OUR TRIP TO FORM ONE
We left home a day before the reporting date, as the school our gem was joining was in a different county. We turned the whole exercise into a family road trip. As we travelled, I wondered how I would say goodbye to my gem without breaking down.
Anyway, we got there and had a good family evening though it was really cold. The next morning we woke up and though we had planned to leave by 8 a.m., finally left at 10!
We thought the whole process would be smooth and that even if we were a little late, we would be done by 3 p.m.
Shock on us.
We got to the school and headed to the registration area, only to find that we were no. 230. Eeeek!!
The long wait began. An hour later we were done with the first phase. Now it was time to go to the accounts desk which had two people serving 400 parents. Gosh!!
Meanwhile, the sunny weather we had found had turned into dark, ominous clouds. It started raining just as we headed to the uniform section.
The uniform place was in a tented area, so just picture how it looked after a heavy downpour. It was a mess!
Sweaters ran out. Parents and their girls were pushing. Everyone wanted to finish up before it rained again. We got caught up in a scramble for mattresses. My poor gem had to ‘man’ up and grab one from the bigger, stronger parents.
Let’s not even talk about the queue for labelling. There were four labelling stations with over 50 parents at each one!
We were cold, hungry and tired. My gem wanted to go home.
We finally got everything my gem needed. I took out three permanent markers and we got to work, labelling the mattress, blankets, sweaters, shirts, etc.
Then all of a sudden we heard a voice on a loudspeaker saying, “Parents need to vacate the school now!”
The mad rush to say goodbye, take selfies, and give last hugs began. There was no time for tears. We parted and watched our gem disappear with two prefects, and then we left.
When would we hear from our gem again? That question ran through my mind as we left the school. Luckily, a dear friend had called earlier and told me not to leave without one precious item – the class teacher’s phone number. I kept looking at my phone to confirm that I had saved the number.
That night we sat quietly over dinner, missing our gem. Nobody spoke. Everyone was stuck to their gadget.
The next day we left that town and oh, how sad and worried I was for my poor, lonely gem. What did the dorms look like? Were they crowded? How about the showers? I had so many questions.
Luckily we would see our gem in three weeks, when all parents were expected to attend an orientation meeting.
Stay tuned to find out how the three weeks went!