The Student

The Student:

There once lived a very intelligent-but-manipulative boy in a big city. He was so manipulative that during the exams he would ask doubts to the teachers in such a manner that they would blurt out the answers without realizing. His classmates were scared to complain about him. Every time they would try to do so, he would confuse them so much that they would say something that made the teacher punish them instead. The teachers never scolded him for anything because according to them, he was the most intelligent student in class. He would always be first.

That year too, he was first in his class. As he had never been second to anyone, he was sent to a special school where only extraordinary students were sent. Everyone and everything was exceptionally extraordinary. For the first time, the boy was in awe of something.

“The professor too must be as extraordinary as everything around” he thought.

The class patiently waited. The bell rang and something extraordinary happened. All the other boys opened their books and the books turned into lakes! Lakes with water, the color of which is very difficult to describe.

The boys dived into the lakes and started swimming in them. The boy was shocked at what he was seeing! He dared not open his book; and just sat at his desk. He did not know how to swim. In fact, he never learnt because he was afraid of water.

So he sat, waiting for many hours, before the bell finally rang again and the class was over. The other boys waded out of their lakes of knowledge. The lakes immediately turned back into books, which were neatly packed in their bags and the boys left for home.

“What happened to the extraordinary professor”, thought the boy, “How can a professor be extraordinary if he forgets to go to class? Isn’t that what he is paid for? Maybe he was unwell.”

Next day, once again after waiting the whole day, he was disappointed that there was no professor. Again the following day, and the entire week, there was no sign of the professor.

“How can this school be extraordinary? This is not extraordinary, but strange. All the other boys do is swim in their books, all day! Is that all they were taught: swimming? May be the professor drowned and now no one wants to do this crazy job.”

After many days of unfruitful waiting for a professor to came, the boy thought of opening his book. He was scared, but he finally dared to open the book slightly and peeped into it. It looked like a puddle inside. Now comfortable, he breathed a deep breath and opened the book. To his surprise and shock, to puddle grew into an ocean! He quickly shut his book. He was sweating.

Before he could think about what happened, something very unusual happened. The other boys waded out of their books before the bell rang! They sat at their desks, and for the first time there was commotion in the class.

So, the boy asked one of his classmates about what was happening. “It’s a break”, came the reply.

A break?

In a few minutes, once the other boys were dry, an old man entered the class. The commotion, however, did not come to a halt. But our boy there, was quiet as the moon.

The old man had eyes that were very difficult to describe, almost impossible. One could never tell whether they were deep or shallow. Mostly they looked absolutely lusterless and opaque but occasionally there would almost be a twinkle, almost. They became lusterless before the twinkle actually twinkled. Maybe I am just confusing you; I told you his eyes were almost impossible to describe.

The old man never spoke a well-formed word. Whenever someone asked him a question, he would mumble or he would say something like, “Buph”. “Buph, booph, beeph…” it seemed like he was saying something. The commotion never stopped.

The boy was trying to figure out whether the old man’s eyes were deep or shallow. He was too focused to be aware of all the commotion. Finally, his extraordinary professor had arrived!

The professor sat on his chair and was almost about to say something. Well, almost. But he seemed to have swallowed the words that were about to jump out of his mouth. He simply sat staring blankly at something, one could never be sure what.

The bell rang and the professor promptly left the class. All the other boys were happy to leave; but our boy there, he was shocked. He had waited for the entire while for his extraordinary professor to say something, in vain.

The street slid ever so slowly under his feet as he walked back home. He went straight to his room once he reached. He lay the whole night staring at the mysterious book that would transform itself into an ocean, when opened.

Next morning, his alarm rang as usual, but he was awake anyway. So he packed his bag, dressed up and marched towards the school. Today he had made up his mind to talk to the professor and get to know about the mysterious book.

The professor was already there! Our boy was glad to see him there. Everyone in class looked very cheerful. All the students were gaily chatting, playing games, laughing while the professor sat in a corner. It was quite unusual indeed. There were no book-lakes or lake-books… just cheer!

The professor was at the other corner of the room, and the boy did not want to talk to him in front of everyone. He thought he rather wait for everyone to leave. He sat in a corner of the room for a while before he walked up to a boy.

“Hi, my name is Po.”

“Hey Po, I am Popo.”

“Hi Popo, could you tell me what’s going on?”

“Sure. A party! Come join us. Meet Popopo and….”

So, Po finally made friends with his classmates. He learnt that every weekend all the students would go to play ball at the park. He was invited to join them during the weekend. Reaching home, after the party was over, he realized that he forgot to talk to the professor. But he was not too worried about it. “I’ll ask him tomorrow.” He slept well that night.

Next day when he reached school, everything was back as usual. The boys were all seated at their desks, quiet with their books before them. Po sat on his, and waved out to his friends, each of whom smiled back. As the bell rang, the boys did what they usually did: opened their lakes, dived and started swimming. Po, as usual waited for the ever-elusive professor. The bell rang at the end of the day and everyone went back home.

