The Stranger

She walked up to the girl who was holding a marigold by the school garden.

"May I?" she smiled with just her eyes, her lips sealed in order to conceal her recent tooth loss in front of her potential best friend.
The girl passed the flower to her with a little hesitation.
"Thank you. I am Shonali."
"Hi Shonali," she quickly looked away, "pleased to meet you."
"I am also pleased to meet you"
Shonali waited in silence for five whole seconds, hoping that her first day in the new school has a better beginning than this. "What is your name?"
"Sunaina." The girl's reply was terse and she stayed a few feet away, making no any eye-contact.
"I am new. I have come here from Kolkata"
"Where is that?" Sunaina's attention was caught.
"It is in the east of our country. It is thirty-six hours in the train"
"That's so many hours! What did you do in the train?"
"My Ma and I played games. We played the song game."
"Antakshari?"
"YES. Do you know it?"
"I am seven. Of course I know it. Everyone knows Antakshari."
"Oh sorry. I am new." Shonali suddenly realised she might be running the risk of burning bridges with her new friend. She quickly added,"I have a Tom and Jerry jigsaw puzzle set at home"
"Really? Can I play?"
Shonali's heart raced at the thought of a blooming friendship."YES YES YOU CAN. PLEASE COME TO MY HOME."

"Hmm...I need to ask my Ma. You are a Stranger"

"What is that?"

"Stranger? It means you are... someone else."

"But I am Shonali"

Sunaina shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know how to explain the word 'Stranger' to this new girl in her school. 

The bell rang and the two of them walked towards their class.

Miss Anitha was only twenty-two, but the tiny humans of her class thought she was as old as the earth. Perhaps, they just put all the grown-ups in one age-group. There were school children, and then there were grown-ups and finally there were grandparents. Simple. As she entered the class, the second graders rose to attention. The volume dropped like a row of dominos starting from the child sitting by the door to the children right at the back.

"Good morning, girls. How was everyone's holiday?"

She regretted immediately as the volume rose once again with a cacophony of children speaking over one another. "ALRIGHT QUIET NOW!" Seemed like Miss Anitha had forgotten the trick to handle a bunch of second graders over the break.

"Miss! Miss! We have a new girl Shonali from Kolkata who has Tom and Jerry Jigsaw puzzles," Dhara spoke up.

"Yes Miss! And she has a broken tooth," added Tanya

Clearly, some students were paying attention to her conversation with Sunaina.

"Yes kids, I am aware. Shonali dear will you step forward?"

Shonali made her way through the class, lips still sealed tight, searching for some friendly faces in her audience. Sunaina reciprocated with a gentle smile. 

"So Shonali from Kolkata. How do you like this new city?"
"Nice"
"Nice? Do you like Delhi?"
"Yes"
"Did you make friends yet?"
"Uh...Yes"
"Do you like your new uniform?"
"Yes"
"Are you shy, dear?"
"Okay"
Standing in front of a figure of authority, suddenly challenged Shonali's social skills.
"Would you like to tell the class about yourself?"
Well, she did not have a choice. She had been practicing this at home with her parents the previous week. She cleared her throat and faced the class:
"I am Shonali. I am seven years and five months old. I am from Kolkata. I am happy to come to St Josephs Girl's School, New Delhi. I like cartoons, mangoes and KitKat. My papa works in a office and ..."
"An office, dear" she heard Miss Anitha's voice. 
"An office"
"Yes. Because, 'o' is a vowel. So we say an before the vowel"
Shonali nodded obediently.
"Go on?"
The problem was, once she was interrupted, the flow of the speech that she had memorized flew right out of the window. Panic appeared on her face. She swallowed her saliva and looked at Miss Anitha and then at the class and then back at Miss Anitha. "I don't know"

"Miss is she going to cry?" Dhara sprung up again.
"Dhara, that is not nice. No, Shonali is not going to cry because she is a brave girl"
Shonali swallowed harder. Now she had no choice but to make sure that she did not cry. She needs them to know that she is brave. "Miss may I drink some water?"
"Yes dear, you may. See children! You can all learn how to use the word 'may' in your sentence like Shonali does. It is good manners."
Shonali quietly walked back to her desk and sat down. She was still trying to recollect the rest of the speech that she had worked so hard on. 

