“Welcome to Class One! You may call me Equal Ithran!”

“Good morning, Equal Ithran,” the new students chorused.

“First, I would like to explain my title. Please understand: all of us are Equals in our Great Nation. However, of course, some of us have more power than others. As your teacher, I have power over you—but that does not stop us from being Equals. I am your Equal because I believe I am your Equal. You see, it’s simply a matter of mindset; power has nothing to do with it. Do I make myself clear?”

The children nodded, even though their faces disagreed.

Turning to the chalkboard, Equal Ithran scribbled aggressively, creating a large character symbol. While he was drawing it, the thin chalk stick snapped, but he continued nonetheless. Flecks of chalk dust peppered the wooden floor, causing the children in the front row to sneeze.

“Who knows what this means?” he asked. Without waiting for a response, Equal Ithran continued, “It means GREY!”

A few of the students attempted to copy the complicated character in their new notebooks. They had little success.

“Is grey your favorite color? It should be! Grey is the most beautiful color in the world! Let me prove it to you!” 

Equal Ithran drew a line down the center of the board. 

“Who can name something grey?” he boomed.

Hakupha hesitantly raised his hand. “The sky?”

The teacher wrote the character for “sky” on the left side of the board. “EXACTLY! The sky! What is bigger than the sky? Nothing! The sky is enormous and GREY all over!”

Emboldened, Elzabad called out, “The mountains?”

“YES! Well done! The mountains! Mountains are strong! Mountains are big! Mountains provide the important resources we need! Mountains protect us from the Outside! Mountains are WONDERFUL and COMPLETELY GREY!”

With each response, Equal Ithran responded even more enthusiastically.

“OF COURSE! Our road network! Our roads are grey and allow goods to be transported all throughout the Nation with EASE!”

“ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! The ocean! The ocean reflects the grey sky! The AMAZING grey ocean provides us with SO MUCH food and water!”

“I COULDN’T AGREE MORE! The buildings of our Nation! They shelter us and keep us safe, and ALL of them are BEAUTIFULLY GREY!”

After the left side was crowded with characters, Equal Ithran made his own contribution. “There’s one that none of you have mentioned yet: my GORGEOUS GREY hair!”

The children were embarrassed. How could they have overlooked what was right in front of them?

“It’s not just my hair, though,” Equal Ithran explained. “After a life of dedicated service to the Nation, all of us can be rewarded with the color of STRENGTH and BEAUTY on our very own heads!”

“Even me?” wondered Beno in awe. Pensively, he twirled one of his golden curls around his finger. 

“Even you!” Equal Ithran confirmed, grabbing a new chalk stick. 

“Now… who can name something green?”

Once again, the responses poured in. 

“Grasshoppers! The GREEDY DESTROYERS of our crops!”

“Unripe fruit! Sour and DISGUSTING!”

“Ivy! Climbing ALL OVER our buildings and SMOTHERING our farms!”

“Weeds! INVADING our gardens!”

“Algae! CHOKING our ponds and SUFFOCATING our fish!”

Soon, the right side of the board was full.

“Now, children,” said Equal Ithran in a solemn voice, “I need you to think about this very carefully. Which is better: the small weeds or the great ocean? The weak grasshoppers or the strong mountains? The parasitic algae or the benevolent road network of our Nation?”

The students did not need to think for long.

Equal Ithran looked each child in the eyes. “Please tell me: what is your favorite color?”

“GREY,” they each chimed. 

Equal Ithran beamed. 

“I think we’ve had a very successful lesson today! Make sure you tell your parents all about what you learned!”

As the children walked outside, the whole world seemed to be shades of grey.