TIME TEACHES TO LAUGH

BOY IN THE BUS

I was thirteen during high school. My teacher said that we could no longer access the school bus facilities as more kids were coming on the bus. So, everyone from high school was asked to take private buses. That was a difficult decision for us who had to wait a long time for a bus and when we finally got one, the crowd inside was like hell. But still, it was fun at times.

One morning, I got into a crowded bus along with my friends. The bus was so crowded that we were pushed to the male side. Students had the right to give coins instead of a full ticket. All we wanted to give was one rupee and that made all the bus conductors say anything to us. They were behaving like we were not taking full tickets so that they can do whatever they need. This habit of them irritated most of us. But we had no choice other than to struggle.

Later, I saw a boy. He was wearing a school uniform- not like mine. He aged one or two less than me. After giving coins to the collector, I randomly looked here and there, and this boy got trapped in my eyes. I saw him staring at a young lady. To be particular, his looks weren't that good. No, not his looks; the way he looked. He kept on staring at her. I kept on observing him. He was staring at her body anyway. He saw me watching him and he took his eyes off her. I got down on my stop. I could not control my eyes and suddenly looked at him again. He was already staring at me, and I looked away. I closed the chapter on entering the campus. I did not tell anyone.

A few days later, I saw him again. This time he went too far. I saw him touching a student's body. That was indeed a bad touch and intentional. A crowded bus, one accidental touch...he had a million excuses even if someone had caught him. I looked at the girl's face and she was standing without a reaction. She was acting for sure.

Next break. I suddenly looked and his hands were over her. That irritated me. She did not even give him a serious look. She pretended to be okay. I witnessed this scene one more day and that already made me crazy. I kept on rewinding this bad touch and I had no idea what to do. Still, I wanted to do something. I decided to find her since she belonged to our school.

I saw her in the common washroom coincidentally. I pretended to accidentally bump into her and we looked at each other. She reacted telling 'what nonsense' and that made me surprised. She reacted quite well and why did she kept silent during the incidents with that boy? 'So, you know to react,' I said. 'What do you mean?' she asked. 'I have noticed you last day and this morning. I saw him touching you in a bad way. Why did you pretend like nothing happened?' I asked. She ran away on hearing that, and I got scared. On realizing that someone else knows their secret, some people will go crazy. I doubted if she was someone like that. I tried to catch her, but I had no idea about the direction she ran. I did not see her for a few days. I got scared that she would do something to hide from this situation. But later one day, I saw her crying in the practice room and I asked her about the matter. Her words scared me. She was keeping so many secrets and she cried, that she cannot hold them anymore. She wanted to react, but she was scared of the aftereffects, especially when, the people who bullied her were all hi-so people her family worked for. She was scared that her actions would bring the crisis to her family. Speaking openly to me made her release half of her pressure. I advised her to speak about all these issues to someone inside her family. She said that her mom would beat up her for sure. I corrected her that it was all in her head and no mom would stand against their daughter. Still, she was reluctant to do so. Then later she said, she will share it with her elder sister with whom she was friendlier. I said that was fine and we parted ways. A week later I met her in the same bus under the same scene. This time she managed it very well with a safety pin. I gave her a thumbs up. The boy did not react at all. It would be so embarrassing for him if he had made any noise. Because he started the mess. She stood there confidently, and he walked away to somewhere else.

She thanked me for making her reroute from the dark side of her negative thoughts. Otherwise, she would have done something stupid. Talking with her sister made her realize that these are all things we encounter in our life. At first time, it can be seen as an accident. But if it happens regularly, that cannot be entertained under the name of an accident. Treat good people with honorable deeds. If we try to be kind to every bad people out there, they will definitely misuse the opportunity. Do not give in, simply because you think you are weak.

You have to be strong to protect yourself!