Miss Anitha started her lesson. She was teaching the class 'articles'. In the process, she shifted some attention to Shonali as she worded - "A mango", "A KitKat", "An office". She gave a very generous smile though Shonali was not sure whether she was being nice or ensuring Shonali never makes that mistake again. Shonali just smiled back - her default mode when she's nervous or anxious...something she will be carrying all the way to her adulthood. More anxious she was, the wider her smile got. 

After the class, Miss Anitha appointed a few girls to take Shonali around the primary school campus. So far her first day was not going as well as she had imagined. She was called "Stranger" which meant "someone else" and she could not finish her speech. For a seven year old, Shonali's thoughts ran deep. It was however intercepted by Dhara who suddenly held her hand. 

"I also have a Tom and Jerry puzzle like you Shonali. I am Dhara. I am also 7 years old. I don't like KitKat. My papa says children who eat KitKat have bad teeth. Do you have bad teeth, Shonali?"

"I don't know" 

"It's okay, Shonali. I can be your friend. My papa is a teeth doctor. He will fix you"

"Okay" Shonali smiled at the word friend. She also didn't understand why Dhara took her name so many times but she didn't dare to ask. 

They walked across the primary school as Dhara showed her around the not-so-big campus. By the time they were done, Shonali knew everything about Dhara. Dhara loved an audience and now that she had a new person, she wanted to put her storytelling skills to use. When they came back to class, she found Sunaina staring at her intentionally. The bell rang and the Math teacher entered the class. 

Miss Priya started the class by asking them how many of them practiced their multiplication tables during the holidays. Shonali raised her hands. Dhara objected with a nod and a sigh. Shonali recited the whole seven-tables upto 'seven times twelve' in front of the class. Miss Priya asked the class to clap for her. By the time she reached her desk, Dhara had decided she needed to move on from this new friend of hers. However, the rest of the class looked at Shonali like she was a Goddess. 

"You are so smart" said Tanya right after the class ended. "Miss Priya gave you so many claps. Miss Priya never gives claps." 

Four other girls joined the group asking her more questions about her. "You should be the next class Prefect! Err... maybe the vice-Prefect" said one of them. They all looked towards Sunaina, who currently held the position of 'class Prefect'. Shonali's old school did not have the concept of one class leader. They kept rotating the students each week but this school clearly believed in "the one". Sunaina did not seem very bothered by so many eyes on her or the fact that her currently held position might be in danger. She walked away without any reaction. Sunaina was seven as well but in Shonali's eyes she was a grown-up. She had that air about her. The word she was looking for had not made it to her vocabulary as yet - 'mature'.  All of a sudden, Sunaina's approval of her became the single-most important goal to Shonali. She wanted to be her friend and not her "someone else". 

By lunch, Shonali had a bunch of groupies. At that age, it was easier to make friends. Something Shonali will recall a couple of years later when she moves schools again as a pre-teen and then again as a mid-teenager. But on this day, Shonali was the talk of the primary school. Her name would be randomly taken by the girls in the other classes. "The new girl from Kolkata", "The new girl who got claps in Miss Priya's class", "The new girl who will be the next Prefect of class 2A". By the end of the day with only one more class left, Shonali got used to this new attention on her. 

The last class for the day was Science and Miss Meera walked in with a new haircut. The girls loved her as it is and this just got them more excited. 

"Yes, enough about me now. I hear you have a new girl? Are you Shonali?"

Shonali confidently walked up to the front of the class. She could feel the high of suddenly being popular. 

"Where are you from, Shonali?"

