Lesson 1

On a fine Saturday afternoon I boarded a transport bus to the city. There are many schools on the way. In these parts the students get a concession on the school days. There were many kids jumping into and out of the bus with unbridled joy and making a lot of noise in the process.

What was the reason behind this raucous show? Is it a special day? What is the meaning behind all the ink splashed on the shirts and faces? And what the hell are these kids doing on a Saturday in the school?

I pondered over multiple permutation and combination. Finally I arrived at the easiest solution. I asked a guy sitting next to me with ink dripping over the eyes, ‘Dude, what is the occasion today?’ He explained with a smile- it was the day of final exam. The ink I saw was the way of saying goodbye to pens at least for some time.

I smiled. I too had been a school kid not so long ago. The irony is that I dreamt growing up to become a professional with money to buy the world. But today I would give anything to get back my childhood.

The last exam would obviously become the low scoring one. It would be difficult to study when the planning for the vacations are being done mentally.

But the days before the exams would be real tense. 3-5 days before the start we would be catching the ‘exam fear’ bug. The subjects were vast and too many essays had to be looked into. So until the last minute efforts will be made to coax out a question or two out of the teachers. Some good teachers would give a small clue a few days before.

We had a strange situation in our batch. The headmaster’s son and a senior teacher’s son studied along with us. Strangely the HM’s son always ended up first and the teacher’s son the second in the class. We spoke in hushed tones behind their backs that there was something fishy. Later the two were put in two classes and both came first in their respective classes.

We didn’t have the guts to question them and revolution is not the solution for 10+ year olds. But we arrived at a conclusion that these guys got a look at the questions before we did.

The senior teacher was a strict, no nonsense type. We were simply afraid of her. One day she animatedly, without any reason, started on her honesty and principles. She gave a long speech on how she would ensure that her son got no privilege because he was her student. He went into the exam like any of us. The speech stirred us. We felt guilty that we doubted her integrity.

But she didn’t realize that her son was too dumb for her. One fine evening we guy were hanging out and discussing all the forbidden topics. And someone asked him casually, ‘Dude, tell us the truth- Don’t you get the questions before we do?’ This was a remark he was supposed to dismiss. But in a weak moment he admitted the truth. His mother may not put the question paper, But she would ensure that she knew the people who do. And a few nights before a phone call would be made. That was a small school and favours would be done in return for the questions. And the asshole would pass as the topper.

This shook us. The naïve, innocent world we lived in came crashing down. We learnt the first lesson as men- Never trust.