A Late Story

I dressed myself up in a great red jacket to keep myself warm from this chilly mid-December cold that made me look like Santa Clause without the pot-belly and the snowy facial outgrowths, plugged my earphones, grabbed my bag and gave myself a twenty minute headstart for my one mile solitary walk to tuition.

I had promised myself not to be late this time as I had gained sir’s disapproval by being late by half an hour due to oversleep last time and had even drifted off to sleep in the middle of one of his lectures last month (3 classes ago) to which my sir had snidely remarked, ‘balish niye ashbe er por theke.’.  I shook my head and said to myself, ‘Today I would be the model student-Punctual, Attentive and Responsive(PAR)!’ , then giving myself a mental approval pat, I fixed my eyes to the road which was full of craters, small mountains, puddles, quick mud, human junk-in short-all types that could be expected from a road that is under construction.

I was utterly inconspicuous, walking with my head down in a commendable pace when suddenly a pair of hands grabbed my arms from my left side!

‘Eije Anando!!!!’

I looked up and saw Joyita aunty from my para whose son is my classmate.

“Oh, aunty! Kemon achen? Arko-r sathe onek din dekha hoi ni!’, I said politely.

‘Amra bhaloi achi. Toke bohudin dekhi ni! Kothai jacchis? Tuition e? Koto roga hoye gechis!! Kotodin amader barite jas ni. Ei dekh na Arko portei chaii na aajkal…….’ Started my dear aunty like the Satabdi express without giving me an opportunity to reply.

I quickly released myself from her grasp saying that I was getting late for tuition. And again set my pace and had not gone for two more minutes when I heard someone call my name….again!

‘Anandooodeep’ 

I signed. I have given up correcting my name out of frustration-none will ever get it right!

I smiled mechanically and said to the approaching figure of my class 10 tuition batchmate, ‘Hey Rituparna! Kemon achis?’

‘Ami bhalo achi! Tor selections kirom holo? Amader jaaata marks diyechi teacher-ra!!! Sob bodmash! Janish ki koreche….’, and there she went on-another express- condemning her teachers.

Now I was really getting late!!! I broke up her narration with a hasty goodbye and picked up my speed to cover for my lost time.

But as my fates would have it-If I really am getting late, all things in nature will conspire to make me even more late!

This time, I confronted a small sea! Some pipe must have got broken last night and all the water had overflowed the road- like some typical rainy day mini bonya! And there was a helluva lot of people clustered to get past the puddle with their shoes in their hand and trousers pulled up. I made my way gingerly to the other side, quickly pulled down my jeans and put on my sneakers and literally ran the rest of the way.

I arrived ten minutes late.

Sir surveyed my state of breathlessness upon my arrival and said, ‘Overslept again?’

All the good resolutions had gone to Davy Jones by then, my mind flashed by through all the excuses I could give for my late arrival.

But I said, “Yes sir. I am sorry.’

“Last warning! Don’t do it again.’