It was a gloomy Tuesday morning. I had got up late, with exactly 35 minutes in hand to get completely ready and reach school. Considering the fact that my house was six kilometers away from school, it was no mean feat. I hurried everyone in the process, from my mom to the driver. In the end, I made it to school on time.
We broke for snacks at 10:05 a.m. Eager to have a bite, I looked to the side of my table for my lunch basket - and what did I find? Two half-litre Aavin milk packets (the blue ones: pasteurized, toned milk).
My mind started working frantically. On two things. One, the reason for these Aavin packets being in my lunch basket. Two, on how to survive the rest of the day by ensuring no one in class saw it. Point one was no biggie. It was probably for my grandmother’s house, which was the next stop for my car, and I took the wrong basket to school. No prizes for guessing how the second one went - my benchmate’s eyes lit up when he saw something familiar to what hangs outside his gate every morning, in my lunch basket. Curse the Gods for the timing - during Math class, no less.
“Ma'am! Aahir has brought paal packets to school!”
That was it. The entire class - teacher included - broke into peals of laughter in a split second, while I sat there wondering why fate had singled me out for this embarrassment. It didn’t end there. During lunch break, I was called to the principal’s office - with my lunch basket, of course. My driver had returned with my lunch inside the original basket. That's how I was nicknamed “Aavin Giri”. The worst part was, it required the replacement of only two letters. How rhyming.
