Mangaluru: Thrown off a crowded bus just hours before her board examination, Chadmika’s story of fortitude stood out during the SSLC results, with the teenager scoring 100% in the Tulu paper she wrote on the very day of the accident. The Class 10 student, speaking to TOI from her home in Belthangady, recalled how the support of her teachers and school became crucial in helping her maintain composure through the turmoil.“I was not sure what really happened till I got to the hospital. Everything was a blur. I had just two more exams left, and I had prepared hard for them. I could not let the opportunity slip,” she said, explaining why she was determined to complete all her examinations in one stretch.Lakshminarayan K, headmaster, Vani English Medium School, Halekote, Belthangady, said the incident took place at 8.45am, barely an hour before the examination. “Chadmika was rushed to the hospital. We waited for the MRI results to decide whether it was safe for her to take the exam. Her health was the absolute priority,” he said.Once cleared, Chadmika was taken to the examination centre in an ambulance, with teacher Sandhya by her side throughout, from hospital to exam hall and back. In moments of crisis, such gestures often become emotional anchors, the headmaster saidEven as she continues to recover from the fall, Chadmika said the presence of familiar faces made all the difference. “Having my teacher and headmaster around helped me feel at ease. Bhavyashree, a Class 9 student, was my scribe,” she said.Another student, Nisha K, assisted her the following day during the social science examination. Chadmika now hopes to pursue science, following the path her elder sister chose. “My sister is all right now. She and I were both in the crowded bus,” she said, recalling the incident in which both were thrown off during a turn.Scoring full marks in Tulu on the day of the accident became more than an academic feat. “I had already written four papers before that day, and only two were left. I had to get through them somehow,” she said, satisfied with her results. Roopa Nagaraj, Chadmika’s mother, still watching her daughters recover, said: “I was shocked. After all her preparation, I wondered about fate. I asked my daughter if she could still write the exam, and she said yes. Initially, doctors were unsure, and we feared she would have to take a re-exam. But after the scans were clear, we decided to go ahead.” Roopa and the headmaster went with Chadmika to the exam centre both days.