Shonali cleared her throat:

"I am Shonali. I am seven years and five months old. I am from Kolkata. I am happy to come to St Josephs Girl's School, New Delhi. I like cartoons, mangoes and KitKat. My papa works in AN office and my ma is a home-maker. I like mathematics and science. I want to grow up to be a...AN Astronaut. 

I am very happy to meet new friends and teachers. Thank you" 

The class clapped for her while Miss Meera continued to look confused for this unsolicited speech from Shonali. She joined the classed with the claps in amusement. "Thank you Shonali from Kolkata. Welcome to your new school. You can sit down now."

"Ma'am what is aeronot?" Tanya sprung up as Shonali made her way back.

"Astronaut? Astronauts are people who go to space"

"Like God?"

"No... they are the people who travel to other planets. Do you know what planets are?"

Shonali's hand sprung up but Miss Meera asked her to hold back. Miss Meera was a Shonali once upon a time and she knew that no one would like a know-it-all. 

"Okay class. It's a little advance for you but you are smart kids. Do you want to learn about planets today?"
"YEEEES" the class screamed in unison. This is what they loved about Miss Meera. She didn't do things by the textbook. Little did Miss Meera know that her contribution would be the beginning of more than half of this class of girls pursuing STEM course in the future. 

The students learnt about the planets and they repeated the names of the planets out loud. Shonali tried to repeat it half a second earlier than the other students so that Miss Meera would know that she knew these even before the class. Miss Meera asked Shonali to stay back after the bell rang.

"Shonali - you are a smart girl" 

Shonali smiled very pleased with herself. She was also very pleased that Miss Meera let her finish her speech without interrupting her. 

"Do you know what humble means?"
"No Miss"

"You know how you were trying to say the planet names before your friends could? That is not humble."

"But I know more. I am smart."

"You are smart. But if you keep showing off, you will soon start making your friends feel bad. Then they won't like you. Is that what you want?"
"Are my friends not smart?"

"No. That's not it. Some friends learn slower than others and that's okay. Do you understand that?"

Shonali doesn't really understand this until way into her teen years but when she finally does, she looks back to this moment in her life and realises that Miss Meera had warned her about what being an 'over-smart, know-it-all' gets you. However for Shonali, who was a "new girl" once every few years, it was the only way she thought she could make herself visible. 

"Shonali," Miss Meera continued. "You are a smart girl and the world will see it. You will find many other ways to show it but without making your friends feel bad about it. Yes?"

"Yes"

"That's good. Keep working hard and you will surely be an Astronaut one day"

"Thank you, Miss Meera" She walked towards the door and she stopped to look back. "What is a Stranger?"

"Stranger? Where did you hear that?"

"Sunaina said I was a Stranger. And that it means I am someone else" 

"Ah! Is that what you feel? Like you are someone else?"

Shonali had no idea what she was talking about. "I don't know"

"Shonali, you are not a Stranger. You are new. Give it some time and you will feel... less new. The girls already like you. Just remember what I said and you will be fine."

Shonali didn't get the answer to her question but she smiled and thanked Miss Meera anyway. She just wanted to go home now.   

As she walked towards her gate, she found Sunaina waiting for her. "Your speech was nice" 

"Really? You liked it? Thank you."

"Don't listen to Dhara. Your teeth are fine." 

"Really?" Shonali smiled sincerely, this time without piercing her lips. Sunaina reciprocated. 

"Do you want to meet my Ma? She is standing right there. She is a home-maker too." 

They started walking towards Sunaina's Ma. Despite the shaky start to her day, Shonali was thrilled that she had survived the first day in a new school. For years to come she would remember this day as the best "first days" ever. Being a transfer kid is not easy but this was the beginning of her learning to be 'Resilient' - another word that will make into her vocabulary a bit later in her life but a word she will hold on to tightly. There will be many Miss Anithas and Miss Meeras. There will be many more Sunainas as well but on this day - this is THE Sunaina who will have shaped all her friendships in her life to come. Even as an adult, Shonali would always look back at this day and feel that same high.

"Ma this is Shonali. She is not a Stranger. She is a friend. Can I go to her home to play?"