Pihu walked with a school pad on her head. Storm and wind were pushing her against her will towards the edge of the road. She kept trying hard to stay in the middle. Her knee-length skirt kissed the rainwater logged on the roads. She was worried about reaching the exams late. Her heart sank at the sight of the flooding water turning along the lanes. Her head was meanwhile repeating-

• The collective term for petals is corolla.
• The four main parts of a flower are the petals, sepals, stamen, and pistil.
• Other terms she read for her Biology exam…

Pihu’s Biology sir liked her a lot. She didn’t want to lose his trust by forgetting her answers. He was her role model. In biology and religion. He always quoted the best lines from the bible while disciplining the kids in class. She found him very kind to everybody. Each time that he started the class with a prayer, she would feel calmer and better focused. He was not like Maths sir who would force children to memorise the bible for surprise tests. Why was the Maths teacher giving them bible tests anyway?

A polythene cover floated around her in the fast-moving water. It appeared from behind her and went into a whirl right before her. She remembered there used to be a manhole at this point. Someone must have opened it during this rain. She manoeuvred around the manhole just in time. As she turned, she saw a few other people close behind. She warned the next person about the manhole.

Braving the rains she reached the school, only to see a notice that said, School closed due to rains. This was the time before mobile phones existed. Writing pads were used for studies and not iPads. The notice said that the exam may happen on the next day if rain stops. Pihu felt a sense of relief. She could draw the plant better the next day when her writing pad is not this wet.

She turned around to find the rain getting even harsher. But if she stopped, Mom would question why she had taken so long. The other day, Pihu was chatting with her friends outside for half an hour after school. Her mother was very upset and worried for her safety. Pihu did not understand what could be unsafe about sixth-standard kids being a bit late after school. But she could understand how worried her mother would get if she was late to return in this cyclonic rain.

So, ready or not, Pihu prepared to walk back home. She started by squeezing the rainwater off the bottom of her dress and fixing the hair by running her hand through it. Her dripping ribbon stuck to her shoulder partially untied from her hair. Her writing pad was unusable for writing after all this. So it found its place again covering Pihu’s head protecting her from the hammering drops of rain.

Pihu spotted no other student while returning from school but did not feel disheartened. There was an untold joy in her heart as she took each step with caution. A part of her was happy that the dry hot days of Chennai finally saw the onset of this year’s monsoon. And another part was elated about the exam being postponed. She couldn’t say which one of these led to a smile on her face. She might have not written the exam yet but she felt that she passed the test of the storm.