Late to school

It was a lazy January morning. The weather was chill and dew was settling on everything in the vicinity. He was awake but he had not risen yet. He covered himself from head to toe in the bed sheet. He peered out from the bed sheet when a parrot chirped its wishes from the nearby Guava tree. There it was, staring at him with its dark eyes and red beaks. What a red! he had not seen anything so red in his life. Not even tomatoes were that red these days!
Sekar, wake up! it is already 7! said the voice from below, it belonged to Shanti the maid!

He hurriedly got up , he was running late! he had to leave for school by 8am if he had to reach the campus by 9. He broke a small twig from the Neem tree and started brushing his teeth quickly as he thought about the school.
He loved school. In fact, he loved everything about the school. The school was a good five kilometers from where he lived. He would cycle to school with Vinod seated in the carrier. He was one of the few people in the Yazhikuppam who cycled to school. He would cross other children who would walk to school and wave to them on his way. They would all wave back and some would even run behind his cycle for some distance before they gave up to catch their breath! It was fun daily playing with the children on his way. Vinod would sometimes pick stones and throw at the girls who would jeer at him.
The school was amidst a paddy field. The bright white walls of the school were complemented by red tiles on the roof! He believed that the white colour made it pure! The class rooms were airy and wind often brought along with it the smell of paddy and the water with it. Even in summer, the winds were cool! Teachers were from the town and they came in bus. They were all very affectionate to him. It was the head master whom he hated. He was always yelling at him for one thing or the other. He understood that the head master did not like to have him around the school.
He did not know all the teacher's names. He knew only Lalitha miss. Lalitha miss taught higher classes and she loved him like her own son. She would share her lunch with him and shower her affection on him. One day she gave him a new set of clothes to wear. He was surprised by her act and asked her.
"Miss what is special today. Is it your birthday?"
She patted him on his cheeks and her eyes turned misty which she hastily wiped with her saree end.
"Miss.." he called out
"mmph... nothing.. its not my birthday dear. Its Arun's. He would have been seven today .. " she said and started crying again.
He did not speak much to her that day. She just hugged him. That day he could not eat his lunch with miss. He was very upset for miss. He cried with her not knowing why. He hugged her back and he cried like there was no tomorrow. His anguish poured out as tears. The anguish he never realized he had deep inside him came out and it found solace in Shanti miss who just hugged him. It almost seemed that she understood his cry while he himself did not.
Later when he thought about it, he told himself that it was perhaps because he loved Lalitha miss like his own mother that her sorrow affected him.

Nothing please him more than learning. Even at lunch he would spend time discussing with Vinod the lessons they taught in his class and debate with him on what he learned before giving him his lunch box and running off to Lalitha miss.

He pulled out the neem stick from his mouth as it hurt him. He then threw the Neem stick with which he was brushing and went straight to his bath! The well was near the banana tree. It was not a big well, but it was deep and he used to shout into the well just to hear it echo. It would almost seem like it was his reflection on the water that shouted back! He let the rope run as the bucket went plummeting down to the depths seeking water.
The water was soothing! He found it surprising that well water was warm in such cold weather and it was cool in peak summer! He felt the water running down his back and then on to his legs as he poured bucket after bucket straight from the well. The bucket had a hole in it and water would pour out from the tiny hole like a shower when the bucket was full. He giggle as he held the bucket on top of his head and immersed himself in the leaky shower! He again found his thoughts wandering.

When he was free he would go around the school, sit near the window listen to the teachers in Vinod's class. Kalai, the maths teacher caught him staring once. But he did not mind. He just instructed him not to make noise and he didn't. He also loved free periods when all the children would come to the play ground and play. He joined any game they played. That's when the head master would yell at him. "Why have free period if children cannot play?", he would be tempted to ask. But he would hold his voice and vacate the place. But that did not stop him. THe next free period he would head straight to the ground again!

He hurriedly finished his bath and changed his dress. The temple loudspeaker from the Ellai amman started belting out the daily dose of relegious songs.
"Sekaaarr.. come here..its already late!" shouted a voice from the kitchen. This time it was amma.
"yes amma, coming.." he shouted as he ran in.
He picked up Vinod's school bag and lunch box and hung it on the cycle.
" Be careful don't drive rash." amma said
" ok amma.." he said
" here eat this and don't run here and there. Wait till the school is over ok?" she told him
"mm.." he said not looking directly into her eye.
"go.. now" she snapped at him
Within minutes he was off to school, Vinod in the back. He reached the school waving to all the children along the way!
He reached the school at 8.45. He let Vinod down, gave him his bags and waved him good bye. He watched Vinod mingle into the crowd of children going to school.
He put the cycle on stand and sat down under his favourite tamarind tree , his hands behind his heads!
He had all day till afternoon when he has to ferry Vinod back home. He closed his eyes and dreamed of the day when he would also go to school, like Vinod.