Day 1
For the people who came into our lives for a little while, but stayed in our memories forever.
Today — 17 March 2017
“Good luck, Arjun,” my dad said as he was about to leave.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said, waving goodbye.
I stood in front of the school, or rather, the exam centre, which was outside the town.I could see a big board that read ZP High School. It was the exam centre for almost all the schools in this mandal.I came early, or rather, my father dropped me off early. He was always cautious about timings.I was an hour and a half early, but guess what? Almost half the students had already arrived.The cleaning staff were still cleaning the school when I entered.This school was different from ours. It had a lot of trees and open space. There was a stage, a place for prayer, and fresh air. No noise pollution.I had come here twice before, on National Science Day, February 28. But this year, our school didn’t allow the 10th class students to participate because they thought it would waste our time.
Our school, on the other hand, was like a jail. No trees, just rooms, no playground, and plenty of noise pollution since it was in the middle of town.My dad had joined me in that private school so I could get a better education. He believed that education was the only thing that could provide a good life.All I got out of it was rote memorization. I hate to admit it, but it was the truth. I understood maths only because I was interested in numbers. For everything else, I just kept reading until I remembered it. Maybe they had trained us to be that way.
After entering 10th, my life became miserable. No fun, no playing, always classes, special classes, and even classes on Sundays.The only reason I survived was because of my parents. My problems were nothing compared to what they were doing for me. They were working hard to pay for my school and give me all the comforts they could.Seeing them work so hard for my future, what could I do in return? All I had to do was give my best in my studies.
Everyone said 10th was a turning point.
Finally, I was here.
The first day of my board exams.
Telugu.
I was happy that I was finally getting on with these exams. I had come prepared or rather, I had prepared for an entire year.I was confident that I could get 100 percent.All the thoughts that had kept me going until this point came flooding into my head.
I let out a deep breath and came back to the present.Students from many different schools had gathered there for the board exams. The ground was filled with nervous faces, quiet prayers, and the sound of parents giving their children last-minute advice.I went inside and walked over to the notice board to check my room.Yesterday, I had read my hall ticket number so many times that I thought it would be easier to remember it than check it every time.My room was the second one from the last.I saw a few of my classmates on the way.Everyone was busy revising everything they could.I didn’t talk much with anyone.
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
“Same to you.”
I reached my room and sat outside. I opened my short notes to revise one last time.
These were notes I had prepared for myself short and simple. Mostly important things like author names, poems, and stuff like that.I think the brain works faster and sharper under pressure.I had forty minutes left until ten.I went through the notes I had prepared.A big laugh and some loud talking from behind broke my focus. I turned around to see what was going on.
There were four students from another school standing together, trying to forget their exam fear by laughing and joking around.Among them, she was the loudest.She laughed freely, teasing her friends. Looking at her, I didn’t think she had any exam fear at all.
For a moment, our eyes met.She stopped laughing for a second, looking slightly embarrassed, and looked away.I quickly turned back, pretending to read my notes.But my focus was no longer on them.Her laugh and the expression on her face when she looked embarrassed kept replaying in my head, like one of those scenes they show in movies.
I could still hear them talking.
I dared myself to look again.
I tried to make it look natural, as if I was searching for someone. Slowly, I turned back and shifted my eyes toward her.She looked beautiful.I felt something I had never felt before.Then she noticed me staring at her.
Our eyes met again.
I immediately turned back, and my heart started racing.
A little later, two of the girls left. I guessed their room was somewhere else.
Then she walked toward me.
She stopped in front of me, and my heart skipped a beat.
I looked at her.
“Are you keeping slips?” she asked.
“What? No,” I said.
“You looked suspicious,” she said.
“I don’t have that much courage to keep slips,” I said.
“Oh, really?” she said, laughing a little.
“What school are you from?” I asked.
“I’m from ZPHS High School. What about you?” she asked.
“I’m from Satya Sai High School,” I said.
“Oh, Satya sai. I heard all the students from Satya Sai are nerds,” she said without hesitation.
Well, I couldn’t blame her.Our school was like that. From the last few years our school is on the top list in 10th results.So yeah...
It was a nerd school.
“Yep, you can say that,” I said.
“Well, then I guess you came fully prepared,” she said.
“I did read everything. Not sure how much I’ll remember,” I said, even though I was confident.
“What about you? You seem more relaxed and confident,” I said.
“No, we’re just joking around to lose the stress. I don’t want to stress myself before the exam,” she said.
“Okay. Your room is also this one?” I asked, pointing toward the room.
“Yes. Yours is also this one?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Okay. Good luck.”
“Yeah, good luck to you too,” I said.
She went into the room.The time was almost up. Everyone started going inside their rooms.
“Arjun, your room is also this?” Sagar asked.
He was my classmate and also my rival in maths. He was pretty weak in other subjects, but when it came to maths, he was good maybe even better than me.
“Yes,” I said.
“My room is also this one,” he said.
“Really? Okay.”
We went inside.
The benches were already marked with our roll numbers. There were hardly thirty students in each room.I saw her sitting near the window, her hair gently flowing in the breeze.My seat was to the left of her row.Everyone was talking and helping each other. The room didn’t feel like an exam hall at all. It felt more like a regular classroom.She looked in my direction.
A smile appeared on her face as our eyes met.
“I forgot to ask... what is your name?” I asked.
“Anjali. What’s your name?” she asked.
“Arjun,” I said.
“Nice.”
Both our names started with an “A.”
What a coincidence, I thought.
Then the invigilator came into the room, and everyone went silent.
“If anyone has brought slips for the exam, better throw them out now,” he said, warning us.
