Intense Desires...

Miracle of Miracles...

The last exam of the year, Science, was not my favorite subject of the year as much as history, but it usually yielded good results. I began with 'Atoms and Molecules,' an introductory chemistry course, then moved on to 'Machines,' 'Biology,' and finally, 'Electricity and Uses,' a beginning physics course, in the last quarter. This one was a no-brainer for me. All year, I hadn't missed a single point on homework or a quiz. I could sign the final, submit it in, and receive a B+. I rapidly went over the papers as they were handed out and almost burst out laughing. I only had two hours to complete this test. It would take 15 minutes to complete. And I'd be a natural at it.

I read it over, double-checked my work, and handed it in 20 minutes after class began. When I delivered it to Mr. Anil Pratap, he simply nodded, and I returned to my desk to read. A handful of kids gave me filthy glances, but Sonia Prajapati smiled at me, and I understood why. She handed in her test, turned around and poked her tongue out at me, and sat down two minutes later. She'd only made two mistakes all year. She earned the highest grades in the school, with all of her classes receiving straight A's. In science, on the other hand, I had her beat, and she was well aware of it.

"I intended to finish before you, but I got stuck on one question," Sonia stated as we were exiting the room after the exam concluded. I believe I did it correctly, but I had to redo it once. "See you next year!"

"Next time you thrust your tongue out at me, you better be prepared to use it!" I remarked, feeling confident and a touch frisky after my encounter with Alisha.

"Ashvini!" she exclaimed, her face flushed blazing red. She rolled her eyes. She was attractive, but she hadn't yet begun to mature. She walked away, huffing. I grinned. I'd gotten her so worked up that she didn't know what to do. With only one remark! Maybe next year I'll ask her to join me on a date.

I'm done for the year! I made my way to the bus, where I met Preeti and we continued our cricket conversation. We made arrangements to play some street cricket on Friday while all the kids were off because she was in 9th grade and wouldn't be at the 10th-grade class party. Since she moved in next door to us over two years ago, she and her brother Rakesh have been regulars at our street games.

On Thursday, I had the entire day free, but most of the group had examinations, so I decided to simply hang out at home, watch TV, and relax. Mom had a different plan. She handed me a list of duties as soon as I got up on Thursday (I never slept late, always getting up with the sun).

"Aw, Mom, it's the first day of vacation!" I wailed.

"You're right, and this summer you're not going to sit around."

"Can you tell me what you're talking about? Next week is a chess competition, followed by two weeks of summer school and two weeks at Nainital. And, much like last year, it means two weeks of wandering through the woods and practicing basic survival skills! "

I was in the Disaster Management Program, and although certain aspects of it were enjoyable (for example, the drill in which you carry gorgeous females on your shoulders and rescue them from disasters), the rest was tedious hell.

"Well, those are your responsibilities. If you want to go to the party tomorrow night, get moving. "

Threats are always present. There will be no more Sherlock Holmes, but there will be more Mogambo (famous Indian movie villain).

I grabbed the hose and adapter and began power-washing the deck. As usual, pine needles were stuck between the boards, birds had made their usual mess, and there appeared to be a Coke spill. It wasn't difficult, but I was eager to read. I wanted to practice some chess openings and go through my new Super-Man comic book. Mom, on the other hand, had other plans, and I felt the sooner I finished, the better, even if it meant she'd load on more stuff.

I began working on the furnishings once the deck had been cleaned. There will undoubtedly be soda spills. Also, some sort of sauce. Anoop. It has to be that way. Last weekend, he and his pals (all in sixth grade) were out there. He was the one who caused the mess, and I was the one who had to clean it up. He's capable of accomplishing this. But instead, Mom assigned it to me while he ate breakfast at the kitchen table and watched something on the dining room's 21-inch TV. I simply shook my head and returned to my seat. After finishing the chairs, I moved on to laying mulch around the plants in front of the house. I got the wheelbarrow, went behind the garage, got two bags of mulch, loaded them up, and pushed the barrow around to the front of the house. I put on some gloves and split open the bags of mulch, spreading it about loosely before going to grab the rake to make it appear like I knew what she wanted.

Sheetal was waiting on the front step when I returned. My ten-year-old sister noticed, "Mom, got you slaving away again? She didn't even wait till the end of the school day. "

"Yeah, Sheetu, (we call her fondly)," I replied dejectedly. "And, as usual, Anoop gets away with murder."

