I still remember that Tuesday

I still remember that Tuesday. It was raining in Shimla since morning. Very cold rain. I had to go to school for tournament duty, even though teaching was suspended. I didn't want to go. I was already tired for one week continuously.

I reached school at 7:10 AM. My shoes were fully wet. My socks were wet. I was shivering. There was no staffroom heater on. Principal Ma'am came and said, "Why are you late? All students are already in ground."

I said sorry and went to the ground. My duty was to manage Class 6 and 7 students. They were shouting, running, not listening. One boy pushed another boy and he fell in the mud. His white uniform became brown. His mother came shouting at me, "Aap dekh kya rahi ho? Aap teacher ho na?"

I said, "Sorry, I will clean it." I took him to washroom, cleaned his uniform with water. My own hands were freezing because water was so cold. That boy didn't even say thank you.

At 1 PM, we got a break. I thought we will get lunch. But there was only one samosa per teacher. I was so hungry. I ate that samosa in 2 minutes. Still hungry. I had not brought tiffin because I thought teaching is suspended, so maybe half day. But we stayed till 5 PM.

At 4 PM, Ma'am called me and said, "You have to make the notice for tomorrow. Teaching shall remain suspended up to 1st October." I said, "Ma'am, I will make it from home and send." She said, "No, make it now and get it signed."

I made the notice on my phone, with wet hands. I made a mistake in date. She saw it and shouted in front of two other teachers, "Itni si cheez nahi hoti tumse? How many times I have to tell you?"

Everyone looked at me. I just stood there. I didn't say anything. I corrected it and got it signed.

While coming back home at 5:30 PM, in the bus, I was fully wet, hungry, andinsulted. I was looking out of the window and I thought, "I should quit. This is not worth it. 8000 rupees ke liye itna sab kuch sunna pad raha hai."

I came home, changed my clothes, and cried. Not loudly. Just quietly sitting on the floor. I called my mother and said, "Mummy, I don't want to do this job." She said, "Thoda time dekh le beta, shuru mein aisa hi hota hai."

Next morning, I still went. Because I had no other option. But that one day, that rainy Tuesday, I really thought I will quit teaching forever.