Made in Humane Club
Every Thursday, a fight would happen in the line. The kids of Class 4A, WabiSabi the owl, Buyum the cat, and Kreeday the lizard, would always be ahead. But Willow the bear from 4B would always push them on the side in order to go ahead.
WabiSabi the owl said, “Let’s make code names. Then we can communicate without him knowing”. Buyum said, “Yeah, why not”. WabiSabi said, “My name is Owlette”. Buyum said, “I am Catboy”. Kreeday said, “I am Gekko!”.
The next time this happened, the trio went in front. Owlette spread her wings to make a barrier. Catboy would take out a rope and use it to grab Willow in case he charged. Gekko would use his strong tail to swish Willow away when he would come close. They also decided to call Willow “Night Ninja”. He was quite swift for a bear!
Owlette thought, “Willow is probably greedy for the first place. He is quite selfish. Whenever he gets a chance, he probably tries to take it”. Owlette decided to test this. She observed the rest of the days. She watched him on Monday; he held the door for a younger student. On Wednesday, he shared his lunch. So, greediness was out of the question.
She kept watching. Then, on the third Thursday, it happened again. Owlette froze. She thought, “Wait. Last Thursday. The Thursday before that. Always Thursday“. She looked around. It was a normal day, nothing special, except the day itself. That was the pattern.
She decided to share it with Catboy and Gekko. She said, “Catboy and Gekko, have you noticed that this happens only on Thursdays? Do you want to ask Willow why he fights with us on Thursdays?”
Catboy said, “Sure, but I’m quite keen on these fights. It’s fun!” Gekko said, “I agree with Owlette. Let’s at least try”. Catboy said, “Okay”.
The next day, Owlette went to the back where Willow stood. She said, “Why do you always try to come to the front of the line on Thursday?”
Willow said, “It’s because my mom always comes early on Thursdays. She tells me not to reach late. So, I thought that if I go ahead, I’ll reach first”.
Owlette said, “We never knew. On Thursdays, just say, ‘Owlette, can you let me come ahead?’ and we’ll let you go ahead”. Willow said, “Thank you!!”
On the next Thursday, Owlette waved her hand to tell Willow that they had left some space for him. She thought to herself, “Self note: Nothing is random. It is based on a system”.
From then on, Willow would always reach first and no fighting would happen.
Things to learn: Patterns are things that repeat based on something. Willow’s example is a pattern. Patterns feel obvious once you’ve found them. Finding them requires patience and testing.