BusKing!!!

SEVEN

Ch 7 [Punishment]

In the morning when I woke up, I saw father wasn't there. When I looked at the clock, I found it was 5 am and then I knew that he must've gone to play his flute or whatever. I got up, washed my face and headed out. The place where father used to play flute was near a park where elderly people used to come for walk and exercises. When I noticed carefully, I saw how happy he looked while playing the instrument. When I first time saw him like that, I wondered if he would be scolded by people for playing so loudly in the early morning but that day for the first time, I realized how others looked happy as well. They were smiling and their gentle gaze seemed to be praising my papa who had his eyes closed. It didn't sound like any type of noise, it was a pure melodious sound which was making me want to go close to him and listen him closely but I went back before him. Because I didn't want him to know that I was aware of that secret of him which he had been hiding from me.

At six, he returned and I acted as if I had just woken up. We got ready and left for school. The whole time in school, I kept thinking about the scene that I encountered in the morning. I was sleepy so I yawned. Just then I got hit on the head. I came back to my senses and raised my head only to find the English teacher gazing at me with mad eyes. She was tall thus looked scary. I didn't want to mess with her so I apologized.

"Pay attention when I speak. You can sleep later." She roared. Others laughed and she roared again, "Shut up, everyone!" The class was quiet in a second. I don't know what was so funny about it but it teared me up in laugh looking at the faces of my classmates. Teacher got offended.

I sighed as I got punishment of standing outside of the class for laughing on the teacher's face. How dare I. I felt so embarrassed. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, god sent another punishment. I saw my father coming towards me from the stairs from afar. Luckily, he didn't see me yet and was reading a magazine. I thought I would sneak away quietly so that he doesn't see me but the very next moment I remembered what he had told me. "Don't lie as long as it's not for the sake of your people." That made me realize that if I hide and the English teacher told him about me, that would hurt him even more. So, I just stood there with my head down waiting for him to approach me and scold if he wished. But that didn't happen. When i raised my head, I saw he wasn't there anymore. Then I realized that on the way, there was the music room. I wondered if he went inside without noticing me. I checked my watch and it was still a half hour left for the period to end. I thought I'd peek inside to see if what I thought was true. When I went towards the music room and took a look inside secretly, I found my father there. 

He was touching the instruments. I could feel the miserable condition he was in. I could definitely not feel the pain as exactly as him but I was trying to imagine that pain of staying away from your passion and even hiding it deep inside your heart. My father's love for music was way more deeper than the ocean. Even at home, when my hands were paralyzed and I used to stay in bed for most of the time, I could hear him watching musical shows on tv. Just when I was reminiscing the memories, I heard a melodious flute being played. It was him. It sounded painful. That made me purse my lips and wonder why he never talked to me about the pain he was hiding. At that moment I realized that I never knew my father as much as I thought I knew about him. That pierced my heart for a moment.

Later, I returned with my father from school and we had lunch together. After that he went to the shop and asked me to prepare the test which he didn't take last time. I had no intention of hiding anything from him again. So, I just decided to tell him about standing outside of the class for a whole period.

"Papa, I want to tell you something." I said. He turned and faced me. "I got scolded by English teacher and got punishment for standing outside." I confessed right away.

For a moment, he stood still and said no word. I was waiting for him to yell at me but he didn't do that. Instead, he just laughed, "I'm amazed. You have learnt to tell even the small things now. I'm impressed, I'd say." He said and patted my shoulder, "I already knew that. Your teacher told me. Let me tell you a secret which she asked me to hide from you. She said that she might've over reacted."

I was surprised by what he just told me. The teacher thought that she over reacted? No way would she. Did father say that to make me feel better? But why would he do that? He never encouraged lying.

"Is that really the truth?" I asked him.

He nodded with a smile and the left leaving me behind all confused. "Why would she feel like that? I don't think she over reacted at all. I deserved that." I shrugged and returned to my room for the preparation of test.

I was done studying maths which was the last thing to do in my time table. After that it was time to play outdoor games but when I checked time on clock, it was already 7 pm. "Everyone must have returned to their homes." I thought. There was a lot of free time in my hands until father returned from shop. I felt tired so I just thought of lying there. The moment I laid down and closed my eyes, all I could remember was my father's face when he was in the music room.

At that time when he was playing a melodious tune and I was watching him from far, someone tapped their fingers on my shoulder. I turned angrily thinking it would be a student but it was actually the English teacher herself. She had caught me.

"What are you doing here? You were supposed to be standing outside the class, weren't you?" She yelled at me.

I didn't want my father to find me secretly watching him, so I ran back to the position where I was supposed to be, "I'm sorry!" I apologized but teacher walked back into our class after telling me to get in too. My punishment was over, she said.