Doublecrossed

DOUBLECROSSED
(A real life story of childhood)
It was St Josephs high school at Bathinda where I was studying in 5th std in 1975. I used to go on my bike to school which was about 3km from my house located in a civil area as the accommodation in the cantonment was not available being scarce. Those days traffic was not much and I used to take a detour along the main road since it was out of bounds for me . However at times I used to go to the market with my friends if the need of the hour demanded something. We had a very strict principal, ‘Mother Rosalie’ whose nature did not sound in resonance with her sweet name having Rose in it and one could easily be convinced after attending her class that what I said was true. She used to teach us English. We did not dare to miss out homework given by her and made it a point first to finish off with it immediately after reaching home and then resort to other things including having food so that were tension free later. The fact that she was the principal further added a feather in her cap of her authority and fear of degree of punishment. Her way of teaching was however excellent as she made it a point to drill everything into our heads of all the words she spoke during her lecture before dismissing the class.
One fine day after giving the homework she told us to bring a 200 page register from the market which would be the CW (Classwork ) notebook and would take into effect from tomorrow without fail and no excuses for not bringing it would be accepted. That was more than enough as her statement was the last word and could not be changed even if the highest authority in the town would approach her for changing her decision on request. Now everyone’s tail was on fire till the time one could get hold of that 200 page register.
The last period was going on so was the planning in everyone’s mind about how and where to go after the class to get it ; The school stationery shop, the stationery shop in police bazaar or elsewhere, whether it will be available? Whether the shops will be open at this time? What if I am unable to get it? Will she agree to our request ? What punishment will she give if we are unable to bring it the next day and hundreds of such doubts had already gripped our minds. I do not think anyone was concentrating in the class rather everyone was more interested in solving the problem of tomorrow. I tied up with my friend, Malwinder that we both will go to the market together in the afternoon to get the register as I do not think it will be available in the school tuck shop to which he agreed and it was decided that soon after having lunch he would come to my house from where we will go together to the market. Soon the class was over and everyone proceeded home. We checked from the tuck shop of the school and as expected the register was not available.
After reaching home I had my lunch and waited for my friend, Malwinder to come. It was 2 O clock in the afternoon and I was getting impatient for him. Soon I heard Trin! Trin! of his cycle bell and was exulted. As it is I was sitting in a ready position and we both took off immediately to the market. We crossed the main roads entered the Police bazaar and stopped at the stationery shop. On inquiring about its availability we came to know that only 100 page register is available which was not acceptable to us as it would be straight away rejected by her. So we went to another shop and another and still another but could not get it. The thought of taking two hundred page registers was also opted out as the principal had very categorically told us that she requires only one register. Now the tension started getting in our small heads and we prayed that we get it in time.
Malwinder was tall, hefty, stronger and older to me by about one year and was not so worried as I could make out from his face as compared to my state of mind since I was also new to the school. We also hunted for it in all the general merchant shops that if by chance some shopkeeper may have kept some stationery quota in his shop and this register might be available there but all in vain. But finally as luck would had it I found a register of 200 pages in a small general merchant shop and we both took a sigh of relief .
We at once asked the shopkeeper to pack two such registers and put our hand in the back pocket to take out the money for paying its price. The shopkeeper went inside and searched for the other piece but came out empty handed saying that only one piece is available. This gave birth to a new problem as to who will buy this as only one of us could do that. I was feeling shy to say that I would like to take it as I noticed it and had asked the shopkeeper first as Malwinder was still on his bike while I had gone inside the shop to inquire about it after reaching the shop and after my confirmation of its availability I called him to come inside the shop. I however gathered some moral courage to say softly to Malwinder ,
”I will take this one and we will go for the other one to the next shop”
Malwinder at once replied in a heavy and louder voice,” How can this be possible I am elder to you so it becomes my right first to buy this”.
I felt very bad seeing his behaviour change all of a sudden which was highly unexpected of him. If he felt so, he could have conveyed this in a pleasant and friendly way for I could have given it to him itself on the bonds of friendship.
“How can he talk like that to me being my friend?” I said to myself and kept quiet.
While I was thinking this he meanwhile ordered the shopkeeper to pack the register. I could not hold on any longer so I also said in a furious manner
”No, I located it first hence I would take it “ and the never ending argument started then and there at the shop itself.
Seeing this the Shopkeeper told us to first decide the matter amongst ourselves and then come to his shop. Then the argument ended with the decision that no one of us will buy this and we go further for its search in some other shop and accordingly we proceeded ahead.
We searched that register in all the shops but could not find it anywhere . Two hours had passed and it was getting late so we dropped the idea and decided to return on the pretext that we will search out somewhere near our respective houses or else tell ‘Mother Rosalie’ that we could not get it anywhere and require some more time to get it facing the consequences whatsoever. We returned back to our respective homes and were obviously tense.
At the time of doing homework of other subjects I was feeling very uncomfortable and was not able to concentrate with all the weird thoughts flashing in my mind of the state I was going to face the next day. Exhausted from these thoughts I finally arrived at one decision.
‘I will go and get that register as it would be foolish on my part to leave it there since so much of efforts to find it had already been put in which would go waste otherwise’.
I tried to convince myself that it would not be a treachery as Malwinder had showed his big brother attitude by speaking to me in such a rude way which he should not have done it thereby showing his selfishness and disrespect to our friendship. He could have conveyed it to me in a pleasant way so rather it would be a lesson for him for his such future endeavours’.
So I took my bike, went to the market at the same shop and asked the same shopkeeper to give the register we had seen about two hours back. He immediately brought that register of 200 pages on which was written ‘National note book’. I took our Rs15/-and immediately handed over the same to him as its cost price and came back home satisfied and happy but still however at the back of my mind felt a guilt of breaking the promise I had made to Malwinder that nobody of us would buy that register . Any how I quickly finished my homework of Mother Rosalie and could breathe properly thereafter.
Next day I went to school satisfied without fear but that guilt kept disturbing my mental peace with questions like what will Malwinder think of me if he comes to know of my act ? I will fall down in his eyes and this is not what a true friend does. Although I had covered the register with a brown sheet and labelled it properly with a beautiful sticker from which he could not make out at the first glance that it is the same register which we both had seen the previous day but still I was not confident.
Amazingly I saw a similar register he had brought with home work done and it also appeared to be of 200 pages. I thought it better not to ask him the details as to from where and how he managed that so that he is not prompted to ask the similar questions from me for I would not be able to tell a lie now. After the class was over I saw Malwinder coming towards me and my heartbeat doubled due to the guilt and I was finding a place to hide my face , not being able to decide which side to look at. He finally came near me and said,
” Yaar! You are a great thing, yesterday when I went again to the market to that shop to buy the same register which rightfully belonged to me the shopkeeper told me that you had already come and taken away the register from him. You are a very clever person?”
Till the time his half sentence was over I was drenched with shame and felt at the bottom of the world but on hearing that he had gone to buy the same register from the same shop in my absence my shame turned into anger and there was sudden change in me in a fraction of second with only one thought in my mind.
“Had I not acted the way I did, I would have felt much worse than what I am feeling right now.”
I patted my own self inside me praising the decision taken by me to buy that 200 page register. The feeling of guilt vanished, my head was high and I was bold with unknown strength which creeped inside me from nowhere. So I told Malwinder.
“I am now fully convinced that what I did was 100% right as you would have done the same thing what I had done had I not gone in for this decision to buy this notebook and in addition you would have been making a fun of myself showing your big brother attitude. Better luck next time my dear friend.”
When everyone came to know what had happened and I asked them to tell us
“Who’s correct? Me or Malwinder?”
You know what they did?
They clapped !