Anya was excited beyond words. She was unable to sit in one place. And it was not because it was her last day of eating a lot of junk sugary stuff. But it was because offline school was RE-OPENING from tomorrow!!!
After 1 and 1/2 years of Online schooling, she will finally walk into the classroom and not just for getting her books or worksheets, but to sit and study with her friends and her new teachers. She was no longer in primary school. Covid lockdown let her complete her 4th grade and now she found herself as a middle schooler...ready to take charge of her offline school routine!
She couldn't wait to pack her newly gifted stationery in her new blue shiny school bag and wear it like a champ on her freshly ironed uniform. Oh it was so exciting!! -
she better not forget combing her hair for 100 strokes that made them shine...
and better not forget her new water bottle....
and better remember to tell Mumma that she wants Maggi on her 1st day for short break...
so many things to remember!!!🙄😁🤨
But will she be able to do everything on time? After all, online-schooling had the advantage of sitting in front of the laptop with Cam-OFF so being completely ready was not always a requirement..
Also classes on the dining table gave the leeway of getting stuff from the next room as & when needed. So there was no rush the night before to arrange everything in order. But now after 1 & 1/2 years, everything was going to change.
Was the excitement mixed with a little anxiety too? A secret voice at the back of her head whispered - Yes!
She quickly shrugged off the anxious feelings and went back to smiling from ear to ear enjoying her last day of online school.
Once the day started to come to an end her preparations reached the top most gear and bedtime became a complete task.. No way she is going to be able to sleep with all the excitement reeling in her head. But if she wants to wake up with her own alarm - she needs to be able to start snoozing just about NOW! And just soon enough the dreams caught her attention and she was fast asleep thinking about tomorrow.
Morning came in Really early for Anya. She almost thought she wasn't able to sleep the whole night in excitement. But now she was debating whether to kick her blanket or snooze just a little more to be fresh the whole day after. Next awake moment was a shocker for her! When she realized her mom was waking her the nth time - it was already 7.20! She wanted to be up and ready by 7.40 so that could catch her bus on time but - OMG - this was a disaster waiting to happen. All her vacation irregular eating and sleeping patterns had completely conked off her sleeping schedule. She should have been ready an hour ago but now she was drowsy from improper sleep.
Kicking her blankets she rushed to get ready, gave herself a quick dry clean and dressed up for the day. Leave alone the 100 strokes there was no time to even tie a neat pony tail. Anya would have asked her mom to help, but she had gone down for a walk. So it was NOW or she was never going to make the 1st day of bus! Oh no..!
She couldn't ask her parents to drop her to school.. Her mind wandering worse than her quick limbs... How could she reach school late on the 1st day of school??!!
She will miss the bus fun - meeting her friends after so long..
She won't have a companion to find her classroom and will be heading there on her own..
Damn! This wasn't happening - but unfortunately it was!! And without delaying now she had to rush & rush more..
Heltering Skeltering she managed to reach the bus stop in front of her society gate. Her mom was impatiently waiting for her at the stop to say good-bye.. As soon as byes were exchanged, she hopped on the bus and realized that her mom made the bus wait just for her. Oh nooo! It's sooo embarrasing. But atleast she wasn't too late - atleast that's what she hoped!
Bus ride was okay.. Instead of having a ride full of laughs and sharing vacation stories Anya was trying to remember if she had packed her tiffins and diary. Her mind was reeling to know if her hair was neat and if she packed her umbrella in case she would need it while heading back home. Finally when she checked off the things mentally and was ready to chat with her bus friends, school was already here. Hopping off the bus wasn't as exciting as she had hoped. Her late morning had ruined her excitement for the day big time. As everything seemed to be a drag now, her enthusiasm for 1st day of school had completely gone for a toss.
Just when she was struggling with these feelings - teary-eyed, she saw her best friend - Ashley, jumping and waving at her. It definitely brought a smile on her face. As Ashley started chatting about how her weekend was, Anya started crying. While sobbing she disclosed to Ashley how her day was ruined and nothing of her plan had worked out so far. Ashley was kind and a great friend. She heard all that Anya was going through and then calmly told her what they had learned while reading their favourite books. Anya kept listening doe eyed.
Ashley explained calmly that she definitely had a tough 1st morning of school and it wasn't fair that Anya couldn't feel excited about her day but it was a mistake and it had to happen. Even Anya knew in her heart that it was nobody's fault but her irregular routine over vacation that made her snooze the extra hour. Ashley further told her that it was done. The beginning didn't go according to plan but the rest of the day can. It doesn't have to go bad because the morning did. After all Anya had reached school on time and still had few minutes left before they had to assemble in their 5th grade classroom. She should pick herself up and recharge by drinking a few sips of cool water.. Anya had the rest of the year to wake up and get ready on time and make up for the lost morning. But it would be kind of difficult to make up for the whole day ahead.. Orientation, Meeting teachers first time in-person, eating lunch in canteen with friends for the very first time, visiting the lab for the first time.... These firsts won't come back again. Tomorrow they will become 2nds. So Anya needed to gather herself and gear up to STOP having a bad day and change it into a better one!
Luckily Anya was a good listener. She not only heard her BFF intently but also acted upon it. Quickly using the restroom she washed away her tears and headed to her class with the same determination of having an awesome day - as she had the previous night. Needless to say the girls chose to sit together and made the whole day count with hellos, hugs, claps, hoorays, cheer and lots of masti. Even though her morning didn't go how she envisioned, the rest of her day went excellent and she wowed that tomorrow will be another day! Tomorrow and every day of the next academic year she will hit the bed on time so this morning won't show its ugly face again - Ever!
