The Lingering Child

It was a usual day with the sun rising and the birds going about their day. Yet, for me, there was a gloomy atmosphere as I held the warm cup of milk and stood near the balcony rails overlooking the park to the left of which a white and green building stood that was familiar to me in many aspects. I could not look at it as I did not have the heart to do so.

Finished with my milk, I let out a sigh and went back inside without looking at the building, though I tried to steal glances yet found that something was stopping me and that is how my day seemed to begin. In the bedroom, I marched up leaving the empty cup on the dining table and went to freshen up. Once done, I came out with a towel wrapped around myself and walked towards the closet, and took out the uniform that I would be wearing for the last time.

Truthfully speaking, I used to have a lot of complaints about it as the plates of the skirt were hard to press and I would usually have to staple safety pins here and there as the height was fine, but the waist size was just so large that if I wore the waist size which would fit me, knee-length would not be met. The shirt was fine, but the black bellies were a headache. Went about the day up and down the school floors to get to respective classes on top of which I would get seven shoe bites every day. Seven, I tell you, Oh! I should call it belly bite, right? The amount of discomfort was one more aspect to be seen.

I still had the hanger in my hand though five minutes had already gone by, thoughts such as “Will I ever wear it again?” roamed my head with nostalgia. Ironic, isn’t it? The uniform I wanted so bad to get rid of grew on me and I could not bear to do so and there you have it. I checked myself in the mirror once again after dressing up for the day and proceeded to the dining area as per my daily routine. Today’s breakfast was pasta as it was the special occasion being celebrated. What was it? you may ask. Well, it was none other than my last day in the school after which I would graduate to become a college fresher. That young child who entered the school gates at the tender age of four was about to step out of it. Time passes by so quickly sometimes right! Though on exam days it feels like forever.

The celebratory mood I did not want to spoil, thereby I went along with it. Was it just me or did the white sauce pasta, I would usually like to eat taste a bit bland today? Never mind, let’s quickly finish as I was going to be late if I did not pick up the pace soon. So, the hustle-bustle started yet again, yours truly shouting from the table to ask where the water bottle was kept, receiving a sluggish answer from my lazy sibling, that it was near the bedside table. Then the not-so-required jog to get the water bottle just to empty it to fill fresh water inside closed the bottle and tossed it in the open bag lying on the couch as I started to scavenge for the white socks. The aim was off the mark and the water bottle landed on the floor with a thud, hopefully, it did not break as I stood frozen in my tracks near the kitchen door and turned my head slowly with a wide grin to my left where my mom was still eating her share of pasta and received a derisively gaze.

Well, I am screwed, the next ten minutes was lecture time after which I went near the couch and placed the bottle back in the bag with a few dry snacks such as nuts, and almonds mixed with sunflower seeds. I then rushed out of the front door and started my venture down the staircase. I live on the third floor of the apartment building, so it was easy to go down the stairs instead of waiting for the lift every now and then.

Reaching the ground floor, I went past the generator and parking lot area to reach the back gate where before even reaching the gate the guard opened the gate so that I could pass by. Such a VIP treatment right, Are you jealous? Moving on, I passed the service lane to find the stray dog blocking my path to enter the park which was my preferred route to go to school Alright, do not fret it’s just a dog. You can do it! come-on and so I went a bit closer and waved my hand in front of me to shoo away the dog. But, in return, I received a taunting expression saying, “is this the best you can do?” and another gaze that clearly said, “weird person”. Ahh!!

Two critical hits I lost and then I decided to go through another route, but it seemed like an uncle also wanted to go to the park and after a stamp, the dog went back inside the park. I gained entry to the park. But seriously!! Was a stamp being all that was required? Life is so unfair, forget about my rumbling and let’s go back to the main story. Shall we?

So, I walked upon the uneven pavement till I reached an open gym where there was a split in the pathway towards the left side and after a few minutes of walk a gate towards the right side from which you turn left then right, then a forward march after which the school gate would be found on the right-hand side. Too many rights, right? Not much was out of the ordinary until my group of friends whom I was waiting for appeared in different outfits such as a frock, suit, jeans with tank tops, and strangely enough a tracksuit. Why? You may ask. Well, we were allowed to wear casuals.

Next, we made our way to the basketball court which for some reason was decorated by our juniors as an amphitheater and before I knew it, I was half dragged, half pushed to one of the seats and besieged by my friends in all directions you can name north, south, east, west, northeast, southwest, etc. You can imagine, right?

So, the hasting of the farewell from our juniors began with music, then dance, musical skit, live painting of the school logo, speeches, self-compositions, and last but not the least, testimonials of our juniors who wished us the best for what we could do and to share the profound impact we all had on them. More than a third of the people there had tear-struck faces. Not due to sadness but happiness as we remembered our days running in the corridors to get to class on time just to get scolded because we ran in the corridors. The debate competition we prepared with our juniors to win in the interschool competition and what not! Overall, it was a spectacular display, and the care with which our juniors prepared the whole program was satisfying and great and all the positive words you could ever think of. But most of all, it was pride and happiness that reached their height on the emotional chart. The program of six hours which felt only like a few minutes. But it all came to an end, still, I did not want to leave yet, just a little more I wanted to stay.

I asked for permission to loiter around a bit as the afterparty would begin in another hour or so. Hence, I went to the quadrangle from where I turned and went towards my fourth-grade classroom. My school was divided into two buildings, one was from nursery to third and another was from fourth grade to twelfth grade. Memories of my first day in fourth grade entered and played in my mind.

How I was excited to enter the senior building, how I was imitated by the seniors due to their height thinking that they were huge giants. Yet, the teachers were quite amiable in my eyes as they tried to make sure that we were comfortable. Then fifth grade, where I found out about the western music room and ventured there, the sixth grade where I had to say goodbye to some of my friends as we chose different languages. Then seventh grade, I really enjoyed the library as a sanctuary from the noisy class during the break time and the 3D lab a new way for me to find interest in studies as it was no longer theory but practical implementation. Then tenth grade where I performed science experiments and many more.

I gazed out of the window sitting on the table as I had a smile on my face replaying those memories I took out that box of nuts I had prepared in advance and began munching still in the classroom after which I made my way towards the mini auditorium. The teachers were just about to start as I reached the third floor of the building and entered the auditorium only to be led to my allotted seat with the help of my friends who had already made a group. Some standing on the chairs for what reason you ask. Good question, I still myself don’t know why.

Moving on, we again sat there and listened to around five more speeches. In between as a breather, a skit and three dances were performed. But I was surprised to see my old Hindi teacher who taught me in fourth class, since I saw ma’am be a strict teacher dance, well consider me colored in surprise. We, students, were then called to the stage one at a time while the refreshments were being served alongside and upon calling of our names, we made our way towards the stage to receive a badge with one quality of ours written such as Akshat was Mr. Diligent. Yet, there were few titles that brought about a few crackles here and there, like Sumit Mr. Troublemaker.

Not to mention that when my name was called, it was right after I put a piece of chocolate cake in my mouth, and I did my best to swallow it up as I made my way to the stage and almost choked on a small piece as I thanked ma’am for the badge stating me to be Miss studious and my friends were enjoying the spectacle, as they knew that I was not what was mentioned on the badge rather the opposite thereby enjoying the irony. Well, all in all, the day turned into late evening as we were dispersed. I stood at the gate as I remembered the nickname grandmother gave me “lingering child” I guess that was true. I am a lingering child. I ask, are you too?