She groaned and turned over as she heard the shrill alarm beep, as she always did. She switched off the alarm clock and went back to sleep. About half an hour later, she woke a start, as she always did. It was 7:30…she had to be in school in half an hour…like always, she was going to be late. She had a quick shower and put on her white blouse and white skirt, school blouse, and for the first time in 12 years, made sure her uniform was on right. She was pulling on her socks when her neighbor and good friend Vineesha walked in. She was used to the glare Vinee gave her every morning…followed by the shrill scolding and threat. Sure enough, this morning too – “Late! Every morning, woman!! Tomorrow, I’m leaving you behind and going to school!”. But in 12 years, Vinee had never left her behind. Then Vinee realized…they weren’t going to school the next day.
It was the last day of school, and with Vinee harping about how late they were, she trudged her way to the familiar pink building she thought she’d never miss. After all, she’d spent the worst years of her life there. But then, as she greeted the gatekeeper: “Good Morning, Lala” and he smiled warmly, she realized that she’d also spent the best years of her life in there. She entered the building and made her way to the auditorium, where they were to have the big Graduation Ceremony. She heard the teacher yell, “You are all taking much too long to learn this! Are you stupid? This class is…” She smiled as the teacher was cut off by a shriek of laughter. She’d miss everything!
She took her place in the long line of students, next to her best friend, Tanvi. Vinee stood in front of them, along with Naqi, Urvi and Prajaktha. Grinning, as Auld Lang Sine played in the background, she walked towards the stage, the two of them humming under their breath. They stifled a laugh as they watched the long line snake towards stage. Each student looked as if she was dragging herself along on one foot, this always amused them. The line was long, and she knew it would be a while before she reached stage, so she let her mind wander....
On her first day at school, she vomited because she learned that each period lasted for half an hour. Couldn’t stop crying…She gazed in awe at the older students…When she was an older student herself, she gazed in awe at the younger ones…she didn’t remember being that short... She and her mates were hiding in the toilets, till the school supervisor found them there…she remembered all the absurd punishments…Counting the number of crows in the sky accurately…She recalled all the hours spent at the principal’s office…The times they were found standing on the chairs, yelling songs while a few others formed a little mosh pit at the bottom…The times they led the whole class down to the Office protesting against inconsequential things…She remembered how her mates and she were labeled Rebels for this …inspite of this, being elected to the student council…hours spent in the Art Room designing backdrops for shows…paint fights…cat fights…writing scripts…directing plays…playing soccer…
She jerked back to real life…She saw Aditi, her other best friend, smiling at her from on stage. Binu, Vangi and Karu all stood near her. Typically, Vangi looked as if all she wanted to do was get her hands on the silver and go home. She wouldn’t miss school…but she would be missed! Aditi was already crying, and Binu and Karu were laughing. Nuzha looked hungry, and little Neha was peering over the sea of tall heads at her. Monika looked sleepy.
Taking her place at the foot of the stage, she looked at all her friends, surprised that she’d predicted how each of them would react with such accuracy. The Principal announced… “The S.S.C. batch of 2005-2006 will now receive these silver rings as a memoir from the school. Fr. Reuben, please bless these rings.” The long line of students meandered onto stage, and in time with the Auld Lang Sine, each girl solemnly walked upto the Principal. Girls chuckled as Anahita tripped, she was always the clumsy one, but very much adored and protected by the rest of them. She waited. When it was her turn, she held back tears as she felt the cold, hard, shining piece of metal slip onto her finger. Everyone then prayed…and they sang….they sang to the school, and all the friends they were leaving behind: “When you are with me…I’m free…I’m careless…I believe…” She sang the loudest, but she never thought she would…She looked around…All “The Rebels” had tears in their eyes…they were all singing loudly…
When the ceremony was over, she knew this would haunt her. She dived into the jostling crowd of girls and joined them in their adolescent lament. They weeped, but they smiled through their tears. This was bittersweet. They knew not whether to see this as an end, or a beginning. They held hands, and embraced each other, knowing full well that most would not meet each other again. They hugged the teachers, whom they’d hated with a passion, only to find that they were crying on their shoulders. And she saw the teachers, who’d hated them with a passion, wiping their tears. Shaking her head and smiling, she remembered the words she’d uttered at the beginning of the year… “ I won’t cry at the Silver Ring Ceremony…I hate this place” She wasn’t angry with herself for this contradiction…she felt more…grown up.
An hour later, everyone had left. She sat with her friends in the empty auditorium, reminiscing. Tattered streamers hung on the familiar walls. Shoe could hear the familiar hum of the ceiling fans. They were laughing, they remembered their old Science teacher who’d told them that “Over excretion causes cramps in the legs”. A song played in the background, reverberating in the room: “I’ve got a long, long way to go before I can say goodbye to you…I’ve got a long, long way to go before I can so goodbye to all I ever knew...to you..” They returned home well after dark.
She sat quietly by her window, listening to the monotonous hum of the ceiling fan. She gazed out of the window. It was dark. Her eyes hungrily scanned the scene in front of her: the football field to her left, the stock exchange building, the cathedral to her right, the tennis courts straight ahead. Her eyes lingered on the pink building straight ahead, partially hidden by the silhouette of a tree. She stared at the sparkling sliver in the sky for a while, and then averted her gaze. Lowering her head, she held her hand out at arm’s length and twiddled her fingers slowly. Sighing softly, she looked up again at the pink building, holding her hand up against it. She wanted to put the building out of sight, but holding her hand up only revealed a sparkling silver ring. The building was concealed, but the ring, which had the most important of all her memories engraved on it, remained in plain view.
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Submission Name: Silver Ring
