While it may seem like a lot, I didn't remember a lot of things from that year. At first, I thought it was because not a lot of special things happened, and I was still a kid. But it's as if I had erased my own memory. There were gaps in my memories. So, I made myself think about it. It was not easy, but I pushed myself to surpass my limits! I did end up remembering somethings and that day, I also learned something important.
Don't push yourself too hard unless you are on a toilet seat.
Remember when I talked about singing in front of the whole class? I did that in 6th grade too. But this time I was not alone. Dirk used to sing with me and others. His group also used to make funny rendition of emotional songs. And everyone else liked them. I was no exemption. I wanted to be a part of their group so, I tried my best to fit in. Not only that, but I was also not a good singer. So, I don't know how I let myself embarrass myself in front of everyone. The songs I used to sing weren't even good.
That year, I had become obsessed with pens. Well, I had been obsessed with them for a long time. Before 5th grade, we were allowed to use only pencils, not pens. But in 6th grade, I started collecting all kinds of pens. It was a weird hobby, but it made me happy. Whenever I used to get money, I would spend it all on pens. The kind of pens I liked the most were fountains pens. I wanted to have every single type of them. My obsession wasn't wrong or bad but sometimes, the ways I used to get pens were not exactly what you call right. It was not my fault that they were expensive, and my classmates could afford them.
Oops… Yep, history does repeat itself. I leave it to your imagination. Weirdly enough, I still have some of those pens. I may never use them ever again, but I can't bring myself to throw them away, the ones I bought myself.
I participated in many competitions that year. Most of them were related to art and crafts. While I was not good at crafts, I was pretty good at drawing, at least for a boy. However, I won a prize in only few competitions. Why? Because I was competing with Leonardos and Picassos i.e., girls. Boys couldn't even begin to compare with girls. The worst of girls was better than most boys. I didn't think it was fair. They were in whole another league. I wanted boys and girls to have competitions separately like they did with sports. Why were girls so good at art and crafts? Was it genetic or something else, no one knew. But they had an unfair advantage. Even in the exam, they used to score the highest marks while boys barely passed.
World is unfair, I learned it pretty early in life.
However, the worst thing happened near the end of 6th grade. It was the month of February and I had to participate in a function. Since I had not participated in the annual function, I was forced to participate in that one. I didn't have any excuse. Well, even if I had one, it wouldn't have changed anything. I was not the type of kid who could stand up to their teachers. In the function, I was supposed to play a role in a skit based on 'happy family' or 'family unity'. It was not a big role. And the worse part was that there were no participation fees. So, even my family agreed to let me participate. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't waiting for someone to die.
However, unfortunately or fortunately, something like that didn't happen. In the end, I had to participate. I went to the school and did what I was supposed to do. My mom and one of my aunts whose son used to go to the same school as I came to see me. It all went well. However, my school had a stupid rule. Even after students were done with their act or play or whatever they were a part of, they were told to wait until the function ended, for nothing! Not even a snack. My school was cheap, literally and metaphorically. If they had given us something, I might have forgiven them. Seriously, they couldn't do even give a little treat to students for all their hard work.
Anyway, kids weren't allowed to leave with their parents. Either parents could wait for the function to end to take their kids home or let the school buses take them after the function or come back again if they left. My mom had already gone home after watching my skit, and she was not going to come back again. Why couldn't she come back again? Because it was a time waste and she had better things to do. Also, I was old enough to go back on my own.
Here's a thing, I used to go to school and back to home from school with my sister and cousins. I had never gone to school or anywhere alone. And lastly, I couldn't take the school bus because I hadn't paid for it. Yep, you had to pay separately to avail 'bus facilities'. My uncle didn't pay for it because it was cheaper to take a public or private bus. So, I was left with no other choice but to go home alone. It was going to be the first time I would travel alone. My cousin and sister had not participated in the function. They were smarter than me in that regard. They were relaxing at home, doing whatever they wanted to while I was at school pondering if there was a meaning to anything and my life which I should have ended... At least, that way I couldn't have participated in that function.
While I was wasting my time preparing for and participating in that function, I could have wasted my time doing nothing. I gained nothing after doing what I hated. Not everything was great about me as a kid.
Most kids took the school bus and those who hadn't paid for it like me had their parents come back to pick them up. Even though my house wasn't that far away from the school, no one came to pick me. I was stupid to expect someone to show up. The only people I was blaming were my uncles and my oldest cousin. Once again, my dad came to my mind. If he had been alive, he would have come to pick me in a minute. But I didn't cry this time.
In a few minutes, everyone left and only I was left standing outside the school waiting for a bus. There was no one like me in the school, not in that situation. And after around half an hour when not a single bug arrived, I started walking. I was embarrassed from standing there like an idiot. Imagine my luck. I had never tried to ride a bus alone and when I did, no bus came. It was as if even buses were avoiding me. While my home wasn't too far away, it wasn't at the distance a 6th grader could cover on his feet. So, after walking for a few minutes, I got tired.
Fortunately, God heard my prayers, and a bus finally came and stopped right besides me. Well, I had to wave like a maniac to make it stop. I boarded it immediately and sat on a sit. That was when I realized the importance of sitting and rest. That was also when I realized how weak I truly was. If that race on the sports day had been a marathon, I would have lost badly. But I told myself that I didn't have low stamina and I was just dehydrated. Whatever helped me sleep at night…
I reached the bus stop near my home in a few minutes and walked back to home which was easy now after resting. I wished I could have stayed on that bus seat longer. At home, my mom and grandmother were waiting for me. From the looks on their face, it was clear that they were worried, extremely worried. I was too late. I had no time to laugh at them. I was glad to be back. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't scared.
They told me that they had called my school and a teacher had told them that I had left. That teacher didn't know that I was still there. I told them about what had happened, and they couldn't believe it. They were speechless because honestly, it was no one's fault. It wasn't like buses were avoiding me intentionally… which wasn't easy to believe! They could do or say nothing to console me. I didn't expect anything from them. I ate lunch because I was too hungry and dropped dead on my bed. I was too tired to even think.
The moment I fell on my bed, I felt like I landed in heaven. My bed turned into a cloud, and I fell asleep almost immediately.
That incident was one of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to me. Fortunately, I didn't share it with anyone in my class. The fact that I walked over a mile because I couldn't find a bus to go to home… I would have ended up drowning myself in my own tears.