A story: Days with Romil

It was just another windy day, with very little sunlight streaming in. Romil didn’t seem to care; he was on his way to school. It was first day at school. Again. His father was transferred into Kalimati town t two days back. He was used to constant shifting and moving but off late it was very tiring. He hated saying goodbye to his friends, who he would never see again. He had decided to accept his fate but was none too happy about it.

He always found it tough to introduce himself even though he had lost count of the number of times he was the ‘new boy’ in a school. He was just 15 yet he had moved to more places than he could count on his fingers.

He took a deep breath and entered the classroom. A group of students were busy in their merriment and he decided to ignore them and find the best seat in the class; the last bench, of course. Alas! It was already taken. He sighed and tried to look for an empty seat. There was only one, next to a girl and a boy. He did not bother to talk to them at all, opened his textbook and pretended to read.

Suddenly the loud noise has reduced to murmurs. The teacher has come. He immediately spotted Romil and asked him to introduce himself. He got up and mumbled something and walked back to his seat as fast as possible. The rest of the lecture was a blur. The bell rang and all the desks emptied out. He was the last to leave. He took his tiffin box and slowly made his way to the lunch room. He managed to find an empty spot and sat down with his lunch.

He opened his tiffin eagerly hoping that his dad would have packed something special since it was his first day at school. But his face fell when he saw four slices of jam and bread. He pushed the tiffin away even though his stomach was rumbling with hunger and closed his eyes.

“Hey”, he heard a girl’s voice. He ignored it. “Hey, new boy I am talking to you”, came the voice again. Finally, he could not ignore it anymore and he opened his eyes.

It was the girl who was sitting next to him. “I am Tioni. You are the new boy, Romil right? Come have lunch with us”

“Hi”, he said nervously, “Thanks uhh… but I have already eaten”.

“Oye, I saw you”, said the boy who was also his partner in class. “I hate jam and butter, too. But today my mom made something special and it is enough for the three of us. So let’s share?”

Romil smiled slowly and got up and sat next to them.

“I am Rohan by the way”, the friendly boy said “and I know that you are Romil”

He wasn’t really listening because his eyes were on the food. Aloo ki subji, pooris, a little achar and a bar of chocolate laid in front of him. His mouth was already salivating. They sat down and started eating. Rohan and Tioni were very easy going and Romil soon found himself relaxing.

They asked him a lot of questions and were seriously impressed by the number of places he had been, too. Hah, Rohan thought to himself. It sounds interesting but when you are actually on the move, it is very frustrating. But he decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

They chatted easily and got up reluctantly when the bell rang. He felt very light and happy. He had made two new friends and the day was starting to get better.

They had painting class next and he was really excited to get his hands all messy. He was brimming with new ideas today. The teacher waddled in and walked up to the blackboard. He just wrote one word, scenery and underlined it twice.

Then she flopped down the seat looking bored.

“Hey what is happening”, Romil asked Tioni. “What is this scenery business?”

“He is a lazy old bum. Every time he comes and gives one topic and sleeps off. I love painting but I hate his classes”

Romil made a face and decided to ignore the double underlined word on the black board. He decided to draw whatever he felt like.

When the hour got over, all the students lined up to submit their paintings to the teacher. Mr. Ashok collected the paintings and when it came to Romil’s turn, he frowned.

“What have you drawn my boy?”, he boomed. “I asked for a scenery. Why have you drawn this woman?”

Suddenly Romil did not feel as confident as he was an hour back. He said, “Sir, I felt like drawing….”

Before he could complete his sentence, Mr. Ashok spoke up, “That is a mighty good job my boy. But next time stick to the theme ok?” Saying this he collected the other paintings and walked out.

Romil felt happy that the teacher was not too overbearing and set out for home with a smile on his face. Rohan who was riding his bicycle shouted “See you tomorrow” as did Tioni who set out in the opposite direction.

His first day had gone really well and he felt lighthearted. He would sleep peacefully tonight.

 ...To be cont.