The Crazy Class Trip (3)

Warning: 24 hours on a mini bus strictly not recommended, especially for people with sensitive backsides.

Imagine this. 24 people, sitting close to midnight on a nearly deserted station. Oh yes, and to top it all one of our classmates wanted to have a dance off with a drunk Michael Jackson wannabe.

The teachers were calling up senior teachers, trying to figure out what to do. One thing was clear. We were not supposed to spend the night in Bangalore. We did try telling the teachers that we could take a Volvo and then later pay. But no. They wanted to do it their way.

We got into our tour bus and started off for some place. I don’t really know the name. The girls and boys were separated and put in two mini buses. Oh did I mention one of the guys had chicken pox?
 

So at 1.04 am, I was sitting on a mini bus, trying to sleep, which was a bit difficult due to three reasons. Firstly I’m a long legged person, and there was no leg space at all. Second, the window on the other side was completely open, and it was freezing cold. Third and most annoyingly, the driver was playing Himesh Reshamia songs and refused to play any others. (For those of you who don’t know, Mr. Reshamia sings through his nose, and it can be quite irritating.) Two guys were on our bus, and one refused to sleep saying that most accidents in the state of Karnataka occurred because the driver fell asleep.

In the morning, my phone was the only one with charge so it was used to call up the parents. We finally stopped at a petrol pump to freshen up. My friend and I made a beeline for a shop asking for a plug point to charge our phones. I must say I fell in love with my phone all over again because in fifteen minutes it had four bars. We stopped to breakfast at a small roadside joint. Lunch was at four in the afternoon. And I finally made it back home by around 1.30 am.

Here’s the best bit. A week later I got chicken pox, and so did all others in the class who hadn’t gotten it before! Moral of the story? Never ever let your teachers plan your class trips!!

The Crazy Class Trip (2)

After spending two days and a night in Mysore, we headed back to Bangalore to shop some more.  Stopping at a stadium opposite the entrance to Commercial Street, we were told to get back by 7 pm. That gave us around 3 hours to shop. We spilt up into many groups and went different ways. We all got back to the bus on time and started off for Pizza Hut, to take pizzas so we could eat on the train. After getting the pizza, we started off for the station.

One of the teachers just happened to take a look at the ticket. It was 8.50 pm…and our train was leaving at 9 pm!!! Apparently out guide had though 21.00  meant 11 o’clock. A mad rush for the station took place. Many of us, seasoned travellers tried calling the station. And then we suggested instead of Yeshvantpur, why not go to Bangalore Junction, where the train’ll wait for more time. But no, the teachers were stubborn, and by the time we reached the platform, our train was gone.

Now what would happen normally in a situation like this? Teachers would take charge and calm parents, guardians and students down right? But then my school is not normal. They started weeping!! And our sir disappeared somewhere! I must say that is one time my class was at it’s best. Dividing wordlessly into groups, some started calming the teachers down, two of us contacted friends in Bangalore to ask for tickets, and while I did that I also had the honour of calming down a classmate and calling up his grandfather.

We sat at the station till 11 ‘o’clock, waiting for the teachers to come to a decision. It was 15 degrees C. Two girls didn’t have jackets, and the extra cardigans were greatly appreciated. Phones were switched off to conserve the battery.

The Crazy Class Trip (1)

We started off for the station with plenty of time to spare. It was 2.30 in the afternoon and we had at least an hour and a half’s wait at the station, before our train to Bangalore was due. I started texting as soon as we left school. Many of my friends outside of school had been warned to keep their phones nearby in case I was dying of boredom and needed rescuing.

The hostelites (slang. Meaning students staying in the hostel.) , many of them seeing ‘proper food and drink’ (eg: Lays, Pepsi, etc.) after many days, rushed towards the only shop on the small station.  A minor problem with the zips of two bags was soon solved with a combined group effort. I’m pretty sure we scared all the people at the station with some crazy posing for photos and loads of horrible jokes (most of them made up by yours truly).The train arrived and we all climbed in. It was quite an amusing scene because believe it or not, it was the first time three of the girls were travelling by a train.

I stayed up past one in the morning, reading ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, because my darling friends were giggling over their respective cells. We reached at 8.30 in the morning and made our way to a miserable excuse for a hotel. After having breakfast and changing we started off for the largest theme park in India- Wonder La. It was quite eventful. A classmate twisting my arm as he thought I was the guy who was annoying him, and then later fainting due to dehydration put me at the top of the ‘Worry, she’s not well’ list.

Shopping at the forum was fun. My friend getting lost in Landmark was funnier. Proving that she was a weakling at Amoeba was the funniest. Oh and then we walked into a shop completely ignoring the ‘Closed’ sign! Well you can’t really blame us. She was high on Redbull and me on an extra large glass of Pepsi (yes I act drunk if I have too much Pepsi or cola.). To my delight the store which sold only candy was still there. We got back at midnight, got one room fiasco sorted out by one, and slept at three, to be woken up at six thirty.