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Chapter 2 : Home Away From Home

The second day for me was very demanding and full of surprises. We were expected to start our day at 5:00 am, as was the rule in this school. We then get an hour to wake up and freshen up and reach the playground by 6:00 am for exercise. This fact was hard to adapt as this was something I'd never done in my life. As I opened my eyes, I saw all the girls moving hurriedly. I wasn't even entirely awake when I saw Shreya running towards me,
"Nandini, wake up. It's PT class. Hurry up, or you'll get a punishment"

I was very unsettled at that moment to realize the fact that I was late for the class. I agreed to whatever she said, and I dozed off, again! When I woke up, it was already quarter to six. I quickly jumped off the bed, collected all the essentials and headed to freshen up. After I came out of the washroom, it was already 6. I threw my stuff on the bed and ran to the playground as fast as I could.

It was for the first time in these years that I felt active. As I reached the playground, I saw the girls sportively doing exercise routines on the PTI's whistles. The coach spotted me from a distance and yelled

"Hey fellow, ten rounds of the hockey ground. Now!"
I didn't know what to do and nervously approached her.

"Good morning coach. I am new to the hostel, and I haven't got my timetable yet." I nervously spoke the truth.

"Oh, alright. What's your name?" I expected a harsher reply, but she seemed to be kind. "Nandini Jyoshi," I replied.

"Okay Nandini, I am Coach Prisha. I'll be taking your physical training classes. Have you ever taken one before?"

"No, I have never."

And honestly that's true; I've never been a sports freak. I have always been a meek girl and have hated sports or any rough things.

"That's okay; we'll start it from the next week. Be there at six sharp, and if it gets delayed for any reason, you will be punished with extra rounds of the field.'' I nodded

''See you and yes don't forget to take your timetable; until then, you have a grace period.", she added.

I smiled and stood on the ground watching all the girls work hard. I reached the hostel at seven and went straight for a shower, but due to a big line, I waited for long. When I finally got my number, I entered and honestly, there were knocks in every five minutes to come out fast. I missed home so much; my mom was so used to listening to my humming of a song while I was taking my leisurely showers that she never bothered to disturb me during it. It was until the hostel scenes that made me realize it was not just a habit, it was more of a bad habit.

Again I was late, and somehow, falling and standing, I reached for breakfast and couldn't manage to finish it before the school bell rang. The entire day by hook or crook I managed to cope up with the timings and the workloads. Finally, it was time for the most favorite part of the day – it was bedtime.

I learned the path of the hard way on my very first day of school.

                                 ☑

Hostel life can be something that teaches you the discipline of life, and over time, I've learned much more than that.

It's just like a common example of the saying "Be like water. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it."

The time you spend away from your comfort zone really makes you tough enough to survive in every situation that life throws you in. These sacrifices changed me as a person and turned me into a self-dependent version of myself. The first few weeks got tough, and problems and challenges occurred back to back, but if I ever want to look back, I'll always be thankful for who they made me today.

Soon I became accustomed to the environment and the people around, and that's where I began collecting my life together. The homesickness for a few initial days didn't bother to leave, but as months passed by, I knew where my home lay. A few groups of friends that I made never failed to give me an ear to listen and were always ready with a shoulder to cry on. And indeed, there always has to be a few people who are the "best" of friends. To me, they were Namah and Shreya. In spite of coming from different cities with different cultures, since day one, their personalities haven't faded, and they're still two brilliant stars in my eyes.
We were often called as "tiggadi" and the togetherness in any kind of place or time was the reason why we were famous in our batch.

You, for sure are surrounded by rules, but with your friends, especially ones like Shreya and Namah, all you want to think about is the fun you'll have after breaking it. One unusual night when I couldn't sleep till 11, I decided to take a small walk in the dorm itself. As I moved to the gate, I thought of checking on Namah, and surprisingly she was missing. In stress, I moved forward to see Shreya, and within a minute's time, it changed into panic. Shreya wasn't there in her bed too. I hurriedly moved towards the gate, and I saw a shadow behind me. I was about to shout when suddenly somebody grabbed me from behind. Fortunately, it was Namah with some food in her hand. Before I could say anything, Shreya jumped out from the next door, and she was in relief.

"You idiots, what are you doing here this late?" I demanded.

"Shreya was hungry, so we sneaked out to grab some food," Namah replied.

"So then what are you doing here. Why Shreya go alone?" I questioned.

"Come on, because she's Shreya, pun intended." We both giggled as we saw Shreya's grumpy face.

"Jokes apart you guys. Let's have a treat."

Shreya smirked, and we got it. She had some packets of Maggie in her hand.
I think this happens only in our youth when all of a sudden one get's midnight cravings. The packet in her hand reminded me of my six-year-self who first learned to make Maggie. I was too small to do the procedure but sharp enough to remember each and every step to make it. All of us moved to the sick room where most of the times we saw kitchen crockery. We looked at each other and managed to move all the essentials to the kitchen. Without switching on all the lights, we just turned on one of them and started the mission. At the moment while I was making it, I just couldn't believe that an obedient child like me was doing something like this, just because of the rats that were battling in my stomach.
While we were eating, there wasn't even a minute that passed when I didn't check the door and look back. The two devils of my life were giggling at me and enjoying the Maggie treat. Thank God we were not caught and we made it back to the dorm.

The next morning I woke up with a heavy head and I stayed back, lying down and making an excuse to skip the PT class. I didn't have any energy to even get out of my bed, but I was surprised to see the enthusiasm of Shreya and Namah. They were charged up as it wasn't their first time.

In my later years my interest in reading novels and writing poems and stories increased. I was more into English literature and was always keen on learning new things. I was also among those girls who were fortunate to be a student of one of the best English teachers in the town – Mrs. Mehta; what a fantastic person she was.
She was such an amazing storyteller that her narration was enough to create the pictures of the stories that she described. Not only fiction and fantasies, but she also taught me about the world of reality and about the beauty of life. I still remember her English classes and all her informal lunch sessions with me. Mrs. Mehta never failed to make me feel the bereft of a mother. She treated me like her own daughter and her value in my life increased day by day. It was like a small family that I had in here.

I had no idea how quickly days turned into months and months into years. I turned fifteen then, in the same hostel, with the same tight schedule yet a new Nandini.
It was our boards this year and the time to leave this place was approaching near.

Looking back at all of it, in hostel, we learned to live life on our own terms and learned to be answerable to ourselves. It was a roller coaster ride, full of ups and downs. But both helped me in one or the other way. Sometimes I made mistakes and regretted and sometimes I succeeded and felt bliss.

Yet through all these years this hostel, it became my home away from home.