The Python Game

Our class room, it had the same arrangement
twenty five years ago

I used to come early to school, because I was in the first trip. The school bus would go for the second trip after setting us free to run around. I was not alone; we were a trio, Roy and Sarath from Kariyam and me. Geetha was the only girl who came early along with us. (She is teaching at a college now) We used to run around sweating all over, and for that we used to get occassional beating from Saramma Mani, our class teacher.
After some days Saji also joined us as an early bird; he was the fattest boy in our class, so we called him perumpambu. He suggested a new game, that he would run and we have to catch him, we called the game perumpambu kali. If my memory is right, Gopu and Ramkumar also joined us whenever they came early. It was a hilarious sport, and we enjoyed it well. But the game did not give much excitement to Sr.Aslem who was the headmistress then, and Saramma Mani our class teacher. One day the serpant and the charmers were caught, we had to stand out of the class till noon. Saji cried, Roy too but Sarat did not, he had a lion's heart. I still cannot make out how it felt to me; I only feared Geetha, because she was my neighbour and I doubted that she would tell it to my father. But Geetha didn't, it was not her concern.
We were brave hearts, the game did not stop with a simple punishment. Next day we decided to start the game as usual, despite the sanctions of Sr.Anslem, we dared to. The plan was to run around the space near the bathroom. The blue print was ready, after the top brass met at the side seat of school bus; Roy, Sarat and me; we trio used to sit at the narrow side seat above the battery box opposite to Ammavan, the driver. But to our surprise when we reached the class, we found that the class room itself is dishevelled. We had to set it right first, we pulled the desks one by one. Meanwhile Saji came, and we had to finish arranging the desks to start our play. All of a sudden Roy screamed 'snake..snake..run'.
I was perplexed, I did not know what to do, I saw Geetha flying like a bird over the desks and making a safe exit through the door. I too ran out, meanwhile the screams transformed to laments and high school students came running down the stairs. They killed the snake, but the most terrified person was Saji. He thought that the snake came because we played the perumpambu.
And a beautiful game had its premature death.