when hijacking a story

We all are guilty of it. You hear a good and diverting story from a friend at some party. Many days hence, in another social gathering with a different set of people, you pass off that story as an incident you experienced yourself. I’ve done it a few time, I admit. Not very often, for my actual real life experiences are generally enough to keep everyone entertained. But on those rare occasions when you think that your friend’s experience will perfectly fit into the context of what is being discussed, you pop in that story; unchanged in most respects except the main protagonist has changed from your friend to you. One such occasion came up recently and I was halfway through my story when I realized that one of the people present had also been present when my friend had narrated the original story. Now, I may not move around in the most brainy circles but I was sure that this friend was gifted enough to put two and two together and call my bluff. My mind raced, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation. At such times, when you most need it, no phone rings, no ones baby cries and you realize that your audience is hanging onto each word with bated breath, goading you with each silent gesture to carry on. Well, to cut a long story short, I couldn’t get out of it and I narrated the story, all the time praying that my friend would have forgotten the original. To give my friend credit, she didn’t comment at all when I finished my story and actually laughed as if she was hearing it for the first time. And then I realized that she probably ‘was’ hearing it for the first time. She’s a smoker, bless her tarred heart and the last time this story was being narrated, she was out in the balcony puffing away at one from her daily quota. That was a narrow escape though and I’ve become wiser now. I look around the room a bit more carefully before narrating a plagiarized story.