The Station Leave

Hello Mr. Perfectly Fine

February 21st, 2010

"ANUUUUU" I heard a shrieking voice through the crowd. I could spot Tia frantically waving her hands and gesturing me to come down. I was currently stuck with Mrs. Padma and principal sir who were praising my speech skills.

"...and I'm telling you sir, Anindita is one delight of a student to have. Not only is her spoken English so fluent but she has a great vocabulary. Her essays and assignments never fail to impress me." Said the oh-so-proud looking Mrs. Padma. He must be praising her for suggesting me to be the MC for today's event.

"Yes ma'am, your choice is fantastic. Ms. Roy I'm impressed by the way you conducted today's ceremony. I'm looking forward to seeing more of you behind the mic" principal sir said petting my shoulder. It wasn't the first time I was praised for my speech or my interest in English language. I can't deny that I absolutely love every bit of it. But I wish it were the same with the other subjects as well. Chemistry sucks the soul out of my body.

"Oh she will! I will make sure she does." Mrs. Padma said.

No, I won't.

Tia had now pushed through the crowd and was now standing at the edge of the stage giving me the death glare. I should hurry up.

"Thank you sir. Um, if you excuse me, I need to be somewhere else right now." I said to both of them.

"Oh right, to bid your sister goodbye?"

Well no. Not really.

"Yes ma'am " I lied.

As soon as I was able to get down from the stage, Tia clawed my hand and started dragging me towards the hall exit.

"I'm on my periods! I could've stayed at home doing absolutely nothing and just eating all day but here I am, all so that you can have some emotional support. Bitch you better not let me down today!" Her words went inside my head but couldn't make it to my brain. Right now my head is completely fogged with what I'm going to do next and how I'm going to do it.

We walked out where all the buses were waiting. A huge swarm of freshly graduated students were standing there, greeting each other, signing each other's shirts, wishing each other good luck for their futures. This is going to be us in a year.

Tia grabbed the side of my face bringing my attention back to her.

"Anu focus!" She said looking me straight into the eyes. "It's now or nothing. Three years of hiding behind the shelves in the library, doing endless FLAMES, staying up late imagining fake scenarios, always taking the long route to pass from in front of his class and giving him endless code names. All of it has come down to this day" she said, squeezing my face between her palms. I wonder if she ever considered Motivational Speaker for one of her career options.

"See there," she said. Immediately my eyes darted towards a group of seniors standing next to a parked bus.

There he was. With one arm slinged over one of his friends and the other arm holding a basketball. His shirt was out of the neat tuck it was in in the morning, tie was loose and id card was probably inside his bag. His hair crossed the nape of his neck and was reaching his collar. Even though he had sliced his hair back, a few strands had managed to hang from his forehead which added to the sight. A pair of thin framed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, complimenting his serious demeanour. The hand of his glasses were turquoise blue in colour, the same one as his bag. And that smile. That damn smile.

"Eyes on the prize," Tia said. "Today is the last chance we have. After that you can cry or be heartbroken all you want but that won't help anyone. Remember how you stayed up all night preparing for this moment."