“No, sir,” we mumbled.
“If I find anyone cheating, you will be suspended from writing the exams,” he said.
No one replied.
He then handed out the OMR sheets and told us to fill in the details, like our hall ticket number and name, carefully.We finished everything.I looked at Anjali. She was tapping her pen slowly. Now she seemed nervous.Some students were quietly praying for an easy paper.Then we received the question paper exactly at ten.After getting the paper, I quickly went through all the questions.
Not bad.But there were a few questions I hadn’t expected.Before starting, I looked around to see how everyone else was doing.A few had already started writing, while others were still stuck reading the question paper.I noticed Anjali looking at me. She gave me a thumbs-up, and I gave her one back without the invigilator noticing.
I wrote the answers in the same order as the questions so the person correcting the paper wouldn’t have to search for the sequence. I mentioned the question numbers clearly and tried to maintain my handwriting, but it wasn’t that good by the end. As time passed, I kept increasing my writing speed.For a few answers, I elaborated unnecessarily because I felt the answers were too short for the marks they carried.
We had thirty minutes left, and the bit paper would come in a few minutes.I still had one more question to answer.I lifted my head to ease my neck and rotated my wrist to loosen the pain from writing continuously.Anjali had finished her answers. I guessed she was sitting idle and waiting for the bit paper.I got back to writing my final answer.The bit paper came, and the invigilator distributed it to everyone. A few students were still writing the main paper, while others had started completing the bit paper.The bit paper was easy since they were multiple-choice questions.
“Last fifteen minutes,” the invigilator announced, alerting the writing warriors who were still stuck on the main paper.I finished my main paper and moved on to the bit paper. I read through it once and kept going.There were five questions I didn’t know the answers to.I read them again, as if somehow I might remember something.A few students had already left the exam as the time was running out. Anjali had also left.I decided to trust my gut and answered them.As I was checking everything one last time before submitting, I heard a whisper from a row ahead.
“Arjun.”
It was Sagar.
He started making signs to ask for help with the MCQ paper.
I signed with my fingers one finger for the first option, two fingers for the second, and so on.
Then the invigilator noticed us and immediately warned us not to do anything.
“Hey, you. What are you doing? Have you finished writing?” The invigilator asked me.
“Yes,” I said.
“Then submit your paper and go,” the invigilator said.
I had no choice.
I submitted my paper and left.
There were still five minutes left.I didn’t help Sagar with three questions. I guessed he would figure them out himself.When I came outside, I saw a few of my friends. We formed a group and started discussing how the paper went. I tried to ask about the questions I had blindly answered.Charan told me I had answered three of them wrong.Knowingly, I had lost one and a half marks.
I felt disappointed.
Then Sagar came to me.
“Thanks, Arjun. Now I feel confident,” he said.
“It’s okay, Sagar,” I said.
“How was the main paper? Easy?” he asked.
“Not easy, but good. What about you?” I said.
“I’ll pass,” he said confidently with a smile.
As we were about to leave, I saw Anjali at the school gate. She was talking and laughing with another girl.I wasn’t sure whether I should go and ask how she did.I wished she would notice me and come talk to me.But she didn’t notice me.
“What’s the matter, Arjun?” Sagar asked.
“Nothing,” I said.
“No. I saw you guys talking in the exam hall and outside,” he said.
“You guys know each other?” he asked.
“No, we just met this morning,” I said.
“Come on, man. Don’t be afraid to talk. I’ll be with you. Just go,” he said.
“No, we can leave,” I said, trying to walk out.
He stopped me.
“Don’t be like that. Just go,” he said.
I decided to try.
We walked toward her.
She noticed me even before I could say anything.
“Arjun, how did you write the exam?” she asked.
“Fine. What about you?” I asked.
“Good,” she said.
“I saw you writing non-stop. You’ll get 100, don’t worry,” she said.
I told her about the bit paper.
“Then you’ll get 98. Don’t worry,” she said, trying to tease me.
I liked how funny she was and how she seemed to have no care in the world.Then there was me,who worried and was afraid of almost everything.She introduced her friend, and I introduced Sagar.Then we went our separate ways.We were back at school after lunch, and it was time for our study hours.We had to study until 5:30. The next exam was Telugu Paper 2.
“You like that girl?” Sagar asked, sitting next to me.
“Who?” I asked, even though I knew exactly who he was referring to.
“Anjali. The exam-centre girl,” he said.
“No,” I said.
“Come on, man. I know,” he said.
I wasn’t even sure about the feeling I was having.I felt like talking to her.I wanted to see her again.
“I don’t know,” I said.
Before he could say anything, I added, “I want to study. Can we talk about this later?”
“Okay,” he said.
I got back to my book.
But I had already lost my focus for the day.Thoughts kept flooding my mind.What should I have talked to her about?What should I say when we meet again?
I didn’t think much when I first saw her at the exam centre. But now, every little moment kept playing in my mind.
The way she laughed.
The way she looked at me.
The way she teased me.
And now, somehow, I kept thinking she was beautiful.I didn’t even know how to describe what I was feeling.I was still struggling to bring my mind back to my studies.
“Arjun, are you daydreaming?”
Bhanu, our Telugu teacher, tapped me on the back with a stick.
That brought me back to my senses.
“No, sir,” I said.
I got back to studying.Eventually, the study hour was over.I went home and studied until 10:30.
My dad had already set the alarm for five in the morning.When I finally lay down, I didn’t feel the usual stress or exam tension.Instead, there was only one thing on my mind.What would I talk to her about tomorrow?I closed my eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep, still lost in thoughts of her.
