Sri Raghavendra Matric Higher Secondary School

I usually get to Muthaiey Pillaiyar Kovil Street around seven thirty in the morning before the sun gets too high over Bhuvanagiri. Sri Raghavendra Matric Higher Secondary School is already buzzing by then because the caretaker starts sweeping the front steps quite early. You can hear the broom hitting the stone. The building has been here for a long time and you can see it in the way the paint has faded near the windows. Inside, the hallways are narrow and during the breaks, it gets very loud with all the shouting and running. We have these old wooden desks that have seen better days but they still do the job for the students. Sometimes a fan starts clicking and we have to get the ladder out to fix it. It is just a normal school life really. We don't have fancy stuff but we have plenty of chalk and books. In the afternoon, the smell of food from the nearby houses drifts in through the open windows and everyone starts getting hungry. By the time the final bell rings, we are all pretty tired. I usually spend another hour or so just sitting in the office going over the registers and making sure the gates are locked tight. It is just a routine we have had for years and years now. The street outside gets quiet once the buses leave and then it is just the sound of the temple nearby. We will be back tomorrow to do it all over again.