The Sun Settles on the Horizon (Part 1)

14 years of schooling came to a climax, quicker than I had ever imagined/hoped. The venue of so many past adventures, embarassments, and learning experiences, faded away for a final time! A school where I've spent 7 years, the better half of my as yet fledgeling life, closed its doors to me! It was an emotional day, an emotional week-----one that will be remembered for what it was, and what I felt (as I'm sure others would have too) it ought to have been.

The final week has been a chaotic affair. Record submissions, revisions and the threat of exams loomed large, yet distracting ourselves with the thought of our final week was easy enough. Try as they might, our teachers found it frustratingly difficult to draw and sustain our attention.....yet, without doubt, would have faced similar situations with previous batches. With emotions running so high, it was always going to be hard to pay any heed at all to the drudgery of revisions. Not surprisingly, most of our time in class was whiled away filling in slam books, chatting up a storm with the friends we would meet only on rare ocassions afterwards, and reminiscing in the glory of past memories! Nothing felt more appropriate than cherishing each moment that passed and recognizing its significance.

Though I wish I could hold my head aloft and declare that I had no regrets abt the past week, I can do no such thing without shredding my conscience, for the week ended far different from what I had envisioned! Minor squabbles, needless rumours and misunderstandings wreaked havoc, especially in my class, and friendships were strained. I felt a desperate urge to squeal out as events turned out in a nightmarish fashion, casting clouds of depression over the friends I cared so much for!.......and though the dust has settled and no real harm resulted, the atmosphere around the class was dampened without doubt!

The final day, it seemed, was the kind of anti-climax that the sickest of minds could not have predicted. A morning that began with mindless fun, dancing and laughter during the Christmas festivities, turned sour, as an uncanny(and perhaps slightly unintentional) disturbance darkened the mood significantly! George, who (perhaps for the 1st time in his life) appeared only a face among a raucous 12th crowd, was whacked hard on the arm thrice by a teacher(whose name I choose not to disclose), drawing gentle trickles of blood from the cuts rewarded by the stick! Though he shrugged it off asking for the incident to be ignored, angry voices raged around. Though I cannot claim to have seen the incident first-hand, yet the cuts on his hand were too deep to be ignored. I can say little more than that it was an incredibly insensitive act, given that he had done little(or nothing) to merit such punishment, and that a little leeway to a batch of students enjoying their last day in school was not TOO much to ask for! The situation grew grim, frustration brewed, calls for an apology turned to insane cries for suspension and the longer it continued, the worse my inhibitions grew abt the direction in which this would ultimately lead! Though this was an isolated event, it could've spiralled well out of control had calmer heads not prevailed! Yes, perhaps our reaction bordered on the EXTREME, but I can't claim that the reaction of the faculty was not equally hard-headed......had that teacher only apologized earlier(as I believe him to be quite nice by nature), the situation could've been diffused with a lot more ease.....as of now, the visit to the Principal's office was perhaps the best possible move in that situation....which is a reason why,honestly, I'm growing to respect Sir more and more!......Though action may/may not be taken, I think that issue is safely in the past(or at least, I hope)!........