The Golden Year

I had passed class IX and gone into class X. It was a good feeling. Dipanjan and I had become quite good friends. And it was evident that due to this Navjot and I had drifted apart to a certain extent. I Used to sit in class with Dipanjan and we used to talk a lot. This was so annoying for the teachers that almost the whole school knew about us.

As the year started, we were supposed to be divided in houses and given appointments. I was given the duty of the Vice-Captain of the green house. But that was not to be. Later I found out that the Vice-Principal had reccomended me for the post of School Vice Captain for my good behavior and attitude. Well back then i used to be very sincere and humble. So i got two badges stating "Abhinav Thakur" and "School Vice-Captain. I was delighted! But I also understood the magnitude of my responsibility. Due to my frequent visits to the stage for collection of various certificates, the school had started to know me. And now I was Vice-Captain. I decided that i would not let the school down by any means. I wanted discipline to be the foremost virtue of the students.

The first tests came by, and the whole of the class faired badly. Even I couldn't score much(what can you do when a bunch of teachers are hell-bent on making you look like losers?). Well the talk of the class was that the Principal wasn't happy and had decided to split the good students among two sections. This meant Dipanjan would be gone to the other section. We tried very hard to convince the Principal that she give us another chance. Finally, we succeeded. That was a big relief for everyone. Friends would have separated if such a sorting took place.

Class X was fun, we knew none of the tests had any weightage, so we didn't care much about classes. Many a time, a few of us would convince the teacher that we had to prepare for a quiz and stay away from class!! I wonder how they believed us!

Tuition was great as ever. I still remember that we had finished the maths syllabus till July. I was so well versed with maths that i used to do any kind of problem given to me(no kidding). Even my tuition teacher sometimes found it hard to keep up with me.(okay now i am exaggerating! :P)

It was in that year that my father got promoted to the rank of Colonel. It was a big achievement for him. One of my achievements was that I had grown taller than him!! It felt good.

As you know everyone has a bad side to themselves. It felt bitter when i found out. Dipanjan had been taking tuitions for hindi and english. What was worse that he told me that he played badminton during that time. But i eventually found out. As it is I hate lies. I simply can't stand liars. So i discussed it with my mom. She told me that it didn't matter. We were very good friends, we used to be at each other's side for the smallest and the biggest things. But it seemed that he wanted to beat me. That was fair enough, but he could have atleast told me. I surely wouldn't have followed him to the tuitions.

The year went by, we had lots of fun. The boards were round the corner. It was a different feeling. I had heard lots of stories, 'its difficult to score in boards..'; 'teachers are very strict..'. I didn't care about all that stuff. I just gave my best. I remember it was the night before the maths test. And i was scared to death from the feeling of it. I wasn't able to solve the easiest questions. I felt like crying. Then i called up Dipanjan to ask some doubts. He asked me whether i was ok. Some of my doubts were the easiest questions. I told him that i wasn't able to solve anything. He asked me to calm down and take it easy. I decided that i had studied maths with all my heart. It couldn't slip from me. So i closed my book and watched TV. I went to sleep early. Next day at the centre, as the paper came to my hands, I felt the usual rush I had always felt while solving maths papers. It was a weird feeling. I started off like a rocket and within 2 and a half hours, I had done the paper. Then i saw dipanjan getting out. I though why not get out and discuss the paper. It felt amazing after finishing the paper. I went out and within 5 minutes i was cursing myself. I had commited not mistakes but blunders. It was the graph question and the taxation question. I felt as if i was going to die of grief. It hurt like hell.

Dipanjan tried to console me. I went home and cried. My mother comforted me. She told me it didn't matter as long as I believed in myself. I guess those words of advice are still imprinted in my mind. I firmly believe that it doesn't matter what others think of me, or how they judge me as long as I believe in myself.

Well my dad got posted elsewhere again. It was a small place in Punjab called Faridkot. The board results were out and i got 88.8%. It felt good, I had topped the school overall and individually in 3 subjects.

I take this opportunity to thank the readers for visiting my blog. Do keep reading!