Aruna Higher Secondary School

Ulundurpet gets incredibly hot in the summer, and out here in Menachipuram, you really feel it. Aruna Higher Secondary School is located at number 31, and it’s been a fixture of this neighborhood for quite some time. The building is a long, low structure that absorbs a lot of heat, so we rely heavily on the ceiling fans, which never seem to move fast enough. The ground around the school is mostly hard-packed dirt where the kids play ball during the breaks. There isn't much grass, just a few hardy bushes near the main office. We’re not too far from the main roads, so there’s a constant hum of engines in the background, but mostly it’s the sound of the students talking in the corridors. We have a small canteen area where the staff gets their lunch, usually something brought from home in steel boxes. The furniture is all wood and metal, nothing fancy, and some of the chairs have been repaired more times than I can count. We don't have a big marketing team or anything; we just keep the registers updated and make sure the chalk supply is full. It’s a busy, sweaty, and honest kind of place to spend the day. When the final bell rings at 4:30, the street fills up with cycles and kids walking home toward the center of town, leaving the school silent and dusty until the next morning.