Just another day

 

“That lesson was so annoying”, I said, as I put my mechanical pencil down. I was seated on the first bench, in the row by the wall. My notebook in front of me was scribbled with the day’s notes and a rather rough drawing of a girl wearing a skirt (my favorite clothing).

“Yeah right”, sneered a friend seated behind me. “Isn’t that what every topper claims?”                                                            

I groaned disapprovingly. Do people naturally forget that good-scorers are humans too? An ideal topper is one who has a firm grasp of a good portion of his/her stream. They should have knowledge that extended beyond the reach of marks. I, on the other hand, hammer the concepts into my skull so that I may replicate the exact same thing on the answer sheet.

“Anyways”, she continued, “is anybody staying here for the extra classes?’’

The question incited a series of head-shakings from two of my other friends. We are a group of eight, very different yet very antique people. Five of us were seated in the row next to the wall having the windows and three were seated in the middle row.

Our college conducted evening classes for the competitive exams called NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance test) and CET (Common Entrance Test) which focused mainly on the medical and engineering fields. The NEET exam is considered to be one of the toughest medical exams and it lives up to its reputation pretty well. I had witnessed my older sister go through the most hellish studying, staying up late in the night, going through previous papers and what not that by the end of her exam, I had a firm resolution; I do not have the audacity for this exam. I don’t mean to say that I was scared of it or that I was scared of the hype around it, I just did not feel any inclination to join the NEET bandwagon, even when I was able to solve the biology part effortlessly. I had no interest in the fields related to it either.

Anyhow, the faculty in my college hand-picked students who can crack the exam and somehow, I ended up in their list. The day before was a stressful one, since I had received a thorough scolding as to why I was not attending the NEET classes as well as the fact that I had scored the worst possible marks in the second mid-terms. That day, three of my friends were also berated for not being serious in studies. For the sake of this narrative, I shall name them Kasumi, Aki and Haya.

Kasumi was unfortunate enough to receive her side of scoldings despite being the most prompt and punctual girl in our group. Aki and Haya, on the other hand, were told off for not being serious. This led to me, Aki and Haya to attend the class the following day very reluctantly; the three of us unaware that it will be a day worth remembering. Joining us that day was Hana, another good friend.

Fate ended up winding the five of us together for the evening classes and believe me when I say that it was very tiring. Winter was slowly creeping up upon us and as the hour passed by, the temperature dropped and so did my eyelids. The class started from 5:30 pm and continued up to 8:00. It was a hellish period since the students would already be drained from the morning classes and more than half of the class would end up mentally slacking off during the evening classes. We were no exception to this.

The chemistry class was going as smoothly as ever, the lecturer keeping us up on our toes with every line and word from the textbook. The few students who actually paid attention were answering as usual, the sound of textbooks being turned, notes being taken could be heard clearly over the the lecturer’s sermon. A cold breeze circulated inside the classroom as twilight approached, a bluish-purple hue silhouetted by the surrounding trees. The fans were working too and it made the class feel comfortably cool. Clad in our blazers and pants, the weather was ideal for sleeping. Girls in the front were aptly following the lecturer’s words, extra material strewn on their desks.  Meanwhile, I, on the other hand was barely surviving.

I was plagued with sleep. I was struggling for my life as I tried to keep the drowsiness away. I did not like how the lecturer pointed out slackers even though he did that really inconspicuously by pointing the duster at them. I detest the feeling I get when the teacher singles you out for being inattentive in class and the entire student body turns back to have a look at you as if they already did not know you.

I do not want that duster aimed at me, was the thought that raged in my equally drowsy mind. I accidently nodded off once, only to be woken up by sheer terror of being pointed with the duster. Just as my struggle with sleep was becoming desperate I picked up giggling noises from behind me. I turned around discreetly and found Kasumi and Aki hunched over the bench, trembling with laughter as Haya tried her best to look focused on the class. I turned towards the board, wondering what on Earth might they be up to. From the corner of my left eye, I noticed Hana lean back for a few moments and then jerk forward, shaking with suppressed laughter. This is where things started to go downhill.

Hana’s laugh was infectious. Even the corniest, lamest and unethical jokes will seem ten times funnier if Hana were to laugh at it. And I knew very well that if were to listen to whatever joke they cracked , in this crippling class where the lecturer himself does not take a proper drink break , I would be a goner. He will definitely point that duster at me and the elite boys seated at the front row will laugh at me.

BUT I AM BORED AND SLEEPY, I thought as I tried to distract myself by doodling on my notes. I am such a pedantic, over-modest, uncomplacent, introverted, half-witted simpleton that despite being on the edges of a drugged sleep; I still managed to write two pages of that day’s notes. I glanced beside me to check her, but the moment I did, she start giggling again. I realized that they were all the victims of the uncontrollable laughter that happens in a strict lecture.

As I looked at her, I was crippled with the urge to ask her what it was, partly because I wanted to drive off the sleep that was dragging me down. Of course I ended up asking her and the reason was so dumb and non-sensical at the same time that I started to tremor with laughter.

I won’t mention what the joke was but the only thing that mattered then was that even I had finally caught on with the uncontrollable laughter. We were the type to be set off by anything silly and it showed. I had shoved my honor right outside the proverbial window, temporarily stomped my fear of the elite boys and was now shamelessly giggling with my hand covering my mouth.

Anyways, as we were struggling to control ourselves, the elite boys seemed to be distracted too. I was rather coldly surprised by this since they should be listening to the lecture, right? Why must they be distracted by anything in the class? I don’t know why but they always seemed to stroke my ego with their impeccable personality and performance. However, I did not let that negative competition get the better of me and I simply considered them as worthy foemen.

 We had calmed down considerably and were getting back to our usual, boring selves when Hana complained that she was nauseous. Hana travelled a lot and sometimes the jet lag would inevitably show at the wrong times. I nudged her to run for the bathroom. She shook her head resolutely.

…….

HOW CAN SOMEONE BE SO CALM IF THEY ARE ABOUT TO PUKE?!

In order to get her to go, I got up from my seat and motioned her to go. But my dear friend was stuck to the seat and she shook her head again furiously. By the time our short, mimetic conversation was complete, the lecturer had taken notice.

“Is there a problem?” he enquired, looking at us from the rim of his glasses.

I glanced at her, about to open my mouth but she beat me to it.

“Nothing is wrong, sir”, she replied calmly.

I sank down into my seat, feeling the eyes of the entire classroom. The elite boys looked back at me and whispered and I could feel the heat in my cheeks rising with humiliation. However, approximately five minutes later, Hana urged me to move as she was overcome with nausea and bolted out of the classroom.

This minor distraction ended up loosening the concentration of the entire class. For the record, the class had been going on for an extra ten minutes and everyone were exhausted beyond comprehension. The elite boys started to beg politely to the sir to dismiss the class, who actually thought that maybe we were really invested in the lesson for not telling him when the clock struck 8. The class laughingly denied the unfounded conclusion as the lecturer seemed to be in good humour himself. That day, we went home , tired out and weary, but very happy that the day turned out to be fruitful in some ways. I would definitely remember that day for eons to come.