The Classroom Shuffle

Ananya loved her place in class. She sat on the second desk from the back, right next to the window. From there, she could see the big neem tree in the schoolyard. Its green leaves moved softly in the wind. It made her feel calm when the class was too noisy or when the lessons became hard.

But on Monday morning, everything had changed. Mrs. Sharma, their teacher, had moved all the desks around. Ananya’s favorite spot near the window was gone. Her heart started to beat fast, and her hands became sweaty as she stood by the door.

“Come in, Ananya,” Mrs. Sharma called with a smile. “Find your name on one of the desks. Isn’t this fun?”

Fun wasn’t what Ananya felt. She was scared. She walked slowly to her new seat, which was in the middle of the room. All around her, her classmates were talking loudly. The noise felt like it was pushing in on her from all sides.

As the day went by, it became harder for Ananya to focus. Without her view of the neem tree, she felt lost. Mrs. Sharma’s voice and the words in her book became a blur. Everything seemed confusing.

Miss Reena, the helper teacher, saw that Ananya was upset. At lunch, she sat next to Ananya, who was not eating her food.

“Are you okay, Ananya?” Miss Reena asked kindly.

Ananya shook her head.

“Is it because of the new seats?” Miss Reena asked.

Ananya nodded but didn’t say anything.

“It’s okay to feel strange when things change,” Miss Reena said softly. “Do you want to tell Mrs. Sharma how you feel?”

Ananya’s eyes opened wide with fear. “I… I can’t,” she whispered.

“What if I help you?” Miss Reena said. “We can practice what to say, and I will be with you when you talk to her.”

Slowly, Ananya nodded. After school, with Miss Reena by her side, Ananya went to Mrs. Sharma.

“Mrs. Sharma,” Ananya said quietly, “I… I am finding it hard to sit in the middle of the class.”

Mrs. Sharma listened carefully as Ananya, with help from Miss Reena, told her that the center seat made it difficult for her to concentrate. She also said she missed her neem tree.

Mrs. Sharma smiled and said, “Thank you for telling me, Ananya. It’s important that everyone is happy in class. Let’s find a way to make things better.”

The next day, Ananya’s desk was back near the window, but she was still part of a small group. Mrs. Sharma had found a way to keep the group seating and also help Ananya.

Ananya felt happy as she looked at the neem tree again. She realized that speaking up was not as scary as she had thought. It had made her day better. She smiled at Miss Reena, feeling thankful for her support.

From that day, Ananya felt braver about speaking up when something bothered her, knowing that people were ready to listen and help.