BREAK THE RULES??? NO...NO...NEVER

Break the rules. It’s the favorite sentence for youngsters. I’m no exception either… Break the rules at home, school, college, and where not?

I was just an ordinary girl. If there was a rule to eat spinach at home, I would surely break it. At school, I never finished homework on time. College??? That’s where rules are completely shattered! It starts with punctuality—college begins at 9:00 AM, but I would reach campus only at 9:10 AM. It was fun… Everyone would look at me and think how gutsy I was. I would show off my heroism. If there was a dress code requiring traditional wear, I would turn up in jeans. It was really fun breaking the rules.

When helmets became mandatory, I never wore one while riding. I’ve gone triple riding with my friends more than three times on my bike. Ah… how much fun it was!

But one incident that happened to me a few days ago taught me a big lesson. Oh… please, never ever break the rules!!!

It was a fine evening when my dad and I went shopping. It was one of the busiest and most crowded areas in Chennai. My dad preferred taking public transport, but I was adamant that we go on our own bike. I thought it would be more convenient for carrying all the things we planned to buy.

We reached our destination, but there was no place to park. So, we parked in a “No Parking” area. We locked the bike and went shopping—at least 8 to 10 shops! We even had dinner and, completely exhausted, returned to where we had parked the bike (the “No Parking” area). To my shock, my bike wasn’t there!!!

I was literally in tears. So many unanswered questions filled my mind: How could someone steal a big bike? Is it only my bike that’s missing? Am I dreaming? Did we lock it properly? Oh my God, what a horrible moment it was!

To my surprise, my dad (who usually gets tensed about everything) was totally calm… really calm. We asked some people nearby and found out that the police had taken the bike. Not just mine—every bike parked in the “No Parking” area had been taken away.

The police station was nearby, so we went there. My bike was neatly parked inside the station. We paid a fine of ₹150, showed our documents, and got the bike back safely.

On our way out, I jokingly asked the policeman, “Why don’t you turn the police station into a parking area so we don’t have to break the rules?”

The policeman was puzzled!

Originally Published on 25-March-2010

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