Another glorious morning at my alma mater

I would board the "2nd trip bus" as it was called. I would be welcomed by smiling faces, sounds of laughter and chatter. If I was lucky, I would spot a window seat. I would squeeze my way through to sit down quickly. This luxury was pretty rare as my bus stop would be somewhere in the middle of the bus route: so most of the window seats would be taken unless a group of kids decided to sit together for an uninterrupted converstaion.

I loved the route that the bus took. As soon as it entered unit-6, it would drive through narrow lanes bordered by trees on both sides whose leaves would be wet with morning dew. As the branches tried to get us through the wide windows of the bus, we would be sprayed by the water on them. It was fun!

Then as the bus took the last turn, we would cross a temple. I would pray to the Ganesh idol carved on the wall of the temple and ask Him to give me a great day, where I made no sins and I learnt my best.

As soon as the bus would stop in front of the school, the gates would open, and we would run to our classes. I am still not sure why, as our seats were reserved for a whole year, and would rarely change unless a new student joined or our class teacher decided to do a major seat shuffle.

After leaving my bag at the seat, and hanging the water bottle securely behind the bench, I would set out for a walk with Nilima. For most part, she was my seat partner: we were the tallest girls in our class, and would sit on the last seat for girls. The only sad part was that the shortest guys in the class would be sitting right behind us, as the boys' seating would start there, and till class 7 or 8, these boys would usually be shorter than us. Obviously, they would not be too happy with our heights. But we became good friends later.

Nilima and I would walk along the winding road bordering the playground with the cool morning breeze on our faces. We would discuss about a variety of subjects, starting from Biology discussions to what dessert we had for dinner the night before. If we found a red bug along the way, Nilima would take it in her hand and feel its velvetty touch. She would encourage me to hold them too. I would be a little hesitant to do so, but I did learn to appreciate their feel. We would pass by teachers' quarters, and would greet them with a soft "Good Morning Miss or Sir".

When the morning bell went off for choir, we would rush back. In the session, the students of each class would stand in a line and the class teachers would stand next to their respective lines. Then, we would do the prayers together. If there was any announcement to be made, a senior teacher or principal would let us know. I was in the school choir. We would sing a hymn every morning, usually chosen by Mrs. Acharya. And one of us would read a chapter from the Bible. After saying the prayers in chorus, we would disperse to our respective classes and wait for the bell to go for the first period.