When little Isha learnt that on the first of next month she would start school, she was happy as a butterfly. She jumped around the house, thinking about all the fun she was going to have there.
As the days went by, her parents started buying her all the things she would need for school. With just a day to go, Isha had everything she needed for her first day. She had a pretty little bag filled with colourful books and a new set of uniform and shoes too.
Her little brother, Chotu, looked at all her things in awe. He couldn’t help but open her bag and see what’s inside.
“Be careful,” said Isha. “They’re new.”
“Sorry, I was just looking,” said Chotu.
“Alright, go ahead but don’t turn the pages. They might tear,” said Isha.
“Is this your lunch box?” asked Chotu picking up her casserole.
“Yes, that’s a casserole. It will keep my lunch nice and warm,” said Isha.
“Your shoes are so nice,” said Chotu.
“Uh huh,” said Isha. “I have two pairs. One to go with the regular uniform, one for the sports uniform and on Saturdays, I can wear whatever I want. I’ll wear a new frock every week.”
Hearing all this, Chotu also wanted to go to school. But he’d have to wait another year before that happened.
In the evening, Isha’s friends Pinky and Shweta came over to play. They were all going to board the school bus together the next morning.
“Will you come see me off in the morning, Chotu?” Isha asked him.
Chotu nodded and resumed playing fetch with Shweta’s dog, Bruno.
“Shweta, does Bruno see you off every morning?” asked Isha.
“Yes, he does,” said Shweta. “He runs ahead and waits with me till the bus arrives.”
That night, Isha had packed all her books and readied her uniform for the next day. She could hardly wait. The next morning, Isha’s parents rode with her on the bus and took her to class. They introduced her to her class teacher at Rimjhim School. Isha took an immediate liking to her new school and her teacher. She sat right next to her teacher and made lots of friends. *
Her teacher was very sweet to her and said, “You have such a nice name.”
Isha smiled and said, “Thank you, ma’am.”
“You seem to have made a lot of friends today. Are you having fun?” asked the teacher.
“Yes, ma’am, I am,” said Isha.
“Very good,” said the teacher. “Do you have any friends outside school?” asked the teacher.
“Yes, I do. Shweta and Pinky are my best friends. They are older than me, but we play together every evening,” said Isha.
“That’s nice,” said the teacher. “How many people are there at home?”
“There’s me, Chotu and my parents,” said Isha.
“Is Chotu your brother?” asked the teacher.
“Yes, he is. He’s younger than me, but he’s my best friend too,” said Isha.
“That’s great,” said the teacher. “Why don’t you stay here and I’ll be back in a minute,” she said and stepped outside.
As Isha sat in her place near the teacher’s desk, she saw that a strange man was peeping inside through the window. Isha felt nervous. After looking around, the man climbed in through the window and walked towards the teacher’s bag. Isha immediately ran to the teacher’s chair and grabbed the bag.
“Who are you? Go away!” she said to the strange man, but he didn’t listen and tried to snatch the bag away from her.
Isha held on tight and refused to let go. She called out to her parents, who were outside paying Isha’s fees. The thief yanked hard on the bag and knocked Isha down. She burst into tears and cried out loud.
Hearing her cries, her parents came running. Startled, the thief jumped out of the window and escaped.
As her parents came, they asked her what happened. Hearing all the commotion, the teacher too came running and at once understood that Isha had foiled a robbery. She took her bag from Isha and gave her a hug.
“Isha, you’ve not even finished your first day at school and you’ve already shown tremendous courage,” said the teacher. “I had my money, phone and credit cards in that bag. Thank you for not letting that man steal it,” said the teacher.
Isha stopped crying and realised what she had done. She smiled for knew she was going to like school.
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