THE HUMMINGBIRDS

GRAND GOODMORNING

I live in a friendly neighbourhood of 47 houses, all with their story and memories. I live in the tenth one. I have only lived in it for four years so it's still quite new. I have a circle of friends there, we call ourselves the Hummingbirds. The name took a year of consideration, and that was the best we got, so no judgy looks allowed. We were all sitting at the park, moping around, racking our brains for a good name. I kept on spewing great candidates but the others kept turning them down. When Ann popped up with, "What about the Hummingbirds". "Nah, too out of place" was my response but after another ten minutes of failed ideas, I was like, "Why not?".  So the Hummingbirds came to life( It was still alive before but with the absence of a name) It has eight people, including me and my sister. My sister is known as the baby of the group as she is the youngest. I love making fun of her for it. 

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Al lives a bit farther away, so it's difficult for her to attend meetings and other team activities. Unfortunately, this means she's not able to be part of the team right now. It's disappointing. And Al is far from the rest of the pack. 

The Hummingbirds originally consisted of Five. Namely me, Ru, Ann, Tia and Alara. Alara moved away to Tamil Nadu a few years back but constantly visits, so she is still in a way, in the Hummingbirds. Alara has a very energetic personality. When I say energetic, I mean it. The girl never gets tired! She acts like a chihuahua who has downed ten energy drinks! But honestly, the Hummingbirds won't function without her. She is the heart of the hummingbirds say. And we all love her to bits! All the hummingbirds have their own animal assigned to them. Alara says she's an Arctic Wolf, but I  mostly think of her as a puppy on caffeine. She's incredibly skilled at drawing. I've seen some of her artwork, and I truly believe she has the potential to become a successful artist one day. So yes, she is the Wolf- a symbol of loyalty and of family.

Ann and Tia are sisters and they have a bitter-sweet relationship. More bitter than sweet if you ask me. Ann is the person who half the time, acts like a caring big sister to the hummingbirds( She's the oldest) and sometimes acts like the world's biggest baby. Honestly! The time I saw her most terrific baby face was the evening before her exam. It had been almost an hour and a half since school got over and I cycled over to her place to see if she'd want to go for a few rounds of cycling around the place. But I was greeted with a very sulky Ann. She was sitting on her porch, looking as if I'd taken away her candy.  "What's up?" I asked. "Nothin'," she replied, grouchily. "Fine then, what's wrong?" I asked her again. After a few sniffs, she replied, "The Hindi exam".

I rolled my eyes. She was a year older than me but she just doesn't act like it. At this time of day, she is normally at swimming class. Ann is a very good swimmer. She swims competitively too. We once competed against each other in the pool and she honestly left me in the dust. If the water could get dusty. But she carries me on her back and flips me under water so it's good fun as well. Ann is called the lioness, the leader of the pack- a symbol of strength and leadership.

Tia, though, acts like she's got it all figured out. She's the colder of the two sisters, but she knows how to have a good time when she feels like it. She can come up with ideas in a snap, but she's also really moody (her sister is the same, in a way). One moment she's cracking jokes with me, and the next, she's giving me a look like I insulted her mother. Even The Rock would probably back down from that stare. I'm not even kidding! But I always make it up to her letting her play with my hair. She makes it into pretty braids, adds flowers and eaves to make it look beautiful and ties it gloriously. 

Tia is also a devoted Catholic and is proud of it. She is always spitting out Bible verses though her short temper sometimes restricts her from following them. And she always says what's on her mind, even if it might hurt sometimes. Her heart is in the right place too. She is the Kite, the cold yet protective bird- a symbol of bravery and loyalty. 

It was like this for two years until Lily moved into the house opposite me. Lily was quiet and soft-spoken and barely opened her mouth around us. I understood it was hard moving into an entirely different environment. I decided to give her time and as time passed she became more comfortable. Lily has a great sense of humour and prefers to stay out of trouble. She is a straight-A student and likes keeping neat and tidy. We managed to roughen her up after a bit. Lily is really smart and is sort of a teacher's pet though she doesn't suck up to them. We found a little nickname for her. Lily baby.  Whenever songs that have the word 'baby' come up we lightly make fun of her. It's all good fun. She is the Vixen- the clever beauty- a symbol of smarts. 

Things were going great with Lily in the Hummingbirds but before I knew it, a new member joined. We were all at our meeting spot(The park) when Ann suddenly said, "Listen y'all- we need to have a SUM." Super Urgent Meeting. All of us shrugged, it could be fun. It's been a long time anyway. "Last one to the Gazebo is a loose feather!", I yelled and all of us sped to the S.U.M spot( yes we have a different spot for urgent meetings!). The Gazebo is a small place with a table and four chairs(we have to share at times) and it's the place we have our SUMs. "Okay people, we have a new member joining!" said Ann.

"Who?" asked Lily, confused, "Nobody new has moved in surely. Or else I would have known!"

"True, she is in my grade. She told me she's moving in after a month or two. She's visiting next week. Her name is Beth and she is nice."

"That's great! How old is she?" asked Ru.

"She's two months younger than me" replied Ann

"Hey! That means I'd lose my spot as second oldest!" I exclaimed

"Don't worry. You'll still be one of the oldest" remarked Tia

I wasn't there when the New Girl Beth came to visit. I was down with the Flu. I only saw her after a month and I was not sure whether I liked her or not. She seemed nice but also a bit weird from my perspective. I kept quiet because everyone else seemed to be enjoying her company. One day she asked me to sit next to her on the bus and I agreed. It turns out she was really funny and I instantly warmed up to her. When Beth joined, the group seemed to be more outgoing. We joined Karate together and Badminton classes. Ann couldn't join Badminton because of her swimming but she is still a fairly good player. Beth was tall and had a vibrant personality. She always smiled and laughed and could always brighten up the mood. We began to take more part in festivals and parties. Beth's mother always organised parties and get-togethers where we could show off our talents. Beth doesn't have a certain animal yet, I call her the mouse( She is afraid of every animal on earth, including butterflies) but honestly, she is the Peacock, the dancer- a symbol of pride and brightness. 

And then there is Riley. Riley was always around, but she always seemed reserved and quiet and never really talked to us. Recently she joined and she is still bonding with the team. I haven't figured out a spirit animal for her yet, but I'm working on it! Riley is a great dancer and she is funny at times. And I always like someone with good humour.

You must be wondering, "Well what are your and Ru's spirit animals then?"

My sister is a very fierce person with a wild temper. Along with her being the youngest in the group she is labelled the little one. She always gets what she wants with her cute little face. But 'baby' is not a spirit animal, is it? So we have crowned her the Tiger Cub, the baby- a symbol of energy and strength. 

And mine folks? I fancy myself as the Cat, the comedian. A symbol of independence and elegance. Of honour and respect and finally of funny cat videos! I mean who doesn't love those! As you can see, the Hummingbirds have taken off- the symbol of intelligence, beauty, devotion and love.

'Til the next story

A GRAND GOODBYE

N.M SIRIUS