She agreed with a nod. She didn't, however, move to assist. This isn't surprising. She was the family's "Princess." Just ask my father about it. The point is, she didn't act like it was a big deal. She simply took advantage of the situation. I comprehended the circumstances and followed my destiny.

If I kept thinking about it, I'd become enraged, say something stupid to my mother, and miss out on Yamini's farewell party. On Monday, she was scheduled to fly to London. If my luck held, tomorrow would be the last time I saw her, for the rest of my life. I like to write, but I'm terrible at writing letters. Sheetal had a pen pal, so I figured I'd ask her about it. On the other hand, what would two ten-year-old girls speak about that I could utilize with Yamini? For the time being, I set that thought aside and went to get the lawnmower.

By midday, I had completed all of the outside tasks. I was relieved because it was going to be a hot day. The basement was next on the to-do list. We had table tennis and a TV room down there, as well as all of our toys. I had a feeling it was going to be a shambles. I hadn't gone down there with my pals in over a month, except for two Sundays ago when Om came over and we played table tennis. Anoop, on the other hand, was constantly down there with his pals. Oh, no! He's back.

I unlocked the game closet and began taking items out, placing them on the tennis table so I could reorganize them. The same could be said about the crates of green plastic army soldiers, tanks, and other war tools. I had a feeling about what would happen next, so I wasn't surprised when Anoop and his pals came down and told me I needed to relocate everything because they wanted to play table tennis. He knew mum had brought me down here to clean up the mess, and he knew he could now go complain to our mother that I did it simply to annoy him.

"I'm going to get very angry. Don't test my patience. I'm cleaning up, but I'm not moving anything, so you and your dumb buddies can play table tennis. You're the one who caused this mess, and I'm the one who has to clean it up. Get out of here."

I recognized the pattern. "Mom, Ashvini called my buddies stupid and won't allow us to play table tennis," he shouted to the mother.

"Get up here, Ashvini Surender Tyagi." For a long time, I had not heard (my full name) from my mother in this tone. This is becoming increasingly difficult for me. Yes, the pattern has been followed. As I pushed past Anoop up the stairwell, he grinned. I realized it was pointless to argue or whine, so I tried to be as rational as possible.

"Mom, I'm taking care of the duties you requested. I'll be done in an hour or so if he and his pals wait an hour or so. They'll ruin everything if I stop now, and I'll have to start over. "

"Well, they want to play table tennis, and you shouldn't have anything stacked on the table," she ordered me.

"Mom, they just want to play table tennis now because I am cleaning up there and have put stuff on the table."

I was well aware that I was fighting a lost battle. It was much too significant a gathering. I gave in.

I got up and cleared the clutter from the table. I double-checked that nothing was near where they were going to be. They played one round of table tennis before deciding to walk outside. They did that intentionally to irritate me. Mom would never notice something like that. While I was straightening, I was enraged. I even covered the table and put the peddles away. I contacted Mom to check if I was done, since I didn't think Anoop and his mates would screw it up again.

Vacuuming the rugs was the last item on my to-do list. I pulled the vacuum out of the closet and carried it upstairs to vacuum the bedrooms and hallway. I needed a hose connection for the stairs, so I connected it up and finished them. The living room and family room come next, followed by the subterranean playroom. Anoop and his buddies hadn't returned to obstruct my progress, 'The Miracle of Miracles'. I stowed the vacuum, double-checked the list, informed Mom that I was finished, and went to my room. I locked the door, switched on the radio, and took out my new Super-Man comic book, which I had purchased as soon as it was released in 2002. After around three episodes of the comic, it occurred to me that I should also be preparing for a chess competition and that I should defeat Ritvik this time. As a result, I put down my comic and began reading one of my father's advanced chess instruction books, which he had given me on my 12th birthday. It was an easy book in some aspects, but I usually read it before a competition. I had a few other help books on chess, but that one seemed to constantly put me in a good mood and position during the matches.

I had no clue what my mother had planned for Friday, but I resolved right then and there to be as cheery and helpful as possible. It was simply too crucial for me to miss the celebration. It was a quiet dinner. Pasta with Italian sauce and fried eggs. As usual, it's drab. Ground eggs, tomato sauce, mushroom soup, and noodles are all that is needed. I made the decision that I needed to learn to cook. I didn't want to live the rest of my life that way (I don't know what's happening to my mother's cooking nowadays). I went straight to my room after supper and didn't come out. I slept like a machine off for tonight and shall wake up tomorrow morning.