LIVING WONDERS

My New Short Story! Click the below link to read it.
http://firstblogofrsk.blogspot.in/p/living-wonders.html

CHAPTER 1 PART I

2007-2008

PART 1

            The long Cart-Track Street is the only road I can speed up to forty kilometers per hour and this July morning was no exception. As usual I was late for school. As I drove past a sleepy cyclist, I realized that I missed to greet Lord Ganesh at the first apartments in the right side of the road. He was given a special place in the entrance of the apartments facing the road. It is my silly habit that I greet him every morning when I cycle to school and also during the evening. It’s natural that I got this habit because I have seen my father do it. I am as pious as my father, as calm as my mother and as truthful as my name, Sathya. My mother used to say that, as an infant I never used to cry unnecessarily and would be so quiet that she had doubted my presence sometimes. I did not change. I am still a calm person. But there was a disappointing quality that grew along. Shyness. I don't talk much. I am pretty famous among the teachers in my school because I am silent in class and of course I am good in studies. I don’t have many friends but the few I had are very close to me. Aakash is my closest friend. He is with me for the past two years. I share everything with him. He is tall, very fair and handsome fellow. He talks a lot and sometime makes silly, non-funny jokes. But still, he is more handsome than me.

            I had to dodge a small pit in the middle of the road as I lost track when I greeted Lord Ganesh in the second apartments. I suppose I should re-consider greeting him when I'm cycling. It seems dangerous at times. I should tell my father too. But I'm too frustrated to talk him on general issues because, all he would say is, "You are too young to suggest me what to do and what not to do". I feel pushed down.

            The main road was packed with all kinds of vehicles like bikes, cycles, auto rickshaws, vans, buses, cars. Crossing the road was one big challenge. The long Cart-Track Street ended at the main road making a T-junction. There were neither electronic signals nor a traffic policeman to ease the traffic flow.

            So, one had to cross at his own risk. Since I got used to crossing the junction, it was not a big deal for me. After two kilometer long pedaling I reached IIT Madras. The campus is the best place for education in Chennai. Not because it is in IIT or Indian Institute of Technology, but because of the environment. The campus is in a forest. No other school in Chennai would probably be having a zoo outside their classes (Except Kendriya Vidyalaya which is also in IIT). Deer, monkeys, snakes, mongooses were the common visitors. They are not really harmful (except for the snakes), but with monkeys around, along with the kids, it’s a lot of fun.

            The roads did not have my other schoolmates on cycles because I am late by ten minutes, i.e., half way through the morning assembly. I needed almost ten more minutes to reach school. So I decided to reach after the session was over.

 *****

"School attention! School disperse!” the Head Boy's voice echoed all over the school's premises and students started dispersing according to the class order.

"Aakash! Aakash!", someone called out to me in a whispering tone. The voice seemed to be coming from the front part of the row of boys in which I was standing. The line hadn’t started moving. I peeped over my neighbor’s shoulder and looked at the front. It was Koushik.

"What's up?" I whispered back.

"Where is Sathya? Is he going to be absent today?” Koushik looked totally worried as he asked me.

"I don’t think so. He must be late again." pointing towards the main entrance of the school, where the late-comers are caught.

The line, in which I was standing, started moving finally. We walked past one of the huge banyan trees in the school. When near the main entrance, before turning left to climb a flight of stairs, I found that Sathya was not among the late-comers either. Koushik turned back and looked at me as if telling "he is not there". I shrugged. Koushik was probably worried that he had to take the Physics seminar all by himself which Sathya was supposed to do along with him. I am sure that Sathya had prepared major part of the seminar as Koushik is one of the dullest in the class. Sathya is one of the brightest nerd in the class. But he is also my close friend. Unfortunate to him, I am not as bright as he is. He talks a lot but only to those who talk with him. But since he is nerdy, the cool guys don’t talk with him much, except me of course. He is also an idiot. He never hangs out with his few friends. As soon as the three o' clock bell goes, he is off home in his bicycle and the reason he gives is always the same, "Hey! My dad won't allow me to hang out unnecessarily!" He is such a Father's son. While this was all till last year academic year, this year he seems to be coming out of his 'house', maybe because I push him too much. He has so much to learn. He is so ignorant about social networking too.

Our class teacher came in and the whole noisy class shut down and sat. She called out my name as she opened the attendance register.

"Present ma'am", I said in a cool tone raising my hand up. She continued calling the other names. I was sitting in the first bench of the last row. There were totally six rows. Actually they are columns. But we got used to calling it as rows. Teacher's desk is in front of the second row which was filled with girls.

"Sathya?" Teacher called out.

"Absent!" a few people chorused together looking at the empty place beside me.

"Ma'am, he might come late" I told the teacher who already marked 'A' in the register.

"If he comes ask him to come and meet me in the break", she said staring at me angrily with her sharp eyes. I never liked her. She takes my favorite subject, Chemistry. But now that she teaches it, I don’t listen at all.

She closed the register and moved out in two minutes.

*****

Ten minutes later.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" I said. As soon as I braked near my class entrance. I was sweating profusely because I ran all the way from the cycle parking area to my class in the second floor of the main school block also because I was a little stout. Neither fat nor thin.

"Sathya! Late again… Get in." She smiled and let me in. She continued solving the matrix problem. Everybody's eyes followed me till I took my seat.

"Hello Mr. Truth! When will you ever learn punctuality?" Aakash started teasing me as I set aside my bag and took out my math note.

"When they change my name to Mr. Punctual!" I winked.

"Oh God! Save me from this ass. Your jokes are blunt, Sathya." He spat back as he scribbled in his note whatever was on the board.

"Go to hell" I said. I drank some water and started copying from Aakash's note.

"If you don’t stop telling blunt jokes, you are never going to get a girlfriend."

"I don’t want to fall in love at all…."

"Don’t confuse love with girlfriend, Sathya. It's not the same" Cutting me short.

"Then what is the difference?" I asked looking at him and stopped abruptly. Aakash continued to write and said, "Love is the final stage of a relationship with a girl. First, you befriend the girl you like. Then you make her your girlfriend with your affection and finally maximum affection mutually, becomes love. As simple as that." He said the last few words, swiftly.

"Oh! That's a good way of getting your love! But I still don’t understand this ‘girlfriend’ stuff." I said scratching my head. Aakash sat back properly, looked at me and said, "You have to grow up my dear boy", and started laughing.

"Bloody! Stop laughing!" I stamped his foot but missed it.

He laughed more at my naivety. I turned towards the board and started copying. His laugh faded out slowly and he said, "Don’t get tensed dude! All in the game! And know what?"

"What?" I said plainly.

"Miss. Chubby cheeks was looking at you when you entered… What the…?"

Suddenly my left thigh vibrated. Since Aakash was sitting close, he felt it too. He was shocked and exclaimed. "Dude! You brought your mobile?!"

"Yeah!" I said and took out my basic model mobile out of my left trousers pocket.

The screen read: One New Message.

"Hah! A text message at this time? Who would that be?" Looking suspiciously at me Aakash snatched my mobile.

"Everyone is at school man. Would probably be from Airtel." I declared.

He pressed the 'Open' button and read out the message:

'"Thanks a lot Sathya for your timely help. Really sweet of you J

-          Akshyah "'

"Hey who is that?" He asked, astonished, with his jaw open.

"Oh that girl!...I forgot to tell you Aakash! Something interesting happened yesterday evening and today morning!" I smiled and winked as I said.

                                                                                                            (To be continued..)