Thursday Thoughts: Five Kids on The Block and Michael

When I was young, I was naughty beyond description. Some say they lacked words to describe me! I don't know which one to believe but like any other adolescents, I was care free, green and raw, both in action and in thoughts. I did all sorts of things that I fancied most. Sadly I ended up getting most of the things wrong and thus ended up breaking the rules of the school.

I remember how my father got summoned to my headmaster's office on numerous occasions. My father answered all my mistakes and sometimes he often broke down! I also know how my mindless acts have kept my poor parents on their toes. -All the time. Honestly, no parents would have suffered verbal floggings like my father from the school headmaster and no mother would have cried a river like my mother. Its a long story of my days in Ura. Some day I would definitely like to write more about those mindless acts  in detail.

But for now I wanted to write about an incident in Jakar High School. It was the second school  that I attended.

Well, I went to that school with a hallmark of being naughty, bully and to some extent, smart and mischief. But there I soon realized that things weren't the same as it used to be in Ura. I have reached a place completely different from the one I have envisioned. I saw boys and girls far naughtier, far more bully and far mischievous than me. They were bigger than me in size and taller than me in height. So bullying any one was out of equation. Some of them were already on drugs, drinks and gang!

There, I took not less then few weeks to find a friends of my own class. I was the second youngest in the group. We were five then and we gave ourselves a name. Thus five of us came to be known as "Five kids on the block". Interestingly no one knew what it actually meant.

Overwhelmed by the authority of my three senior friends, I did not have much role to play in the group. I  became merely an additional mouth to feed on limited stocks my friends received from their parents. I was neither good in running away from my class nor good at frequenting the apple garden in the night. In short, I became a burden for my friends. Soon three of our senior friends started ignoring me and the other friend who is year younger to me.

In a mean time, I got into a problem with a senior boy in our hostel. I knew him well. Cleanliness to him meant godliness and thereby, he had the reputation of keeping his bed neat and tidy. -All the time.  Not only that, he was also known to have beaten one of our senior group member before. Therefore messing with him was the last thing on my mind.

But very unfortunately, me and my friend ran over his bed while we were playing. Sadly, were detected before we could even rearrange it. He immediately summoned two of us.

We stood right next to his out-of-order bed. He kept on shooting questions after questions for which we had no answer. I thought he was going to slap us tight but he choose to push me alone in the corner. He was targeting me specifically. I stood silent like a rock but he kept on pushing me again and again and again. He humiliated me and I felt bitterly embarrassed. He then pulled me in the middle of crowd and pushed me so hard that I fell on the ground, disclosing all my private parts!! That was the height of his mistreatment.

 I shouted on top of my voice. "Jedha" When I got up from the ground, I was completely blinded by my anger. I could hardly see any object other than the bully he pushed me on the ground. So I threw my hardest punch and it landed exactly on his nose. I felt an immense sense of satisfaction! I do not know how, but that punch brought him down on the ground. I then pinned him on the window. To my surprise he could not match me in strength. It was up to me  from that point to bash him left and right. It was very unfortunate for him because I had my mother's silver ring on my finger. It was the turquoise on the ring that did rest of the job. Had someone not pulled me back, I would have literally killed him that day. From next day, he wouldn't even look into my face directly. Oh yea, I felt proud.

When the fight was over, I saw my other friends. They looked very happy for that fact that I won the fight single handed. I don't know how far it was true but everyone in my hostel became aware of my hidden strength and that no one would mess with me thereon.  It was then my group gave me this nick -"Michael"- I felt more confused. I knew Michaels who danced, sang and wrote, But I never knew any Michael who fought and beat the big boys.

Over the years Michael over took my real name. Soon no one knew me with my real name. Even my sister, -a farmer, had to come looking for "Michael" to ultimately find me.

Coming back to our three senior friends, they ignored us further. They have even made a secret plan to go to Thimphu themselves. God only knew their plan. On a very fateful day, three of then ran away from the school. I suppose they were travelling in a truck. Then the most unforgettable thing happened. The truck they were travelling in veered off the road and killed one of our friend on the spot. The news of his death struck me like a poisoned arrow. I knew not what to do.

Day after his death, in the school auditorium, long prayers were held in his memory, I cried like a baby and looking at me, many girls also cried too. School declared mourning day. It was a very painful experience loosing a friend. His death not only marked end of his life and legacy, but it also brought a stark end of our group. So called the "Five kids on the block" died too.