Reader TTS

I looked at my friend sitting right at the other end of the classroom. The fan above us squeaked as if it too had given up in the face of the mounting heat. My friend seemed to be looking at

oblivion. Wait, was he sleeping? Oh, no. He’s up. THE DRAB SOUND OF THE ACCOUNTS TEACHER’S LECTURE PLAYED IN THE BACKGROUND LIKE A WORN OUT SCORE. I looked at my watch. It showed 1:15 pm.

OKAY, 5 MORE MINUTES TO GO. AND THEN THIS ORDEAL WOULD BE OVER. “…Which is why it’s called a debit. Now, let’s tally the balance sheet…” Three more minutes to go. “…Is called a bad debt.

Meaning one, which cannot be recovered.” One minute to go. “Who can tell me what fixed assets are?” Half a minute to go. I CAN ALREADY SEE THE _BHAIYYA_ GOING TO RING THE BELL. OH GOD,

PLEASE WALK FASTER, WILL YOU. “After completion, both sides should be the same…” *Ting ting ting* “Oh, thank God!” I said to myself. Finally, _bhagwan ne meri sunn li._ “Now, who can tell me

what capital means?” Wait, why isn’t he leaving. I looked around. Everybody in the class wore that same exasperated expression.  AND THEN, THE SAD REALITY HIT ME. WE HAD DOUBLE PERIODS FOR

ACCOUNTS THAT DAY. I’d almost forgotten. And now, I wanted to cry. To hell with the balance sheet. The balance sheet of my life already looked imbalanced.  But that’s how it was throughout

my school life. THE BIGGEST MYSTERY OF MY SCHOOL LIFE WAS WHY DID WE NEVER HAVE DOUBLE PERIODS FOR PT? WHY DID WE NEVER HAVE DOUBLE PERIODS FOR HINDI? WHY WE WERE NEVER GIVEN DOUBLE PERIODS

FOR, SAY, MORAL SCIENCE? No.  It was always the shittiest subjects that were given this preferential treatment. Subjects like Maths and Chemistry. Subjects one couldn’t bear for even a

single period. The worst part would be that they’d be consecutive. Like why would you do that? It’s one thing to have double periods but having them back to back?  Looking back, I strongly

feel we all should’ve been given bravery awards.  And to add insult to injury, they were always kept towards the end of the day. When our energy levels used to be at an all time low.  What

can I say, some people just want to watch the world burn. God, even after all these years, writing about them, exhausts me.