In elementary school. We occasionally had bananas for lunch. One day in first grade, bananas were served for the first time.
Among them, there was one with a sticker.
The boy who got it was absolutely thrilled, and from that moment, the "banana with a sticker = special" idea was born. This led to a secret competition among the boys. Of course, we couldn’t choose which banana we got.
The lunch duty students handed them out, so getting the sticker was purely luck. For some reason, desserts like pudding and bananas were usually distributed by the girls, making this battle an exclusive event for the boys.
Every time bananas appeared on the lunch menu, the boys would get excited. Some would peek at the tray, trying to spot the stickered banana and estimate when it would be given out. Then, they'd line up nervously, hoping for the best.
I also decided to join in. And one time—just once—I won. I got the banana with the sticker! It felt amazing, like I had been chosen for something special. I wanted to make use of the sticker somehow.
At the time, there was a game in our class: if you lost at rock-paper-scissors, you’d get tapped on the forehead.
That gave me an idea. When I won, instead of just tapping, I secretly placed the banana sticker on my opponent’s forehead. The plan worked perfectly. The sticker stood out like "NIKU" on Kinnikuman’s forehead, the mark "chun" on Ramenman’s head, or even an Indian bindi.
The whole class burst into laughter. But no one told him. Even the teacher ignored it. He went home just like that. Apparently, he didn’t realize until his older brother pointed it out.
But instead of getting mad, he just laughed it off, saying, "I got pranked!" Who knew that one little banana sticker could bring so much fun to our class?
Looking back, it’s still one of my favorite childhood memories.