Gone are those times when bunking classes was a huge deal, becoming the monitor of the class was something to take pride in, being the teacher’s pet was considered as an opportunity, chasing after friends for food in their Tiffin was a job to do, getting irritated when someone grabbed our usual luncheon spot, getting a pâté as a birthday treat was more than enough, and exams were something to be afraid of.
Gone are the days, when we used to practice for hours on end in the music room for the upcoming assembly, where we pulled each other’s legs for no reason at all and shut up as soon as the principal entered for fear of being heard, bunking class no matter what way, even if it meant spending 35 minutes in the bathroom, playing truth and dare, talking about sex as if was dirty, and when paying attention even while playing around in the class came naturally.
Practicing for hours for the inter-house dramas, visiting every class to collect names of participants for athletic events, juniors begging for their names to be put in an event because they too wanted to run, where stage fright was dreadful and even worse when you froze on stage, people who made fun if you talked to a member of the opposite gender, staring at the teachers as if they were aliens if we saw them in a departmental store or a mall, and so so so much more which is never to be seen again.
Gone are the times, when we took school for granted. Gone are the times when we knew we had to meet each other the next morning. Gone are the times when everyone was dressed in uniforms, so there was no question of deciding every morning what was to be worn that day. Gone are the moral science and the EVS classes. Gone are the chemistry lab experiments. Gone are the skeletons in the biology labs. Gone is the time.
All that is seen now, is exams on the head, assignments to be handed in, living with roommates, working nights out to complete the course, getting up groggy and going to class, going to the mess in night clothes to eat food and dumping yourself down anywhere, finishing the dreadful meal and going back to sleep.
Now we only miss ‘Those Days’ when we were little and dreamt of growing up. We miss those days, the tiny fights, and the little incidents. We never thought they would be half as important to us ever in future. The play practices, the volleyball matches, the sports day parade, the school fete. It all vanished in a jiffy and we never found out.
And now we only cry and long to have those moments back. We wish that there was just 1 more day, to stand height wise in the assembly line, and say the prayer with one eye open once again, sing the school song once again, have our not too polished shoes checked once again, and fiddle around with our diaries during the assembly once again….
Just one more day, where we could live and cherish what we long for now…. Today…. And will for the rest of our lives…
