I hardly have any friends because I don’t belong to a gang. If I get into the company of those boys then everyone will start thinking that I am also like one of them. They will think that I smoke and roam around on the streets. I am afraid of my father. He scolds me very badly. If he comes to know that I was trying to be friends with Sunil then I’ll get a good beating. He keeps telling me that I should concentrate on my studies so that I get a good job.  I have to support my family when I grow up. I don’t even know what I want to be. Which college will I join? Will I get admission in a college? There are so many questions in my mind, but I don’t know who can answer these. I like the new teacher in our school. He speaks very politely and gives respect to everyone. Maybe I should talk to him one day. I hope he doesn’t think that I am a bad boy. People think I am not good at anything but I can cook quite well. My mother has taught me chopping and cooking vegetables. I know my father likes what I cook but he never praises me. He just says I should get a good job and not land up becoming a cook in a dhaba. Last year one of the boys from our class had left school and taken up a job in the nearby town. He works at a courier delivery office. Must be fun living in a town and watching movies in the theatre. When he comes home during holidays, I should ask him how much he earns. But I don’t want to tell this to my father. I think he’ll not like this idea. He feels that working in a government office is best. He used work as a gardener in a government office. So, he feels that people working there get many facilities and have a good life. May be he is right.