"Anumita goes home by school bus." Shravan refused to walk ahead.

"What! Are you sure? Is it this bus or some other vehicle?" I knew Anumita. A very well-behaved girl. 

"Let's go and see." Shravan held my hand and tried to drag me along.

"Okay. But you shouldn't go anywhere near the building." I moved towards the collapsed building cautiously. 

As we approached the place, I saw that the Social Studies teacher was arguing with one of the policemen. They must have refused to allow her. "Try to understand, madam. No civilian is allowed to go beyond this line until the rescue operation is complete."

"But I can clearly see the school bus. The children standing next to it are my students. I will just check whether they are fine." She pleaded with him.

"Siddhanth sir. Hello. It's me." I greeted him. 

"Hello sir." He acknowledged my greeting. Most police officers in the town knew me. 

"Sir, please allow us near the children. We will just call their parents and inform them what happened. This lady is their teacher. She knows their parents personally. We just want to assure them that their children are fine. It will be late until additional police force arrives." I took advantage of my acquaintance with him and tried to convince him.

"Alright. I'll allow you." Great! It finally occurred to him that we were trying to help him.

We rushed towards the school bus. The driver was slightly injured. He stood up when the teacher approached him. "I immediately turned left to avoid being crushed, madam. The children are safe."

There were a group of children standing next to him. They looked pale. The teacher took them to a corner and started calling their parents, by checking their numbers in their school diaries.  

A few others were trapped inside the bus. There was only one officer, trying to get them out through emergency window. They were crying. 

I couldn't take it any longer. I tried to break the already shattered glass windows. After a few attempts, I succeeded. 

"Children! Come here. Climb out of the window. I'll catch you." I called them towards me. 

Soon, the police personnel and I, rescued all the children and took them to the teacher. Anumita rushed towards Shravan. "Don't worry. We will play tomorrow." He assured her. 

"Shravu! Think before you speak. She is injured and all you are worried about is playing?" I scolded him.

"No Shravu. If we reach the park by 4.30, we can play till 6.30. And then I will go home by 7." Anumita announced her modified schedule. I didn't know whether I should laugh or facepalm.

The teacher took another fifteen minutes to call all the parents. "Thank you, sir. I gave them the exact location. They will come and collect their-- wait! What happened to your hand?"

"It's nothing. I got injured while trying to get them out of the window." I tried to hide the injury.

She held my hand and examined the wound. "It looks serious. You lost a lot of blood. Let's go to the hospital." 

"No. I don't need to--"

"Yes. You do." She pressed the end of her saree tightly to my wound, to stop the flow of blood. "Careful. There is a hospital nearby. Let's walk slowly." She held the umbrella with the other hand, above my head.

I didn't protest any longer. She searched for an auto rickshaw. For some mysterious reason, I wished she shouldn't find an empty one. 

She sighed after a few minutes. "Looks like we have to walk."

"No problem." I tried not to sound too excited. 

"It's very noble to of you to save the children. Thank you very much. You are a hero."

I knew she would thank me. I could feel my cheeks turn pink. "It's my duty." I recited an already well-rehearsed dialogue, trying not to blush. 

She held my hand in a tight grip, determined to arrest the flow of blood. The gorgeous border of her cotton saree now bore the stains of my blood. She didn't seem to mind at all. 

We reached the hospital. The doctor removed broken glass pieces stuck to my hand. Shravan looked tensed. I was tempted to scream, just to scare him. But I had to control my emotions. Couldn't act like a fool in her presence.

After the bandage was done, I expected him to let me go. Instead, he pierced my skin with an injection. I bore the pain without uttering a word. "Thank you. Could we leave now?" I asked the teacher.

"No. Saline water now."

"Why?"

"You lost lot of blood." She gestured me to follow the nurse.

"I'll take it orally."

"Blood can't be taken orally." Shravan, the intellectual, spoke up.

"I was talking about tablets. No one in our locality drinks blood orally. Except maybe you." I said before I could stop myself. 

To my surprise, the Social teacher chuckled. "You both seem to be very close."

"Yes. He spends more time in my house than his." I lay down on the bed. The nurse injected the needle and left. 

I expected the teacher to leave. But she sat down in a chair, by my bedside. "Honestly speaking it never occurred to me that I should rescue the children trapped inside. But you not only thought about it, but also accomplished it at great personal risk. I'll tell the school authorities what you did today."

This time I blushed. "Well, what can I say? I mean, we only have one life. Should utilize it wisely."

She placed her umbrella in a corner. "I'll get your prescribed medicines from the store." She stood up.

"Here. Take my card." I took it out of my pocket, and handed it over to her. "The pin is 7558."

"You can't disclose your pin to a stranger. What if I run away with your card?" 

"You won't." I replied.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I have your umbrella with me." I pointed at her umbrella. "I know you won't leave it behind."

She burst out laughing. "Right. I'll be back soon." She walked out of the room. No sooner had I closed my eyes, than my phone rang.

"Devansh! I heard there has been a huge accident near the school. Are you two alright?" It was Santa Claus aunty. It took me several minutes to assure her that her grandson was fine. I mean, she should have believed the moment she heard his voice. But she demanded a video call. I had to obey. 

I carefully avoided showing myself. But Shravan, the traitor, flipped the camera. "What happened to your arm? Wait. Where are you? Is it a hospital?" She bombarded me with questions. Shravan gave her an exaggerated version of how I shielded the children from getting crushed by a pillar, thus earning an injury.

"I'm coming. I'll be there soon." Aunty ended the call.

"Switch off the fan." I told Shravan. The tiny little devil tried his best to reach the switchboard. But couldn't. "Jump." I suggested.

"No. If I jump, I'll fall down. If I fall down, I'll get injured. If I get injured, the doctor will give me an infection." He refused to jump.

"You mean injection? Honestly, who taught you spellings and pronunciation?" 

"You did."

"Oh!" That shut me up. 

I didn't speak until the teacher returned. She put the card in the wallet and placed it back on the table. "Don't forget your wallet. And do take you medicines on time." 

I nodded. I was half asleep, when Santa Claus aunty stormed inside. She demanded an explanation. The teacher gave her the correct version of the events that occurred. When she heard that I rescued five children, her anger seemed to vanish. She looked at me with eyes full of pride.

She thanked the young lady and helped me stand up. "I'll take him home."

I wanted to talk to the teacher. I wanted to thank her. I wanted to share her umbrella again. I didn't want to go just like that. Before I could say some parting words, I was already on my way home.

---***---

"Where did you get the rain coat from?" Aunty asked Shravan after reaching home.

"Teacher got it for me from the school." 

"I'll return it to her the tomorrow." I promised aunty.

"Tomorrow is a holiday. Due to the accident, the school declared holidays until Monday." Aunty informed me.

"Okay. I'll return it on Monday then." I said, hoping to meet the Social teacher again.

"No. You don't have to. My niece, Uttara, came to visit me. She'll stay here for a month. She will pick Shravan up from school." She served food in a plate and helped me gulp it down.

"Uttara? Why did she come? Didn't she visit you last year?" I wasn't happy with the news of her arrival.

"She has preparatory holidays." Aunty force fed the bland food to me. "Now you don't have to worry about Shravan for a month." 

I didn't speak until they both left for their home. I tried to sleep. After tossing and turning for several minutes, I got up again. I opened the window to see that it was still raining.

I felt unhappy. 

Should at least have asked her name.

---***---

Thank you.