I was coming out and she was going in. She raised both her eyebrows to acknowledge me. I pouted in response and tried to hurry up. We almost passed each other until she realized the scandal.
"Hold on. What are you doing in ladies toilet?" I couldn't reply. I didn't have a good enough answer. Except that I have been visiting it for past 2 weeks or so.
She ordered me to wait outside near the water cooler, as she went inside to take care of her business. The thought running away never came in mind. May be because I was a stupid 2nd standard student. Or may be because she was my Hindi teacher, and I thought she would recognize me anyway later on.
There was a girl standing near the water cooler. She was elder than me. She asked me the same, "What were you doing inside? Why didn't you go to boys' toilet?".
"I am new to this school. I don't know where the boys toilets are." Only the first statement was true. I knew where boys' toilets were. They were adjacent to the girls' toilet.
So why didn't I visit male loos? May be because they were too filthy and smelly. Or may be because the urinals were "too high" for the short 4 feet me. It's been over 17 years since that incident, I don't remember.
Somehow I found out that the girl was in 4th standard. "4th standard! Wow! She must know a lot. Like the multiplication table of 19." were my exact thoughts about her at that time .
The Hindi teacher came out after a few minutes. The girl tried to explain my excuse to the teacher on my behalf. She was snubbed away, and she went to her class upstairs. I never saw that girl again. I don't remember her face or voice. But she did try to save my ass. God bless her soul.
The teacher then focused her wrath on me. "Which section are you from?" She demanded. I said "D" . Now, I don't know if it was the fault of my vocal cords, her ear drums or the moist air between us. But she heard section "E".
A minute later, I found myself standing in front of 30 odd students of 2nd E. The Hindi teacher was informing E's class teacher about the "crime" that I had committed 10 mins ago. I don't exactly remember the conversation but I think it was something like this... "look at this little criminal. If these are his deeds now, what will he do once he grows up?". (Ask me mam, I have an answer now.)
"But he is not from this section", E section teacher replied .
"What?", Hindi teacher turned towards me, "Aren't you from this section? ".
"No mam, I am from D section".
BAAM!! A tight slap on face for clarifying the confusion. May be there I learned for the first time, what happens when you tell the truth.
After a minute I found myself standing in front of 30 odd students of 2nd D now. Those were my class mates and that was my Section's class teacher.
The episode of section E repeated again in section D. And then BAMM!! Another tight slap on face.
2 back to back slaps on the soft cheeks of mine. It hurt a lot. But I was more concerned about that look on my class section teacher's face. "Haww... Ravi. I didn't expect this from you."
"Nooo mam. It's not how it all looks like. I am not the kind of guy this all portrays me to be. Please don't stop adoring me. Please. " I was thinking looking at her .
I went back to my desk and put my head down. My benchmate tried to interview me about what just happened. But I was just not in the mood. I had just been humiliated in front of 30 + 30 students. And my favorite class teacher thought I was an "eve teaser in the making", "a future rapist" or something like that. I didn't know what exactly she thought about me, but I knew I had done "something" wrong. It wasn't really a good day to be me.
I never really talked about this incident after that. If ever I would narrate this story, the protagonist would be a friend who has left school so he won't be able to defend himself. Sorry Sachin, for portraying you in bad light for 6 years, without you even knowing about it...
So what's the moral of story? Well first, not every story has to have a moral. But if there has to be one, I would say there are somethings in life that are too embarrassing or personal to be told in public. But most of what happens in our life does not come in that category. We all have skeletons in our closet. If we take some of them out every once in while, may be we will become more human in others' eyes.
YES, I was CAUGHT in girl's toilet once. Who cares? We all have pooped in our pants as babies. What can be more embarrassing than that?
Second moral probably would be that it's not really a good idea to visit ladies toilet if you are not authorized to do so. (I don't care whatever the heck they show in movies).
That Hindi teacher was my first teacher when I took admission in 2nd class in that school. She was still there on my last day of school 11 years later. Her name was Seema. Sorry Seema mam. I never stepped foot inside girl's toilet after that incident. Probably never will again.
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