. She lost her balance and fell. But in her struggle to hold herself up, she dragged the instruments that were stacked at the end of classroom. Every single instrument toppled and fell, scattering around the class, the bulk of it piled on her. The falling of the instrument created a chain reaction, where the student who were close got up and tried to run away from the falling instruments , only to trip on the other students who were sitting on the ground, and that's how half of the class were found lying on the ground by the teachers who heard the ruckus and came to check, the decorum of the classroom ruined. The teachers who came started escorting the students out of the classroom, while Miss Puravi went to Ava to check if she was okay. She had a few scratches but otherwise ok. Other students were called in to help with placing the instruments back in its place and the class resumed. Miss Purabi commented that Ava should skip this activity, and Ava happily inclined, not wanting to draw more attention on herself. Miss Purabi called upon me next. My anxiety level had significantly gone down, because I knew that even if I messed up somehow, no one would remember it, and that instantly made me feel guilty. Although I was glad that I wasn't the one people would be talking about, I still felt bad for Ava. I got up slowly, mindful of where I was putting my feet, taking my notebook that my friend handed me, slowly dragging myself to the front.I stood there, facing the entire class, my hands visibly trembling, drawing the courage to sing. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and started singing. But I was too nervous, so I stopped." It's fine! This is not a test. You don't have to be so nervous. " Miss Purabi said, trying to calm me down.I tried to calm down, but the entire class looking at me didn't help me. " How about you just look at your friend, ok? Don't look at everyone else." Miss Purabi remarked. He took Miss Purabi's suggestion and scanned his classmate's faces to find a one he finds comfort in. His eyes landed on Dishant, his friend since kindergarten. But he knew Dishant. He was judgemental. He gossiped behind people's back. Though he loved Dishant like a brother, he couldn't find comfort in Dishant to not make fun of him. Dishant's opinion about his music mattered to him, and he was scared that Dishant won't like his music. The pressure was getting to him so he averted his eyes, his eyes landing on the quite girl in the back. He knew that there would be no judgement from Ava, and he locked his eyes on her. Ava was also looking at him, both of their stareset on each other. He started to sing and he gave in to his talent, his need to be heard surpassing the fear in him. He saw something in Ava, and for reason beyond his understanding, he found solace in her. He sang his heart out. The classroom started melting away. It felt like his talent that was hidden away from his insecurities, couldn't be held back anymore. What was hidden came pouring out, gushing out, and like something that escaped never returns, his voice won't ever go back, couldn't be hidden anymore. He closed his eyes, and after what felt like an eternity, his song coming to a natural conclusion, he opened his eyes, to the staring faces of his classmate. They had witchlight in their eyes. Mortified, he forced himself to look at miss Purabi. That movement, right there, changed his life. It got etched into his mind, redefining his self. But at that time, he was scared. He didn't know what the eerie silence meant. Did he mess it up? Was it that bad.He glanced at Ava. She was smiling. That eased his mind. Something about the smile reminded him of motherly love. It was natural, soothing. " That was wonderful! I don't know I haven't noticed you before!", said Miss Purabi.She looked at the class and said, " See kids that's why you should put yourself out there. You might discover hidden talents. Clap for him. "The whole class erupted in cheers. There was whistling involved. Some people stood up. After that everything was a blurr. The memory of that event seemed to revolve around these two events, the rest fading with time.