THE SCHOOL CONSTITUTION

10-year-old Mayank had just opened his tiffin box to eat when the aroma of his food spread through the class...

- Inderjeet Kaushik

His mother had packed his favorite snack, just as he had asked.

"Wow, hot paneer pakodas! It's my favourite dish! I'm going to enjoy lunch today," he thought, smiling.

Just as he was about to dig in, Bunny and Suyash walked up to him.

"Pass your tiffin here, we're really hungry," Bunny said, grabbing Mayank's tiffin without waiting for an answer.

"What are you doing? This isn't right! What do I eat now? You haven't even left one pakoda for me," Mayank protested.

"What are you talking about? You can satisfy your hunger by breathing the air," Bunny joked, laughing with Suyash.

Taniya, a girl from their class, spoke up. "You both are older than him. You should know better! This is so wrong. Apologise to Mayank and get him something from the canteen, or I'll tell the class teacher!" Bunny and Suyash looked at her angrily.

"Do whatever you want. Don't act so smart," Suyash sneered, picking up Taniya's water bottle and dRining all the cold water in one gulp, emptying it.

Taniya felt disheartened, realising she'd have to rely on the school's water tank for the rest of the day, even after the games period, when the heat would be at its peak.

This happened often. The older boys would joke with the younger ones and tease them over every little thing. Sometimes they would take their belongings without asking, and sometimes they would eat their tiffin.

One day, while Adit was writing a poem in his notebook, Naman gently tapped him on the back. Adit's hand shook, smudging the writing in his notebook.

"Sorry, friend. It was a mistake," Naman said, making a face. As he spoke, water spilled from his mouth onto Adit's notebook, ruining it entirely. Tears welled up in Adit's eyes as his hard work was destroyed.