The professor did not come. Po however, was not too worried about that. He was looking forward to the next day. He was going to play ball with the other students. It was going to be a weekend!

Next week, everything was back as usual once again. Po waited for the professor as the others swam.

This went on for a sometime, before a sheet of paper on every desk announced the examination schedule one day.

“The examination will be held…” Po read the paper on his desk. It wasn’t much time left! Po was very scared now. He decided to wait another day before he could think of what to do next. But the professor did not show up even the next day.

“What should I do now?
–I do not know.”

“What should I do now?
–I am so scared.”

“How will I write the exam?
–Maybe I’ll copy.”

“But what if they do not help?
–They’re all too smart.”

“What will happen of me?
–I’ll be humiliated if I fail.”

“What if they send me back to my old school?
–They’ll all laugh at me.”

“What should I do now?
–I do not know.”

“What should I do now?
–Ask the professor, if he comes tomorrow.”

“What if he does not come tomorrow as well?
–Ask Popo.”

“Ask Popo?
–Ask Popo!”

“Ask Popo!!”

“Ask Popo!!!”

“Hurray!”

So, next morning, Po walked to Popo’s desk and told him that he needed to talk. Popo said, in a low voice, that they’d talk later because the class would start anytime. “But the professor isn’t even here” Po said. Before Popo could say anything the bell rang and all the boys opened their lakes and dived in them. Popo too, opened his lake. Po was scared and stepped back. Popo looked at Po, was about to say something before stopping himself and dived in his lake. He looked concerned.

Po was baffled. He had no idea what was wrong with everyone at school.

“The boys are always swimming in their books, when the professor is not in class. When the professor comes they all talk. And Popo? –He was rude!” thought our angry Po.

So Po waited… waited for the professor to come that he could finally talk to him. But the professor did not come. Po stared desperately at his book. “Everything here is so weird” he sulked. The bell rang to mark the end of the day at school and Popo and the others waded out of their lakes shut their books and packed them to leave for home.

Popo went near Po, but Po looked away. Popo put his hand on Po’s shoulder but Po did not respond. He was almost in tears, infact, just holding them back. Popo sighed a sigh of concern, and left for home.

Everyday, Po remained silent before, during and after class. He did so even when Popo tried to talk. During class, there was no one he could talk to anyway.

After spending a lonely weekend he decided not to go to school at all. “I’ll just go to the park and sit there.”

Now, it was only two days to go for the exam. Po thought of not appearing for the exams at all, but then he was afraid he’d get caught. He was cold. However, he was sweating. He was thinking hard about what to do.

“I must just go to school tomorrow. Maybe I might find the professor there.”

So, the day before his exams would start, he went to school looking for the professor. Everyone waited for the bell to ring before they could open their books. The professor was not there. As Po entered the class, Popo smiled at him. But Po did not respond. The bell rang. Po sat at his desk waiting for the professor.

Suddenly, Po heard something behind the door. Someone seemed to be hiding there. Po quietly went to the door and looked out. It was the professor! The old man was horrified. He screamed, “baaaah”

“Professor, I need your help. Please help me” said earnest Po.

“Buph, booph, bbbeeeeph, b… b…” the old man mumbled for a few seconds, shivering, before screaming, “baaaaah!” and he started running away. Po tried to run behind him, but the old man was just too fast. Po could hardly believe that a man that old could run that fast.

Po, dejected, returned to class. He sat and stared at his mysterious book with teary eyes. A tear dropped in the book, which immediately absorbed it. Po was very angry now. He did not want to fail.

“It is better to drown rather than to fail” thought Po, “at least they’ll hold the school responsible and no one will laugh at me.”
Thinking this, Po suddenly opened his book. He was shocked to see what he did. A giant wave was coming at him. Before he could shut the book, the giant wave engulfed him and dragged into the ocean that the book had become. There was no sign of Po.

The bell rang and the other boys waded out of their books to see Po’s raging ocean. They were all very concerned. There was a lot of commotion in the class. But Popo silently looked into Po’s ocean.

After a while, the storm in Po’s ocean calmed down, but there was still no sign of Po. Now Popo was very anxious. So, he decided to take matters in his own hands. He dived in Po’s ocean. The others looked in bewilderment.

Popo, inside Po’s ocean was surprised to see Po swimming quite comfortably! Po saw Popo and quickly swam to him.

“The first thing the ocean taught was how to swim!” he said to Popo, smiling.

“Yes I know. But what are you doing in the book even after the class bell has rung?” asked Popo.
“Did it? I could not hear it.”

“Hmm… maybe the storm was too loud…. now let’s go”

The two of them swam back to the shore and shut the ocean. Everyone was very happy. Po and Popo walked back home, friends again.

Next day Po wrote his exam… without cheating! Po and Popo discussed the answers on their way back home.

After the exam was over, the old man, who was watching all this from behind the door entered the classroom and sat at his desk. For the first time, he took out a book –one much heavier than Po’s and sat staring at it.