middleschool

Letter Z: Zest (AtoZ2019)

/ Paromita Goswami / 1 Comment
I am doing #atozchallenge2019 on my blog. Everyday in the month of April In will be doing the letters from AtoZ with the with small scenes from my WIP The Sibling Saga. Hope you enjoy with Misry and her sister Moon.

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“Ma are we going somewhere? Why are you packing our things?” Misry asked after returning from school.

“Yes dear. We are moving to Assam in a week’s time. Your daddy has now been posted there,” informed Madhavi.

“Are Honey and Boney too coming along? I mean has uncle been posted there too?” Misry was concerned.

“Nope dear. It’s your father’s promotion posting.”

“Wow! Daddy has been promoted! So now he can stay at home with us, right?”

“I wish so dear but I don’t know. You should ask Daddy.”

“Where is he?”

“He shall be back from office in an hour or so.”

“Okay. I shall ask him then.”

Anurag came home at lunch and was very touched by Misry’s question. He knew his family missed him very much but then he knew he can’t do anything about it.

“Yes dear we are leaving by Monday. And hopefully we are going to stay together this time,” replied Anurag to his curious daughters.

A farewell party was organized for them in the Officers Mess. All the officers’ families in the campus came to congratulate Anurag. The officers also made him sit on a chair and carried him out of the hall on their shoulder singing the famous song-

For he’s a jolly good fellow, for he’s a jolly good fellow

For he’s a jolly good fellow (pause), and so say all of us

And so say all of us, and so say all of us

For he’s a jolly good fellow, for he’s a jolly good fellow

For he’s a jolly good fellow (pause), and so say all of us!

 

It was a ritual they always did for the parting officer.

Moon and Misry along with the other children followed the men singing the song behind. They were too small to understand what was going on. But their excitement never died down. A new place, new friends, new school had always excited them. And they were more excited when they came to know that Anurag was going to take charge in Kaziranga, the famous national park home to one horned rhino.

However, at heart she knew she would be missing her besties Honey and Boney. Honey was in tears to part with his best friend.

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And with this we have come to an end of the AtoZ2019 challenge.

This is time to thank you all. Without your presence and followups my challenge would not have been complete. It was also very wonderful to read your blogs. Variety is the spice of life. Glad to have found you guys. Thanks.

 

 

Letter Y: Yours Only (AtoZ2019)

/ Paromita Goswami / 1 Comment
I am doing #atozchallenge2019 on my blog. Everyday in the month of April In will be doing the letters from AtoZ with the with small scenes from my WIP The Sibling Saga. Hope you enjoy with Misry and her sister Moon.

 

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Moon as an infant

 

“Moon come on it is time to go home!”

“Just a bit more Di. I am enjoying the swing,” replied Moon from the swing.

Misry waited for her sister for some time. The hands of the clock ticked away but Moon was enjoying herself. In the end, Misry was angry with her little sister. She left her alone in the playground and came back home.

At home she refreshed up and waited for her evening snacks.

“Where is Moon?” Madhavi asked bring in the snacks tray along with a glass of warm milk.

“She is playing in the swing. I called her several times but she doesn’t want to come home,” answered Misry.

“What? And you left her there?” Madhavi was shocked.

“What could I do? I was hungry.”

“But Misry, didn’t you take her along saying you will take care of her?”

“Yeah Ma I did. But she isn’t listening to me. What do I do?”

“Okay. You have your snacks then. I will go and get her.”

Misry licked the cream out of the biscuit quietly. She didn’t want to think of her younger sister. However, there was something going on at the back of her mind. She was feeling restless.

Madhavi returned with Moon after a short while. Moon was crying. Her knee was bruised and blood was oozing out of the wound. Madhavi quickly made her sit in one of the dining chairs and rushed inside to get the first aid.

Misry’s heart churned looking at Moon. She quickly came to see her sister. “What happened? How did you fall down?”

In between her sobs Moon said, “Gautam pushed me off the swing.”

Gautam was one of their neighbor’s son who was a very naughty child and of Misry’s age.

“Why?”

“He wanted the swing.”

Misry’s heart filled with revenge for her sister hearing that but one look at her sister’s face reminded her that it was her mistake. Had she not left her sister alone in the playground Gautam would never have dared to do this? Revenge was immediately replaced by remorse and Misry hugged her little sister. “Nobody can harm you henceforth, you are my responsibility now,” she said.

Moon stopped crying hearing it. She had no reasons to fear anyone now for her big sister was at her side.

Letter U: UuLala (AtoZ2019)

/ Paromita Goswami / 1 Comment
I am doing #atozchallenge2019 on my blog. Everyday in the month of April In will be doing the letters from AtoZ with the with small scenes from my WIP The Sibling Saga. Hope you enjoy with Misry and her sister Moon.

 

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Rita, Moon’s friend

 

“And then it flew off the window, there,” said Moon turning her head towards the window so that her braids tap her cheeks. “And then the big dog jumped over the gate to gasp the birdie,” she continued slightly tilting of her head so that one of her braids touched her arms.

Moon continued her story session with her friends while her braids irresistibly followed the way she titled her head on either side. In a way Moon was enjoying her new hair style and it was not hidden from her friends either.

“You look lovely, Moon,” said Rita.

“I know,” answered Moon smiling.

Rita and a couple of more students were waiting for their private vehicle to fetch them from school and Moon stayed back with them at her own free will.

When Madhavi entered the reception area of the school she was relieved to see Moon sitting there. Quickly she went to her.

Moon was very happy to see her mother. “Ma you came to take me home? Here meet my best friend Rita,” saying Moon introduced her friends one by one.

