I don't know how the time passed. Soon I heared my phone beeping.

Yeah it's the sound of the alarm.

I slowly got up from my bed and went downstairs. My mom was watching TV. My dad was talking with the mechanic who promised to come by 3 in the afternoon. I made some coffee for myself and was drinking it while checking my phone.

After a couple of minutes, my father entered the living hall with a long sober face. He was looking like he had lost something precious.

"What's the matter dad?" I asked him.

He gave no replies. But my mother found out,

"Is it something about our car?" She asked.

He sat down on the sofa and began,

"The mechanic examined the car and said that the engine is in a very bad condition and should be replaced,

Immediately"

"I knew it, then what happened ?" asked my mother.

"He said that since it is a very old car, its spare engine needs to be imported, and it seems like it costs too much, he advised me to buy a new car instead " he replied.

"So we're going to buy a new car?" I asked excitedly coming forward from my comfy position.

We both looked at my father for some hopeful words, but....

"We will buy a new car not immediately but definitely." papa said with confidence.

I sighed and continued with my phone. That 'definitely' will never come. I knew about it.

"So how will you go to office and drop Mina at school?" my mom raised the next question.

"Well, I think we must practice to use town buses" replied my papa with a nervous smile.

"What? I cannot go by buses!" I said with folded arms.

"What if I miss them?" I raised my anxious question

"If you miss them once then you won't miss them the other time. Experience is the best teacher!" my mother mocked.

"Ok then, I will tell you which bus you have to take from tomorrow" said my father.

"You have to be early to the stop or you might miss the bus" warned my mother.

"Early? By what time?" I asked.

"I think it's G-15 " said my dad in midst of scrolling in his phone.

"Ah! You have to be in the stop by 7: 50 a.m. Because the bus leaves by 8" replied my father looking at his phone.

Why life is so hard for me. I wondered. I have never been so early in my entire life. I had no other option too. Hope I get used to it.

Suddenly I remembered about my damn homework. I sighed and dragged my legs to my room to complete that hell.

"Where are you going honey" my mother asked.

"I've got homework to complete" I replied.

"Homework on first day itself, poor girl." My mother pitied me.

.
.
.

I actually remember the exact wordings.

'Complete the remaining sums in the first exercise.'

Ok.. I turned my book to the first exercise of chapter 1 and was shocked to see 25 sums. I was on the verge of fainting. He solved only 2 sums in the class and I din't listen to those sums properly because I was having a cold war with that stupid Mike. Now what will I do. I was thinking with the book on my face.

I din't have any of my classmates number either.

"This is insane" I said and buried my head on the book.

Wait, why this is hard? These are just my math sums I should fight this on my own. I can do it.

I am a warrior.

I imagined math on one side of a battlefield armed with weapons like plus, minus, integration and differentiations. Me on the other side facing it with my most powerful sword and my brave heart, it looked at me and I looked at it. A terrific look! My knights Arryabatta, Pythagoras and Ramanijam were fighting furiously with its tough sums. I was fighting with my full heart and at the end our army won. We solved all the problems. I saved my people.

My people praising and and shouting my name.

I came to my senses back from my imagination, I was filled with somw kinda positive energy and looked through the example sums and the sums worked out in class and tried my best to solve all the remaining sums in the exercise. The time ticked off fast. I was happy because I was getting answers for my math sums which happen only once in a blue moon.

And at last I completed my battle by 8 p.m. I felt relived and went down to have my dinner.

I was in bed by 9 and setting my alarm a little early for next day because I need to go by bus.

Next morning I was waken up not by the alarm but by my father knocking my door hard. It was like someone hitting a nail with a hammer to hang a photo or something like that.

"Open the door Mina, Wake up or you will miss the bus!" he kept repeating the words until I twisted the door know and opened the door with eyes slightly opened allowing nearly 2% of vision. L

"What! I slept again unaware of the alarm?" I asked him in half sleep.

"Yes! You have only 15 minutes to get ready" he said and went downstairs.

"WHAT!!??" my eyes got 100% vision on hearing the last sentence cause now my eyes are wide open in shock.

I hurried to the washroom, bathed, got dressed and ran down. Luckily my mother prepared pancakes for breakfast this time. I wore my socks and shoes and took the pancakes in one hand and hurried to the stop.

"Careful honey don't rush, you may fall!" my mom said as I was about to fly out from the house.

"I'm fine mom" I replied fast before getting my pinky toe hit on the main entrance door.

"What the... ou..chhh!!"

"I told you na?"
"You okay now honey are you hurt, is it painting, can I bring some medicine?" My mom kept pouring out her questions.

"No mom, I-I am perfectly....fine!" I said and left the house.

Since I was wearing my shoes I din't feel more pain.

:
:

"Look, since today's your first day, you can go without a bus pass but you have to pay, here is the money." My father said while extending me the money.

"Get back home by climbing the same bus" he continued.

I kept nodding my head. I was not really interested in what he is saying because I am not interested in travelling by bus.

