It was a Saturday. I had seen the movie on TV the previous night that was telecast from 11.30 PM to 1 30 AM. I went to sleep after 2 AM, My mother had prepared breakfast and was taking her bath. She had thought that I was getting ready in my room. She was surprised when she saw me sleeping as she came out. She woke me up with great difficulty. I prepared myself hastily and rushed to the bus stop. There was no student waiting for the school bus. I realized at once that I would have to reach the school by the local bus. The buses were overcrowded and 'some commuters were hanging on doors. As the bus stopped, I entered from the front door. The driver was nice. He did not object when I requested him to let me stand in a corner. The conductor asked me to buy ticket. I passed on a two-rupee note through another passenger and requested him to give the same to the conductor. This note passed from passenger to passenger and reached the bus-conductor at last. He sent the ticket and a fifty-paisa coin back in the same manner. At every stop, new passengers kept on entering the bus. I was badly squeezed. At last, my stop came and I jerked myself out. The stop was at least half a kilometre away from my school. I ran as fast as possible but prayer had already started. I was made to stand among the latecomers. When I told my teacher honestly that the last show of the movie was the main culprit, he excused me and allowed me to attend the classes. I learnt the lesson not to keep awake late in the night. As I had not taken bath, I kept scratching my skin and continued to feel sleepy all the time during school hours.
