Fourteen-year-old Saira lazily got out of bed after hearing her mum call her down for breakfast. It was a hot Wednesday morning and Saira wasn’t really in the mood for going to school. She brushed her teeth, reluctantly wore her uniform and went downstairs for breakfast.
As she sat at the dining table, her mum said, “Oh, thank God, you are finally up. You know it’s really irritating to keep shouting at you to get up every two minutes!”
Saira said nothing; she started her breakfast.
“What’s wrong? Is everything okay? You look way more tired than usual,” asked her mum worriedly.
“Nothing, Mum. It’s just that I really don’t feel like going to school. Like, I seriously have to wake up at 7 am for studying stuff like ‘Every action has an equal but opposite reaction…’ When am I ever going to use that in my life? It just feels so boring,” she said bitterly.
“I know, Saira. I didn’t like going to school either, but look at the bright side. You are gaining knowledge that will open doors for you, help you understand the world better and give you the freedom to choose your own path,” her mum tried to comfort her.
“Oh, Mum, I get it…” Saira said indifferently and went on to finish her breakfast. Saira’s Biology and Maths homework, along with sticky notes, were still lying on the table because she had forgotten to pack her bag the night before. After breakfast, Saira sorted her books, packed them and filled her water bottle.
Then Saira went with her father to school. The drive to school was the usual five-minute drive. As she entered her classroom, Saira saw her friend Alizah sitting and revising for the Biology test.
“Hi, Alizah!”
“Hi, Saira. Didn’t see you coming!”
They sat together and chatted before the teacher came.
The day was a usual busy, but boring, one. English lesson, Urdu lesson, a biology test and a few other lessons before it was time to go home. Same classes, same books, same four walls. Saira was already wishing the day would end.
As soon as the bell rang at 2 pm, everyone packed their bags and headed out of the class. Saira waited for a while before her father came to pick her up. On the way, they stopped the car in front of a grocery store and her father told her to wait in the car as he went inside to buy something.
Saira leaned back comfortably in her seat and observed the surroundings through the window.
She saw a few children, probably siblings, sitting on the footpath. They all looked under ten. The eldest was a girl, carrying the youngest in her arms, while the middle one sat eating a naan, completely lost in it.
He did not seem to care what he was wearing or what the rest of the day would bring. For those few minutes, nothing seemed more important than the naan in his hands. It was his meal, his little moment of happiness and that was enough.
Saira watched the eldest girl put the toddler down and run towards a car. She picked up a cloth and began cleaning its windscreen. After a few minutes, she held out her hand for the money. Whether she was paid or not, Saira could not tell. The girl quickly ran back to her little brother and picked up the toddler again.
Saira kept watching them. She thought about her own morning. She had complained about getting dressed, complained about going to school, complained about the test and counted the hours until she could go home.
But these children were counting something else. They were counting what they could eat, what they could earn and how they would get through the day.
Suddenly, Saira understood something she had never really thought about before. School was not just a place where she had to sit through boring lessons. It was a chance to learn, to choose what she wanted to become and to build a life beyond simply getting through each day.
Saira looked down at her school bag. For the first time that day, the books inside it did not feel like a burden.
Published in Dawn, Young World, September 19th, 2026
