It was Monday in the morning when I was supposed to go to school as it was my first day to go to school. I dressed up, had breakfast and immediately heard a hooter at the gate. I rushed into a bus full of joy and excitement. When I entered the bus I found a swarthy bold voiced driver with an infamous behavior. “Sit in the third row”, he summoned. He automatically got my joy drained. The atmosphere in the bus was full of tension and the bus itself wasn’t spacious. Children weren’t happy about the driver. The bus went on and on until a tall hearty girl chipped in, there was a sudden mumbling and children glanced at me. “Hey you, get up” shouted a girl approaching my sit. I looked at the driver through the mirror expecting him to take an action, he immediately shifted his red eyes away from the mirror without taking pity on me. I helplessly stood up and looked for an empty seat only to find that the only seat left was at the back where old balky boys were sitting. When I went to sit there certain boys spontaneously put their hands at a seat. I was left with no choice but to stand. A bus shook me up and down, side to side. A certain humane girl took pity on me and called me to sit on top of her restoring my home ground advantage. “Hey you two, you’ll break my sit. It is either you both stand up or one remains”, shouted the driver looking through the mirror. The girl couldn’t stand being shaken by the bus and decided to sit. My heart ached, I didn’t know where to look, everyone gazed on me. I became a laughing stock. When the bus had reached the S&S avenue the guys at the back rudely called me and ordered for my lunch box and pocket money as they saw a vulnerable young girl. I started crying and thought of sitting on the floor but I couldn’t because it was dirty and I wouldn’t want to dirty my new precious uniform. Within a blink of an eye the hearty girl was standing in front of me demanding for my pullover. She then used it to wipe her muddy shoes. My heartache was aggravated. I suddenly missed crèche moments. I overhead a guy at the back saying he had forgotten his tie and a certain teacher wouldn’t tolerate his excuses. That’s how my tie was forcefully taken away from me. My heartache even got worse than before. I wished I could burst into to tears but I couldn’t because I got threatened to be beaten if I ever make even a little noise. The rain started to fall and the sunroof was open. The rain got me and my books wet. Everything became a disaster. I was anxious on how the teachers will react to this matter because clearly nobody cared. I ran towards the door, screaming, having everyone on the bus laughing at me. As I was attempting to jump off the bus while it was in motion, thinking this was an alternative I felt a hand shaking me slowly but surely. “Thobile, wake up. The big day has finally arrived. It’s time to bath. You wouldn’t dare risk becoming late as it is your first day to school. I wasn’t even sure if I still wanted to go to school. I bathed, ate breakfast and waited until the bus came. I slowly shuffled towards the bus, sidled in… Guess what? The bus had a friendly atmosphere and so much of humane children. I had such a sublime moment. I wasn’t even instructed where to sit. Even got myself a best friend. Moral: Life is like a dream. We go through some situations where we experience so much pain and negligence that we think of committing suicide and hoping that we will never heal after such situations have passed. But when the morning has arrived we heal and use our experience to heal others. What happened in South Africa chances are it might not happen in Dubai. Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.