The Foot Bridge....

~~Friends~~

"And I just look the same" I spoke.

"Well I was waiting for you to recognise me and compliment me about my new look, you know." To that me and Ro just giggled.

"Well you do look pretty with the fringe." I complimented.

"Oh, thank you." She lunged forward to hug me and that gesture sent us both straight into the fountain. It was lunch time and we were sitting in the courtyard where the snow had melted and the sun was shining bright to which I had shown great disappointment since I loved the serene atmosphere the snow had set but now being in the fountain water among the fishes and the ducks that were apparently taken out of the water in the morning due to the weather, I somehow felt grateful since the water was warm.

"My lunch!!" Ro cried out, which was a mutton sandwich with a red sauce. It did look delicious and she did have a right to cry about it since Ghazal's hug even took the sandwich down with it as well.

"Oh for heaven sake forget about your lunch and get us some towels from the..." Ghazal was left hanging when the teacher approached us with towels. Ghazal stood up and was shivering as the weather was still a bit chilly.

We were taken to the locker room to change. Ro went to attend the next class where as me and Ghazal changed into our P.E uniforms. My uniform was new and it was so warm.

"This is all I needed, a warm fluffy jacket" I sighed feeling the comfort of the jacket as well as the loose trouser. We were each given indoor slippers which were apparently worn by the sisters when they went to the church.

"That's not all of what we need." I looked at Ghazal questioningly.

"We need a cup of hot chocolate form Ms. Dominique's office."

"Can we get that?" If we could then this school is so lenient.

"Of course, we can"

"Yeah it'll be for the better since I am in no mood for meeting the principal after school" I somewhat hoped.

"Oh yeah, she'll talk to you about your day at the school and she'll talk to you as if you're her age so you better save yourself from the old wise talk. But overall she's a lovely old lady" she suggested.

And once again I got chance to devour the taste of the alluring hot chocolate. I sipped the contents of my mug as Ghazal and Ms. Dominique talked. She treated us with great hospitality as if we weren't her students but her friends. There was no strict demeanour she held and she certainly didn't shoo us to our classes instead she presented us with the Kashmiri bread which suited perfectly with the hot chocolate even though the Kashmiri bread is best with kahwa (warm sweet drink).

Ghazal was somewhat bored by the Ms. Dominique's advisory talk and was waiting for me to finish my drink so we could leave but as soon as my mug hit the coffee table Ms. Dominique's mouth opened.

"So how's school Laura?"

"It's lovely and so far I've made two friends who keep me good company." From my peripheral view I could she Ghazal sink in her seat as she was about to leave.

"So I see..." As if on cue the bell ring for the next period and a smile lit Ghazal's face. We bid a goodbye to Ms. Dominique and left for our next class.

We had math and the teacher was said to be sweet and so she was. She was a native Kashmiri which made me realise that not all teachers here were nuns even though they were Christians.

******

After school I got my phone back from Ms. Martha's office and I tried to call papa but the stupid monotonous voice kept telling me that the network was restricted despite the fact I had my SIM card on roaming. I wish papa would never had forbidden the usage of mobile phones during the summer, if that would have happened I would've never been in this situation right now. Ghazal and Ro waited for me at the school gates so I hurried to them.

Luckily non of us were bus students, they both lived in the neighbourhood on the other side of the footbridge I had seen this morning. As it was time for us to part our ways, we bid our good byes.

"You guys are so lucky you get walk on that beautiful footbridge every morning and afternoon, I would love to cross it every day. The view is just so attracting and I wish I could sit at those steps where you get to ride a boat, I would simply admire the reflections in the river" I went on expressing my wishes.

"You wouldn't want to sit down there" Ro suggested in a low voice.

"Why?" I questioned her.

"Cause that place is bad news, honey and it ain't dreamland" Ghazal informed.

As they left I couldn't stop thinking about how such a beautiful place could be bad news all the way till I reached home.