The COPY CAT in me Got Wild, Got Caught and Got a...

Its not that my current life is boring, dragging or monotonously uneventful and tat I don’t have anything to write about my current life and I’m here, writing all about what happened 10 years or even 15 year back... Its just that I was lying in the first part of my previous line... ;-)

As someone commented on my previous write up: "A decade to realize some thing again in life is not a big interval" But its always heart tingling to think about all those small but really memorable moments from which we had a close escape from being cornered or stamped guilty... I had a real bad experience while I was doing my Vth Standard Schooling....

It was then, when the Copy Cat within me Got Wild, Got Caught and Got a "Second" Life... ;-)

I was into my second school and things were more over off my control, being in the transitional period to this new environment, with English speaking majority around and being a calm quiet kid I was struggling to balance my new life... New Syllabus… New Friends... New Teachers... New Uniform...

Though it was awesome to be in this new jovial environment... where I got to use my first Fountain Pen at school… But the child within me and for what I was at that particular timeframe of my Life was Afraid and was a coward though not in its worst case.

Maths was one of my favorite subjects though only second to my all time favorite: "Science"... But I was not naturally fit to fair in mathematics... I still mess up with the answers to 7X8 and 7X6... Still count 7 + 6 with my fingers... Now you could very well guess what my condition would have been if Our Maths teacher was to give a SURPRISE TEST!!.. (Remember TZP? )

I too was dumbstruck like several others in the class, when my Maths Teacher undusted the duster and peeped through her heavy glasses towards us with a vicious smile and announced "Stuuuuuuuuuuuuudents... take yuvar maths tessssst book.. Today youvaar going to haave a surrrrrrrrrrrrrprise test!!! ".

A fleet of birds flew away from my brain through my left ear... escaping.. making my brain empty... And as the saying goes.. Empty mind is devils workshop! Soon a few Devils were to appear..!!!!!!!!

I took my note book outside… flipped it open and stared at the black board... The Questions were on it way to the black board as the teacher picked a chalk piece and started it from the left end towards right... I wrote down each question one per page... assuming the space left per page would be sufficient to accommodate each Question's answer... Around 10 mins got spoiled writing down those questions... The next 30 mins I brainstormed (Actually the devils within it did) my brain.. Thinking about various strategies with which I would crack these five Questions... I was left with nothing but a few 'artificially' made up steps to the first question wondering how to answer the rest four, when a few top brains finished up their test and place their flipped open notebooks on the Teachers Table... "I would be humiliated infront of all my friends if I am to submit these answers" I thought.. And as every one got up to submit their answers, as per the Devils Order... COpying the answers from the guy sitting next to me was old fashion... So I slowly sank my notebook into my School bag and kept quiet for the whole day..... That was my strategy for the day...

Study Time At home: I slowly finished up my home works one after the other when my mom kept an eye on me, while busy at Kitchen. After all work was over I slowly took my Maths Note book out... That was my second task according to the Strategy I adopted! To have the Questions answered at home, at any cost... Copying… Help from Mom.. My ultimate aim was to have all of them answered... Mom came near me, as I was busy copying my first answer... "Hey... this looks like a test paper" She said.... "No Amma... this is homework, our maths teacher asked us to answer these before tomorrows class" I replied and got back to "work"!!

School, The next day: Went early to the class... kept my bag on my desk, took the Maths Note book out and with utmost skill placed it among the assignment books that was kept in the racks. The third task was successfully accomplished... The next was to hand it over to the Teacher...!! But how ???

The bell rang for the second period... The timetable showed MATHS! The teacher was IN... Everyone stood up to wish her... So did I!

Everyone settled down... She had a bundle of books with her.. The corrected Maths test paper!

She sat on her Chair.. There rose a loud noise.. It said: "VIJJEEEEESH !!! "

I stood up as if I was the most obedient, the most innocent student she would ever get... "I didn't see yovar book with these... I know you where in the Class.. Where is the BOOK then ??? " She shouted...

"Oh Ma'am... I had given it to... and had asked him to keep... didnt you get ??? " I replied... I knees knocked... "Oh is it ?? hmm... " She immediatly shot back... "Wait Ma'am let me check the racks.. if at any case it was misplaced" I slowly moved away from my seat towards racks in search of the book.. that I had hid among those, that morning....

"Here it is.... I got it..." I took the book and showed it to her... "Someone place it here... dont know who... " I muttered as I took steps to reach her table to place the book in front of her.... She took her red Rottomac pen and started correcting my answers.. Answer to the first question was jus perfect... she gave a big long tick with her pen (Lots of hard work had gone behind this.. I thought)... So was the second question.. the third.. fourth and the fifth... "All the answers are correct...." She said… and I smiled within... "But I know you took the book home and copied... So should I give you a '1' or a big Zero ??" She looked at my eyes and spoke.... My face was sunk in tension was almost Red like the pen she held.... "Should I call your parents ??" My face became reddened further... "Sorry Ma'am... " I said... "So tell me... Should I give a Zero ??" She repeated..... I didn’t have any answer for that... The devils had disappeared and I was all alone in front of my classmates... in front of the Teacher... I collected my book from her... and went back to my desk with my head faced down with guilt...!! I didn’t speak to any one that day... So was the case back home... I couldn't sleep that night.... and really never wanted to get back to school the next day… But I had to.........

The bell rang for the third period... The timetable showed up "MATHS"... I stared at my toes... The knees were ready to knock... Every one stood up as the teacher came in... I still didn’t raise my head... and sat back as every one settled…

"Good morning students..... Surprised ??? I am your new Maths Teacher.... My Name is...."

I raised my head to see a new teacher.... WOW!!!! Thaaaaaaank God... Whhooooooooosh... I took a deep breath.... The other teacher is gone...!!

I was really happy...Again those bright days are back...:) I thought… At least I would be saved from getting humiliated in the upcoming Parents Teachers Meeting...

That day marked the end to the “Dark Ages” that I had forecasted for the days to come…

>>> Later on I came to know that the other teacher had joined a school called ASSISI... So every time I see its school bus, I used to hide behind someone.... ;)

>>> I took a decision not to do such malpractices again... :) And even if I did I would be doing with a better Strategy, with a better plan ;-)

>>> At Parents Teachers Meeting... the new teacher told… "Your son is doing good... After all when I am the teacher they all will do good... " ;) So She was happy... My parents were happy... and I was Really Really Happy.... Coz....... After the Copy Cat in me Got Wild… and Got Caught..!!! ;-) This was really my Second Life…!!!!!! :)