Page 131 - Gyananda YearBook 2022-23

129

THE SNEAK-

OUT FIASCO IN

THE LIFE OF A

BOARDER

It was 1 a.m. in the girls' dormitory at Sacred Hearts' High School, as displayed by the little alarm clock
on the side table. The four girls sat huddled on a lower bunk while the other three heavy sleepers were
in la-la land. They sat in a makeshift circle, blankets covering their heads, a flickering torch held by the
girl under their tent formation. It was a typical Saturday night in the dorms; no complaints about their
early 5 a.m. raisers; they could sleep in until 6 a.m., a true luxury. After a hectic week of classes and
sports, they were finally able to find some time for gossip. They went on about how the girls in the
interconnected dorm are excessively cunning, by how they butter up the warden into giving them
treats. It was a silent summer night. A few dim lights in the resident's pathway were lit, and the
annoying sound of crickets was clear and harsh to their ears. There is nothing out of the ordinary until
Noor speaks up.

"Do you guys know what the seniors said about our school being
built on the graveyard, or the statue in the podium that blinks,
or the haunted dorm in block six? I was passing the seventh
block when I heard them by the window. It was too good of a
conversation to give them privacy, "she whispered, her face
oddly lit by the torchlight below her chin. Sarika and Pihu
listened intently to the story, but Diya was not interested. "Oh
come on, Noor, you know about those dim-witted seniors; it's
their job to spread baseless rumours," she said, annoyed. "Well,
I agree. I mean, isn't every school built on a graveyard or some
nonsense? "added Pihu. " Believe me if you want to, but that's
what I heard," Noor retorted, strongly standing her ground.

The conversation got louder, the girls lost sense of time as fits of laughter could be heard across the
door, and soon a keen ear caught wind of it. Of course, it was our ayah. The girls heard the unlatching
of the door and gave the same wide-eyed expression, then, almost in reflex, dashed to their beds,
facing the wall, and pretended to sleep. Let me tell you, they were professionals by now, but our ayah
wasn't any less smart. She entered the dorm, eyeing each kid as she blabbered on about complaining
to the warden. A fruitless threat, nobody was fazed by it. After a hot minute of ranting, she left. Yes,
mischief in the school got to the point where the teachers took the collective decision of locking the
dorms at night. After waiting exactly 45 seconds, everyone stood up and came to the exact spot on
Diya's bed, resuming where they left off. Where were they? The haunted school debate continues.