What did I do in school??!!

NOTHING and EVERYTHING.

Nothing that my parents or teachers wanted me to do!!! LOL

Everything I thought I should be doing at school!!! LOL, again.


Here it goes…

… morning assembly at Holy Angels’ Convent. Am half-asleep. Five dosas and two cups of sambar for breakfast do make one sluggish, don’t they?! It was such ‘mass consumption’ that accounted for my ‘all-rounded’ personality during school days. :)

The Pledge was on. We repeat after the voice at the mike, Every Single Day. Yaawwnnn.

And that’s when, all of a sudden, a thunderbolt hit me! A bone of contention in the pledge!
The line: “All Indians are my brothers and sisters.”
My mind voice yelled: “How the heck am I going to get married if all Indians are my brothers??!!” Forget the sisters…who wants them anyway?!
I felt dizzy, pukish, fatigued. All symptoms of pregnancy appeared… even before I could solve the conundrum in hand and obtain a gate pass to wedlock.

After 1 hour of brainstorming during the first period (Chemistry, btw), I cracked it.
Add a clause: “All Indians are my brothers and sisters. EXCEPT ONE.”
Hurray, I solved it! A ‘chaste’ solution, I prided myself.

That said, my conscience now pricks me to confess: considering the innumerable times I’ve fallen in love with the Ajith Kumars, Suryas and Karthees so far…well, I could have at least listened to Ms.M. Even if it’s too late, a realization is a realization nevertheless.

Now, let me move onto some real, Nation-threatening, Earth-shattering concerns: Crows and
Black Sorrow! “Hey, she put black sorrow on me paaa…!”, I screamed and chased my friend (can’t recollect whom) around the school trying to ‘put back the sorrow onto her head’. Am sure the only person elated with our frenzied heroine-villi pursuit was our P.T. teacher, Ms.A. I was finally exercising, ain’t I?!

Patt! Thud! My hammer-hand landed on my friend’s oily head. It’s a relay! She then passes on the sorrow to some unsuspecting soul loitering near the bathrooms. For the sake of ignorant readers: Black sorrow is when you spot a single, big, jet-black crow. The intelligentsia at HAC believed it to bring bad luck upon them. Disaster management cells in our brains go hyperactive to restore peace, especially if it’s an exam day.

EXAMS!!! How can I forget them?! Of course, I eternally failed to remember what I learnt.
But, forgetting an exam itself? No, never. An exam day is a period of ephemeral camaraderie.
The P.T. ground transforms into mushroom patches - a cluster here, a cluster there of girls trying desperately to flank the most brilliant students. They sit so close that it almost becomes infringement of private space…literally on the other person’s laps! Phew! Now, if you thought that the girls made such a dash to gain knowledge from the top scorers, then you are undoubtedly mistaken. The hysterical rush is just to find out: “How much did you learn pa?”,
“Finished memorizing the booka pa?”, “Centum right this time also?” Sigh!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most irrelevant of questions when one is hard-pressed for time! Name it jealousy, envy, yearning…etc, etc…it happens, but it still is the best part of school life, I would say. A kaleidoscope of emotions that exams evoked! Fun, frolic and fear…all go hand in hand with exams.

Ok. Now, exams are over. What next? Results! Hmmmm….I am leaving it out in MCQ. Cos certain things are better when left unsaid. So, that brings us to - Excursion!

Two places in Chennai, which HAC had ‘leased’ for annual visits: Planetarium and Crocodile Bank. Look up at the sky or look down at green monsters: Wah, kya choices hai! The situation was similar to crop rotation: first year P, second year CB, third year P and fourth year, CB once again. This story continued till XI grade. No, wait…XII grade. Hold on…think it’s XI. OMG!!! (Amnesia waiting at my doorstep). Anyway, our first overnight, outstation trip was eventually planned. ENSOIMENT, in a word. Says it all. Colorful days, those were!

Speaking of colors, Assunta (yellow), Hermine (Green), Teresalina (Red) and School (blue)…were the four houses/teams at HAC. It nurtured a sense of belonging in us…so much that we ended up in a verbal one-upmanship: which house is the best? Assunta stood for Sun, Hermine for plants, Teresalina for blood and School equated with water. And Ms.V of 8th grade was the judge for this pattimandram (debate). After hearing the arguments, she reserved judgment…till date!

While staying on the chapter- Silliness at School, I would like to chroncile here other idiosyncrasies too. LOC! Not just an issue between Pakistan and India. But between my benchmate and me too. Take a pointed compass. Darrrrrrrrrrrr. One streak right in the middle of the table. Yes, boundaries were defined: “Idhu en area, ulla varadhe.” If, accidentally, a pencil, or an eraser of my friend’s crossed the line, I go hysterical. B.P. shoots up. Palpitations. Swelling face. I stop paying attention to the teacher. My eyes are all set on the infiltration. Angry whispers: “Your pencil is on my side. Move it right now.” Once she obeys, calm descends.

If you just began to admire my sense of discipline, I urge you to stop right away. For none can outdo me at the following: late attendance promptly filled in, sick leave pages constantly run out, shoes perpetually unpolished…and the list goes on!

Guess, I was ‘possessed’ while in school. Why would n’t I be, going by the number of ghost stories that did the rounds then!!! The skeleton in the Physics lab was invariably the hero. Now, don’t ask me why a ‘hero’ and not a ‘heroine’. I really don’t want to get into Anatomy at this moment.
So, switching back to our hero…he was the son of a wealthy businessman and he committed suicide because of Rich-boy, Poor-girl love failure. OMG!!!

Let me pause for a few seconds…

… am back. I just went to bang my head against the wall…for…err…you know better now!

Thanks to these stories, my nights are still shrouded in terror. Inevitably, even now I don’t and can’t sleep alone. No pun intended. :)

Thus, my friends, whatever the memories, be it joy, happiness, sadness, disappointments…
a school is forever our second home. Cherish it and remember: Towards Charity by Truth.