NCERT Book Class 9 English (Moments) Chapter 8 A House Is Not a Home

8. A House Is Not a Home

This story reflects the challenges of being a teenager,
and the problems of growing up. How does the author
overcome his problems?

MY first year of high school felt awkward. After leaving junior
high at the head of my class with all the seniority the upper grade
levels could afford me, it felt strange starting over as a freshman.
The school was twice as big as my old school, and to make matters
worse, my closest friends were sent to a different high school. I
felt very isolated.
I missed my old teachers so much that I would go back and
visit them. They would encourage me to get involved in school
activities so that I could meet new people. They told me that in
time I would adjust and probably end up loving my new school
more than I had my old one. They made me promise that when
that happened I would still come by and visit them from time to
time. I understood the psychology in what they were saying, but
I took some comfort in it nonetheless.
One Sunday afternoon, not long after I had started high
school, I was sitting at home at our dining-room table doing
homework. It was a cold and windy fall day, and we had a fire
going in our fireplace. As usual, my red tabby cat was lying on
top of all my papers, purring loudly and occasionally swatting at
my pen for entertainment’s sake.
She was never far from me. I had rescued her when she was
a kitten, and somehow she knew that I was the one responsible
for giving her ‘the good life’.
My mother kept stoking the fire to keep the house nice and
warm. Suddenly, I smelled something strange, and then I noticed
it... smoke pouring in through the seams of the ceiling. The smoke
began to fill the room so quickly that we could barely see. Groping