Oversmartness Issues

The excitement of a remarkable day was in the air. And it was also clearly etched on every single facet of the students who entered the bus. I and my friend had already found two seats all to ourselves and our bags. Nearly 90% of the weight of our bags was due to the tiffin-boxes our mothers had so overflowingly packed with food.

Our school had arranged a trip to Nehru Planetarium. A month ago, our class had gone wild when the teacher announced this news. But now we were off at last. The kids in the back had started singing offensive rap songs, but I and my friend were busy stuffing the food in our mouths, lest our moms lecture us about ‘nutrition. One hour later we reached, and one by one stepped out of the bus. We kept staring at the place. It was huge.

It was filled with all the things to make me want to stay there. But the both of us were like the ‘adventurous sort’. So, we went everywhere and touched everything the teacher had specifically asked us to stay away from.

Finally, they asked us to roam around but come back at the main entrance at sharp 4 PM. That’s it. All the wild animals (the students) ran around freely (according to whom, freedom is a temporary thing.)

I and my friend went to an ice-cream parlor, after 15 minutes of free-roaming. It was calm in here, unlike the noise level outside, which had now reached skyrockets with the arrival of our school children. We bought many bars and cups. Although it was his business, the ice-cream seller advised us not to eat too many bars. I quickly recognized something… His accent was Malvani. After I asked, he said that he was from the same native place as I was. So we started talking like old pals. We talked about the weather, the history, the politics, you name it. Till we realized something. I glanced at my friend. His eyes, clearly full of horror, looked at mine after checking his watch. “It’s 4:30 PM,” his mouth said. Our school bus had definitely left.

I felt like my adrenaline was overflowing, leaking, filling my entire body. How could we be so foolish? So moronic. So careless... We burst out of the parlor, looking around wildly for any signs of a violent life, the tiniest glimpse of one of our species. No. Everywhere was the crowd of normal Mumbaikars.

Thankfully, the ice cream guy offered to help us by contacting the authority. My friend hesitated, but long-time communication with that guy in my mother tongue had told me that this man could be worth trusting. He contacted the center authority immediately. They contacted our school office, which confirmed that a bus will be sent to pick us up.

They then asked us to wait outside. Hesitantly, we went to the main gate. The sight of two children in school uniform, looking scared, alerted some passers-by. They asked us what had happened. As we were in no position to say “we’re fine, thank you,” we told them what had happened.

Some of them started pampering us by offering sweets and ice cream. We said no. There were all sorts of people over there. Some felt sympathetic. Some went into deep thought. A group of American girls heard our story and went all like, “Oh my god! Are you alright? Do you need help? Are you okay?” Yeah, we were basically fine, I mean what else could I tell them? And then there were those people who did not bother to keep their voice low, as they used us as an example to accuse all the children as ‘careless’.

Thirty challenging minutes later, the bus arrived. The authority knew it, and they gave us clearance to ‘get lost. That meant ‘go sit on the bus’. But when I stepped inside, my worst regret came true… The bus and along with it, all the students and teachers inside, had to come back for us. Once seated, we were bombarded with questions and lectures (please don’t ask me what a tantrum the dramatic kids made).

Even at home, I (and I am sure my friend too) was bombarded with 1 hour's worth of lectures regarding punctuality, time management, and respect for laws. The side effects… My YouTube channel was deleted (what will my subscribers think?), my Minecraft world was deleted (I was working on that build for two years!) and the Disney+ subscription was removed (they knew Loki season 2 was gonna come).

Finally, I learned my mistake and never acted over smart again. But at what cost? The damage was done, and I was scarred for life :(

PLEASE FOLLOW RULES, PEOPLE