Reflection Of Life

Chapter 2 - A friend in need

Tring-ring! went the recess bell. Many of the students stormed out of the classroom to grab a bite from the cafeteria. There was a teenage boy in charge of beverages. Owing to the constant hot weather, his chocolate milk was an all time favorite. The little refrigerator became empty at the blink of an eye. To grab a packet of cool, unsweetened milk-drink, one had to hurry.



Recess, naturally, was an all-time favorite among most of the students. Some liked to play chase, others immersed themselves in classic novels. A few boys engaged themselves with soccer or handball. There were a few pairs of teen love birds as well, and these could be found in quiet corners, merrily chatting away about God knows what.



Fahmida relaxed on a chair under the mango tree just beside their classroom. The plastic chair was a bit rickety; it swayed a little. Saima was nowhere in sight. Normally, they would always share their lunch; Fahmida wondered what had happened to her friend that day. She opened her lunchbox, revealing some mouthwatering Tehari

A dish of rice mixed with minced beef

. The tempting aroma wafted through the air, luring the gatekeeper’s pet dog to her. She was about to give the second piece of bone to the animal, when she noticed Saima walking at a snail's pace towards her.



“Sam, where were you? I kept waiting with food here.” Fahmida's melodious voice seldom sounded nice when she was irritated.


“I…um… am in a little trouble. Can you help?” Saima was trembling a little, and her voice was shaky with nervousness.


“Hey come on, I have a remedy to that, don’t worry” Fahmida watched with an assuring smile as she watched her friend cross the cafeteria towards the ladies’ rest room.



“Come; let’s go grab a cup of coffee. I could use some caffeine to ease the pain." Saima suggested.

The cafeteria was buzzing with busy bees everywhere. Some were sipping freshly brewed Nescafe, some were chewing bones of a Tandoori Chicken, and some were just licking on two-in-one ice creams.


The two friends occupied a table in the middle, to get a good view of the whole place. They just had to pass some time before the next class, so one of the girls took a ginger tea, and the other ordered a chicken toast and a tall serving of ice coffee.


Just then, they noticed a pair of seniors practicing music. One was playing a traditional bamboo flute; the other was playing a guitar. That fusion looked a little unusual, but surprisingly, seemed very soothing.

Those two were quite popular around the whole campus. Known as the musical duo, they not only attracted students of all ages, but were a favorite amongst teachers too.


“Hey there brothers, mind if we join in?” Saima asked.


“No, not at all, the more, the merrier!” Both of them said in unison.


Saima had a velvet voice, and could completely sink into music when she was in the mood. Fahmida could work as a co-artist well, as she was addicted to music since childhood. So, she started a self-composed song, and soon everyone else joined in, adding more words and changing the melody at times:


“My mind has touched yours I know it well
Your beauty already has cast a spell
Maybe it’s just a dream, or is it reality?
You’re everywhere I go; you’re just so pretty…”


Busy life and loads of homework had prevented Fahmida from completing the lyrics, but she intended to do so soon. For the time being, they just continued singing the same lines over and over again, just changing the tune.


Music always worked as a great remedy to all ailments. Naturally, their grief was replaced by happiness soon. Singing always helped them re-energize when they felt blue.


About fifteen minutes later, there was a call from the Physics teacher. Mr. Raihan Kader was an excellent teacher, besides being an extraordinary painter. A call from him filled the students with both dread and pleasure, because he was very strict about grading their papers. On the other hand, he would also give them sudden unexpected surprises like cash prizes, or a painting, if the assignment or project work could keep up to his expectations.


With mixed feelings, Fahmida tiptoed to the little cubicle with Mr. Raihan’s name plate on it. He was already looking at her through his golden-framed spectacles. Her periscope rested on his table. He leafed through The Daily Star with one hand, and sipped tea from a fat ceramic mug with the other.



“May I come in, sir?”


“Sure, take a seat, young lady.” Raihan was always polite with females.


“Great job with this, Fahmida , so… He paused, pointing to an orange envelope just beside his mug. “You deserve this.” A warm smile assured the girl that her three-hour-long effort with the project had brought out something good.


She opened the envelope carefully once outside the cubicle. Out came a 1000 taka note, and a lovely sketch of a mermaid. She was confident about her work, such a lovely prize made her euphoric.

“I’ll buy a gift for mom with this.” She thought, as she looked at the cash.


“Hey, how did the meeting go?” Saima was waiting for her friend at the lobby.


“Look what I got!” Fahmida exclaimed as she held up the artwork for Saima.




“See this?” Saima showed a project report for the periscope. She had scored a B- .


“Physics was never my favorite anyway. I just need to pass out. A simple D+ would do.” She remarked.


It took her another half-hour to get out of the school. That day, Physics was the only class. Fahmida always kept some time to hang out with her friends. On her way back home, there was a branch of Archie’s Gallery, which had a huge collection of soft toys, cards, show-pieces, coin-boxes, jewelry cases etc. It was Monir and Parveen’s 20th anniversary after a week. After window shopping for some time, Fahmida picked up a crystal photo frame, with two heart shaped chambers on either side. It had space for four different photographs.


“Perfect for Ammu

Mother

and Abbu

Father

. Fariha thought as she got up on a cycle rickshaw.

Check out

FORUM

Try your luck-Charity Raffle-Hibernate   (E) A raffle to support various charity groups #1291778 by Humming Bird