June 2006:

I was waiting for it.It seemed to take a long time before my turn for the interview came. I was to be interviewed 4 the admission to my new school, NSN. I had just passed my tenth boards with good marks(I thought they were good). Then my turn came. I went in to be faced with an old lady who,in all probability, was very young at heart as her generous dose of makeup revealed. She introduced herself as the academic supervisor of the institution. She asked me abt my name and my marks(most probably to know my English speaking ability). She then began a small lecture on the various laurels won by the school and at the sametime instructed me to live up to the name of the School. I was then asked about my goals. Frankly speaking I had no idea of what to reply. So I just said a few fancy lines about high aims and all that sort of stuff.

And my interview was just about over when the lady gave me a rude shock. She told me that as I had applied late, I could not be admitted into the French class and would have to pick Tamil as my second language. As soon as I heard that I thought someone just thumped the air out of my lungs. I hated Tamil,not as a language but as a subject I had to study. It was the prime reason for me not having got an A+ grade. I was shocked and left gasping for words. I pleaded with her that I had to study French to improve my grades but the old lady just refused. And that made me reconsider my decision to join the new school.You may have guessed that French was the most important reason for me to join NSN. My siblings consoled me saying that it was ok if I didnt get French but I would get better grades in my other subjects. But I was inconsolable. I just wasnt looking at the fact that I had to study something I didnt like but more than that I had to put up two years of knowing that I was an average student in a subject.UUGHHHH. I made up my mind that I wont. And I told my family I wont be going to the new school. Just then my elder brother told me that my decision did not matter. I was furious. My anger subsided as the days went by(I still had a week b4 my school started). As they say "Time is a great healer". I started praying for a miracle to happen. I would pray night and day before going to bed and after I woke up. And the week just went by......

So I returned to the school for the first day of the academic year 2006-2007. Iwas very apprehensive about the new school. My parents had told me about how to behave in the new school as this one was bigger than my previous school(St.Sebastian's). I jumped off my dad's bike in a light pink shirt and a black pant. Many of the kids just stared at me cos they were mostly wearing the school uniform. I just went in and joined the kids in looking for their classrooms. I found my name in the list of XII D. So I asked for the line belonging to the class and I was shown. I just stood there and waved bye to my Dad. I met a guy by the name of Raj and engaged myself in useless chatter. As I chatted away, the stern voice of a lady came flying over the sea of students asking us to be quiet. So silence fell. For a second that is. A teacher(who I later found out to be my class teacher) was walking along the line saying to each student his second language. I disappointedly waited for her to come near me and say Tamil and plunge me into sadness. She came near me and asked for my name. I gave her mine and to which she replied fainty 'French'. I thought she had mistaken my name for someone else's. So I asked in a higher voice what she just said. This time she replied loudly "FRENCH". I couldnt believe my ears and asked her one more time. This time she irritatedly shouted "FRENCH".

WWWWOOOOWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEE.

My prayers had been answered. I was a French student. YYYIPPPEEEEE. I felt on top of the world. I had got a great school with my favourite subject.