“Hello Aunty!” said Rita.

“Hello dear,” replied Madhavi patting the girl. Then she turned to Moon, “And why are you still here? Why didn’t you board the bus?”

“I was waiting for Rita’s mother?”

“and why would you do that?”

“Because Rita loved my hair style.”

“So?” Madhavi was surprised.

Rita jumped in to explain. “Aunty I loved Moon’s hair style. So I wanted mommy to see it so that she could do my hair too. Hence we are waiting for her.”

When Madhavi heard it she didn’t know what to say to the girls. How can they be so fashion conscious at this age? “Alright we shall wait then,” said Madhavi sitting down with them.

Letter Q: Quirky Solution (AtoZ2019)

/ Paromita Goswami / 1 Comment
I am doing #atozchallenge2019 on my blog. Everyday in the month of April In will be doing the letters from AtoZ with the with small scenes from my WIP The Sibling Saga. Hope you enjoy with Misry and her sister Moon.

 

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Moon was growing very empathetic towards her classmates. Shantanu wanted to eat the boiled egg in his tiffin while Priya wanted to go home, Heena wanted to go shopping. But how?

She earnest looked at the beaten faces of her classmates and thought of the solution. It was just because of the goddamn school bell. Hmm… thats it. It’s the bell. I need to do something about it. But what?

Moon sat down quietly only to think of some other idea. In a few minutes she got up  and asked, “I want to go to the washroom.”

Mrs. Jolly asked the aaya and she escorted Moon to the wash room. On the way Moon saw the solution to everyone’s problem, the bell. It was a big gong hanging outside from one of the poles of the varandah of their school near the staff room.  There was a mallet too hanging from a nail on the wall in the varendah. All she had to do was ring the bell and everyone can go home or eat their tiffin. But the problem was its height. It was difficult for moon to reach it. So she needed assistance in the crime.

Who better than Rohit? He is tall and competent too.

She walked back to her classroom and shared her intentions with Rohit. Naugty as he was, his eyes sparkled at the thought of it.

“Good idea! But I can’t do it alone.”

He roped in his cousin Shyam, the shy guy of their class and together the trio went off to execute the plan. It wasn’t easy. But they didn’t back off.

First Rohit went out of the class and then Shyam followed. The excuse was wash room of course. Moon too followed them saying she had dropped her hair clip in the wash room and need to trace it back.

Mrs. Jolly who was already facing a hard time with the kids didn’t bother much and allowed them with the aaya again. The boys and girls washroom was adjacent and the aaya waited for the kids outside the washroom area.

Another aaya brought another bunch of kids from another section to the washroom area and the two ladies engaged in small chit chat while kids the finished their business in their respective washrooms.

Moon and her new friends took the brilliant opportunity and escaped unseen from the washroom. They headed straight for the gong. Rohit made a plan. With Shaym he was complete. Moon and Shyam held him up in their arms while he grasped the pole and hit the mallet on the gong several times before running off to their class. Hearing the bell the kids rushed out of their classes with their bags screaming “Chutti  chutti ” and nobody dared to stop them. That day the school was over half an hour early.

 

Letter O : Off to School (AtoZ2019)

/ Paromita Goswami / 1 Comment
I am doing #atozchallenge2019 on my blog. Everyday in the month of April In will be doing the letters from AtoZ with the with small scenes from my WIP The Sibling Saga. Hope you enjoy with Misry and her sister Moon.happy-birthday-tricycle-pandaoriginals-original-imafbbfxbxxbv7tu

Madhavi was confused. She didn’t know how to solve Moon’s problem. The child wanted to go to school yet was not going because there was no school bus service. The play school was just two blocks away from their house at a walking distance and only for campus families, so most of the kids walked to the school with the aaya.

“You carry on,” said Madhavi to the aaya ,”Let me see what can I do for her.”

The lady turned to Moon for confirming the same. She had seen the children tantrum while going to school but she had never come across this tantrum till now. One part of her wanted to laugh out loud and another wanted to maintain her composure since it was a serious matter for the child. She didn’t know how to cajole the kid to school?

“Should I go back then, Didimoni?” she asked Moon.

Moon didn’t answer but hugged her mother tight, her sobs very much audible in the room.

Madhavi tried her to shush but to no success. Her maternal instinct got into work in no time. If my kid wants to go to school in a school bus so be it. I shall bring it for her. Her neurons worked out till it found the solution. And she declared with pride.

“Aya di please wait. Moon is going to school today. Come on kid. Let’s get your damn vehicle to school.” She distanced herself from Moon and walked inside.

Moon looked at her mother in amazement. She knew Ma could do miracles. But what now? As the clock hands ticked away every one standing in the hall looked with anticipation towards the door Madhahvi had gone inside.

And a few minutes later, Madhavi came out dragging Moon’s tricycle behind. “Here get into it and go to school.” She declared pushing the small kid cycle in between her and Moon.

Moon was astonished. She calculated in her small brain – school bus is not happening anytime in this school so it was better to take the opportunity of the tricycle to go to school instead. She quickly wiped her eyes dry and gave an ear to ear grin to her mother. Then jumped into her tricycle and rode out of the door.

“Here take the umbrella please. It’s very sunny outside,” said Madhavi to the aaya.

The lady took it and followed Moon out of the house.

“Bye Bye Ma.”

“Bye Bye Shona.” Madhavi waited by the window to see her daughter ride the tricycle to her school.

In a short while they appeared out of the parking and it was a sight to remember. Just like a Maharaja, Moon was in her tricycle and the lady held the umbrella behind on top of her head to shade Moon from the sun. Madhavi smiled. Moon was a step ahead of Misry in terms of tantrums.