“The final test for LKG students will be on the 22nd of March. You will be asked questions on what you have been taught.” Sister Alphonse’s voice boomed through the classroom like a thunderclap. Half of the students stared back at her, their eyes wide and unblinking. The other half were lost in their own worlds, gazing at the walls, the ceiling, or each otheranywhere but the stern face of their teacher. Kittu was one of the dreamers. He was busy tracing the path of a sunbeam as it danced across the room, inching closer to the blackboard. The light captivated him; it was more interesting than anything Sister Alphonse could ever say. “What are the questions we will be asked?” Laxmi, the class star and Sister Alphonse’s clear favorite, asked with earnest eyes. She was the only one truly listening, her notebook perfectly neat, her pencil always sharpened. “You… The Final Test

“Tomorrow we will take a class photo,” announced Sister Alphonse, her voice echoing through the Lower Kindergarten classroom. Her students, a group of bright-eyed little ones, stared back blankly. They clearly had no idea what she was talking about. “Does anyone know what a class photo is?” she asked, scanning the sea of confused faces. Only one hand shot upLaxmi, the class star and Sister Alphonse’s favorite. She had an answer to every question. “Yes, dear?” “We will take a photo of the class,” Laxmi replied, beaming at the chance to speak. “Not of the classroom, but of the students,” Sister Alphonse clarified. Kittu, meanwhile, was lost in his own world, watching a sunbeam slowly crawl across the classroom floor. Every sunny morning, it appeared just as Sister Alphonse’s lesson was halfway through, and by the time the bell rang, it would have traveled all the way to the door.… A Class Photo

“Stop making faces at me, or you’re going to end up with a broken nose,” Shyamu warned. Shyamu was Kittu’s elder brother, three years his senior. Shyamu, or Shyama Prasad Naidu, was a spirited first-grader at St. Patrick’s in Deoli, while his younger brother, Krishna Prasad Naiduaffectionately called Kittuwas still navigating the world of Lower Kindergarten. The two brothers were as different as night and day. Shyamu idolized the wrestlers on WWF, constantly looking for ways to emulate their punches and throws. Kittu, on the other hand, was the peaceful soul of the family, the youngest and the gentlest. For Kittu, violence was not an option, but that didn’t stop him from occasionally pulling faces at Shyamu or playfully head-butting him. It was his small act of defiance. “Kittu, if you keep making monkey faces, your face will eventually get stuck like that,” their mother, Shyamala, cautioned. She was exasperated,… A broken nose