Luckily we reached the stop in time. I climbed into the bus, my father waved goodbye and advised me to be prudent and careful. The bus left the stop.

The first thing I did in the bus was scanning around. I have never travelled in a town bus before. But I hear about lots of theft in busses. But I don't have anything valuable or special except than my phone and there is no chance for it to get missed or stolen because I always have it in my hand.

If anyone is wishing to steal my school bag they are most welcomed because I don't need it either.

I was searching a place to sit. And the bus is not crowded today.

Place... a seat?

Where?
....

Where? Scan your eyes Mina!

Ah ha... I got one next to a window seat occupied by an old lady, at the corner. The bus stood in few stops, and in no time it became loaded with people. But when the bus stood at the fourth stop, I found... I found Mike entering in.

That Mander boy!?

What? My fate sucks! He din't have a place to sit and was standing holding a handbar.

I was looking at him with a smirk, poor guy din't have a place to sit. When I looked for him the second time he was not to be found. Now where this giraffe disappeared? I thought. I kept extending my neck to look where this boy disappeared in a minute time.

Just then I felt that someone standing near me; I turned and found him standing right next to me, that tall giraffe.

I gave him a mocking smile. He just ignored. Then I remembered that I should avoid him for my further problems in future and kept quiet. He too din't speak further. Everything went on well; no fights, no cold wars, no sign languages.

Just silence.

Of course other than us everyone in the bus where talking or atleast doing their own things.

Everything between me and him now is so silent that now I'm finding something fishy in this creepy silence and my guess was right because in the next instant, the driver applied the brake, and it was rather a very sudden one I got hold of Mike's hand for support. It was more like grabbing his.

I dint realize that first. All I thought was to save my head from kissing the iron bar in front.

He cleared his throat which actually meant to take my hands off from his, but I din't hear that. He tapped on my shoulder and said,

"Can you please leave my hand, it is not meant for you to hold for" he said in his cold tone.

I then realized and left his hand.
"I din't do it on purpose" I replied.

"Whatever" was his one word reply.

In few minutes we reached our stop. We got down from the bus.

.
.
.

"I thought the bus would leave us in the school" I said.

"This is not a school bus okay? Why are you so dumb?" he asked me.

"Stop it!" I have never been in a town bus before so I never knew it.

"How long is school from here?" I asked him.

"Probably a 10 minute' walk" he replied brushing his hair

"Are we the only school students who belong to this stop?" I asked again.

"I don't know about that, I think so." Mike replied.

"Why are-" before I could complete...

"Now please don't ask me anything further!" he said rudely and began walking.

The place seemed new to me and I don't know the way to school from this new stop. My only guide here is none other but Mike.

I was walking behind him, he din't mind it first but later turned back to me and asked,

"Why are you following me?" he asked me.

What?

"Uh... I am not following you" I was nervous while saying at first but said it boldly somehow.

He continued to walk, I was maintaining distance with him so that he will not find me following him again.

After passing through the second street he stopped for a while. I too stopped because I don't know which way to take further. He turned back to confirm whether I was following him, I suppose.

I immediately turned to the other side of the street. Now he mist be overflowing with confusion and that made him to walk towards me. I was planning my dialogues by that time.

"You don't know the way to school, right?" he asked me.

"No, I know the way!" I lied to him.

"No point in acting, this is not the way to school, you must turn by the first street, I just stopped here to make it clear that you are following me" he said.

I knew that I had no other go than to surrender.

"Yes... I don't know the way" I said in a low voice with my head down.

He bent down to get a clearer and a closer view of my face making my heartbeat increase.

After darting my face with his grey eyes he said,

"Even you have a work to do for me"

His eyes had something it is so magnetic and I was finding hard to break my eye contact with him.

"What! Work?" I asked him confused.

"Yes" he replied and carried his face away from me "We can have it as a deal, you catch me a place in bus and I will guide you to school" he continued.

"What? This is so unfair! I can learn the way to school by this evening itself. That doesn't mean I need to catch a place you place for the entire year!" I argued.

"Ok, then I will tell everyone in the class that you were using the boy's restroom on the first day of school" he added.

Shit! this is insane. He is worser than I thought, I have to agree with him to safeguard my profile.

"Ok deal" I said with clenched teeth.

"That's good" he said smiling.

And I walked with him to school,

"You know the only advantage of being short minion?" He asked me.

I planned not to answer his silly question.

After few seconds of silence I felt a weight above my head. I looked up and found Mike's hand resting on my head.

"This" he said.
"A stand to a tall person" he added.

I pushed his hand off from my head.

"Get your hand off me, giraffe" I said and continued walking with this guy to school

______________________________

Hailo mitron!♡♡♡
The hardest thing in an entire day is deciding to wake up or continue sleeping (well, I belong to the second category! And you?)
So obviously the next question is,
What time you wake up every day? (I wake up 7 am in the morning because my bus comes at 7:35)